I just finished Thanksgiving dinner with my family, and I'd like to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving, wherever it might be, I hope that you are surrounded by friends and family.
For the first time since 9-11, I flew on Thanksgiving Day. Now, it used to be that Thanksgiving Day was one of the worst days to fly. These were the people that decided at the last minute that they wanted to go somewhere for turkey day and ended up flying standby. Not the case any longer. My sister and I flew out of San Jose at 3:50 pm yesterday, and expecting a massive swell of people, we got to the airport almost 2 hours early. The extra screeners for the holiday made a huge impact, as we passed through the security checkpoint relatively quickly. The plane was only three-quarters of the way full, and along with the complimentary peanuts and soda, they also handed out as a special Southwest Airlines Thanksgiving treat, 2 pieces of Chocolate with the words "Gobble Gobble". I also realized something about my family today. Everyone in my family reads a lot. When we travel, while other families struggle to cram in that last article of clothing, my family struggles to fit in that last book. We tend to travel with more books than clothes, and while we may not have the clothing for all occassions in our baggage, we've got our books to fill every quiet moment in our time away.
Thanksgiving at our house has always been a fusion between Western and Chinese cuisine. Although we stick to the more traditional gut-busting Thanksgiving day fare: turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, yams, ham and pumpkin pie, my mother also makes fried rice (note: we have never served stuffing at my house for thanksgiving), soup with fishcake and water chestnuts, and these delicious candied pecans. Even though my family was starving, we barely made a dent in the 22 pound turkey my mother prepared.
Sounds like you had a hearty Thanksgiving dinner, Mike. I have already said this before, but have a Happy (American) Thanksgiving! =)