On the morning of November 2nd, Matt and I started off out of Boise, ID, heading for Cheyenne, WY. It had rained a little overnight, and everything was still a little wet. Apart from a few sprinkles right around the greater Boise area, we had dry roads and good weather the rest of the day. Our route took us down through southeastern Idaho and into Utah. Around Ogden, UT we headed east towards Cheyenne.

Those that know me know that Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, for several reasons. For instance, how can you commercialize a holiday that is intended to point towards gratefulness and thankfulness? It also falls in one of my favorite times of the year, and involves a nice meal! This year Laurel and I decided to do a low-key celebration at the house. I have recently been sick, and Laurel is just getting over it, so a relaxed day sounded nice. Of course we still were able to have somewhat of a traditional meal, which we both enjoyed. After looking at the following pics, what do you think? Think we did alright?

On the morning of November 1st, my folks and I headed up to the ferry terminal in Bellingham, WA to meet Matt. The ferry had arrived early, so Matt already had the U-Haul offloaded by the time we arrived. After chatting for a few minutes, I hopped in their van and followed Matt down towards Seattle to pick up a vehicle trailer for the van. This accomplished, we loaded the van on the trailer and hit the road. It was a good drive over Snoqualmie Pass on I90 and down through Cle Elum, WA on the other side. We ended up taking I-90 to I-82, and then to I-84 which took us through the southeastern part of Oregon. After a dinner stop in Pendleton, OR, we continued on to Boise, ID where we spent the night.

I had a great time spending a couple of days with my folks prior to the trip with Matt. One of the fun things about getting together is eating some food that I remember from my growing up years. Everyone has their own unique ways of making things, and my Dad and Mom are no exception. Here are a few pics of what we enjoyed!

On October 29th I flew up to Washington to spend a couple of days with my folks prior to embarking on the cross-country trip with Matt. The flight was a good one, though something happened on the flight which I don't think I have ever encountered before. We had reached our cruising altitude and the announcement had been made that the flight attendents would be passing through the cabin with the complimentary beverage service. This was normal, however another announcement was given within just a few seconds of the first. I don't recall it it word-for-word, but here is the general idea: "Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for the inconvenience, but there is no coffee on this flight today. Again, there is no coffee onboard. We do apologize for the inconvenience and invite you to try one of the other available beverages." I'll be honest, I didn't know it was even LEGAL to operate the aircraft without coffee!

All minor inconveniences aside...it was a beautiful sunset approach into Seattle. I was seated on the left side of the aircraft and was treated to some great views of Mt. Rainier. For the curious, the elevation of Rainier's summit is 14,411 feet. Not long after we arrived, I was picked up by my folks and we were able to enjoy the next couple of days together!

My buddy Matt and his family recently started a new chapter in their lives. Part of this involved relocating from Alaska to Florida. To make a long story somewhat shorter, I met up with Matt in northern Washington and we ended up driving a U-Haul full of the family's belongings from Bellingham, Washington to Naples, Florida over a five-day period. In subsequent posts we'll take a look at some of the various parts of this saga!

Since starting this blog back in late spring, we have had the same header or "hero" image at the top. I recently had the idea of creating new hero images for different seasons and holidays, so today I've featured our second hero image, one for Thanksgiving and what is left of November! (I've been out traveling, so this was on hold until I returned. More about the travels in a future post!).