Giving Thanks at Thanksgiving - Part 1

Wednesday 23^rd November

A 2 part special, commemorating the traditional American holiday that is thanksgiving. Nothing says “let’s eat” better than the celebration caused by pilgrims from our side of the Atlantic pond. So in a way, we gave the USA a special holiday so it’s only fair I get to join in……..right?

Of course there’s the small issue of getting to the part first. The initial plan was to meet Chrissy at Baldwin Park train station at 12:00 so we could pick up ‘the amigo’ (Greg to me and you). That plan was soon shifted, since Chrissy couldn’t get out of work until lunchtime, which put me on the next train, which was a whole 2 hours later.

To prepare for the upcoming feast, there’s no better way to get ready than with a gym session. Since the gym would be closed from Thursday to Sunday, I decided to get an extended session in. 1 hour 30 mins, burning 1673 calories J, not that that matters since I’d be putting all that back on very easily.

My friend Zack offered to drive me down to the station. Since the Thanksgiving holiday tradition dictates that all guests bring a food related item with them, we stopped off at the local grocery chain, where I picked up this brilliant bread basket. Literally. There were about 24 rolls, in a basket made from bread. On the train riding over I looked pretty darn silly carrying a bread basket with me.

Putting all this to one side, I met Chrissy, 2 hours over-schedule at the stop after Baldwin Park, where we set off to Greg’s work, waited for him to leave and then we’d set off. But of course, it’s a holiday so it never goes to plan. After arriving shortly after 3pm, we were told Greg had to wait for a shipping order, which gave me and Chrissy time to hit the local Taco joint and a much needed restroom break.

We got our food, then headed back to pick Greg up, who had finished by this point. We left one car in the company parking lot (relax, it’s secure) and set off to Poway, near San Diego. With good traffic, this would have taken about 1 hr 20 mins, but apparently, everyone else in the country decides to head south for the holidays. Making up good time on a toll road, which no-one wants to go on for some reason, we made it in 2 hours exactly (precise time may vary)

We pulled up to a very pretty house, where we would spend the rest of the night. The actual Thanksgiving party would be tomorrow a couple of miles up the road. And seriously, this small house isn’t far off rivaling the Calabasas house I saw a few weeks before, it’s just gorgeous. If everyone’s house is like this, it makes the UK look like a slum.  

I made my way round everyone, introducing myself. Unfortunately I’m terrible with names so I’m not gonna rattle off some names, simply because the majority have already rattled off. The house belongs to Greg’s parents, Buzz and Kathe, and ironically enough it was also Kathe’s birthday. I remained a gentleman and refrained from asking how old she was. I also met Andy, Greg’s brother and a whole host of kids. There was another couple, who I didn’t get chance to meet.

Starting the show is Nick, Greg’s son from a previous marriage who I spent quite a bit of time with since he’s 22. Next in line is Katie (19), Greg’s daughter from the other marriage. Then come the twins, Johnny and Megan, both 16, who were constantly on my case about my British accent. Johnny even downloaded a British terminology app, just to test me on certain words that Americans don’t use. I was actually quite surprised just how many words are different. They didn’t even know what “taking the mick” meant.

Moving down the chain were 5 girls, I forget their ages, much less their names. I know Kendal is the oldest of the group, then in no particular order: Grace, E(liz)abeth, Katelyn and 1 more who I just can’t remember.

Now we’ve exchanged pleasantries, it’s time for some food: a student’s vital lifeline, especially if it’s free. A small buffet laid out for all of us to enjoy, closely followed by typical American discussion – Sports and Politics, 2 areas that I have no expertise in. No matter, because the girls had put on a little show for us. Food AND entertainment, most people pay good money for this. The typical ‘happy birthday’ to Kathe followed, something I did have expertise in.

The evening got a whole lot better, with the promise of learning 4 player Canasta (not like the way I spelt it last time, which gives Chrissy an enormous amount of please in telling other people), Just like 2 player, but you essentially have double the chances to win/lose. However I was dragged into the girl’s game of Yahtzee, another game I never played before. Rolling the dice and seeing what comes up, kinda makes me wonder, what the heck I did in my childhood.

Canasta followed, where the teenage crowd got involved. Rather than play, we spent more time mocking my accent than playing. We kept using the typical phrases like “taking the mick” and “Johnny means condom” to much enthusiasm. While we were battling away with the cards, Nick and Greg were literally battling away (playfully though). Oddly enough, Greg took a tumble and 5 minutes, his eye had blown up like a hot air balloon. We believe he had an allergic reaction with something that obviously got aggravated by the play-fight with Nick. Before we knew it, it was 11:30pm and everyone was leaving. No matter, I’d be seeing most of them tomorrow.

Since I’d been suffering with a small headache from about 3pm, but had been putting a brave face on things, I headed to my room, which originally was downstairs, then upstairs and then back downstairs again. I didn’t complain, it burned a few more calories off. That night was one of the best sleeps ever. After a few 5/6 hour nights, I was relieved to get a solid 8 ½ hours of good sleep.