So Much to Be Thankful For

Thanksgiving Eve in Shepherdstown is a night on the town.  Generations of town kids arrive back home and congregate at the Mecklinburg Inn for beers and old stories from “the Glory Days”.

Shepherdstown at Sunset

Before we could begin the evening, we had some shopping to do.  List in hand, we went to the store where we and half of town picked up last minute supplies.  One vital ingredient on our list was pumpkin for our ginger pumpkin pie.   We scoured all the stores and unbelievably the entire town of Shepherdstown was sold out of pumpkin!   Libby’s wasn’t able to harvest the entire crop this fall and has announced a shortage.   So get your pumpkin for Christmas now!

Tim and I briefly considered pureeing the pumpkin centerpiece on our table but then came to our senses and drove to the local bakery.  It’s a blueberry pie Thanksgiving for us, thanks to the Ye Olde Sweet Shoppe.  I could get used to that holiday tradition.

We started our Eve festivities with dinner at Kazu, the local Thai place, with Alice, my buddy from high school.  We spent 2 hours over sushi and noodles.  This time it was Tim’s chance to hear the classic stories of my high school years.  He got an earful as Alice and I chattered about all the old tales.

Next we wandered over to the Mecklenburg Inn, a Shepherdstown staple since 1796.   We saw some old faces and made a few new friends over the shuffleboard table.  It was an excellent Shepherdstown reunion.

This morning Tim and I decided we needed a bike ride before the big dinner.  We drove over to Sharpsburg to the Antietam National Battlefield.  Here the Battle of Antietam (or Battle of Sharpburg if you’re south of the Mason Dixon line) was fought on September 17, 1862.  It was the bloodiest day of the Civil War.   We rode the misty roads past cannons, memorials and placards.  Though it was a chilly damp day, it was the perfect atmosphere to experience the history of the area.

Capturing History at Antietam

By noon we’d done enough exercise to justify the enormous dinner we were about to eat.  We drove home and settled down for a dinner of turkey, stuffing, cranberry, mashed potatoes, mashed turnips, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole and rolls.   2 hours later after we all woke up from our subsequent naps, we dove into the blueberry pie.  It was a fabulous relaxing night with Mom and John.

Cattails

Now with a belly full of turkey and Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on the TV, Tim and I are thankful for our lifestyle, family, Vertical Media and FIT, and our friends that make our lives so rich.  Thank you all!

In case you missed it, enjoy!