Turkey Day in Recent Years

Last year was my first year home for Thanksgiving in about a decade, and you know what?  I can't even remember anything about it.  My post-college Thanksgivings had all been the same - on the road in some hotel celebrating with coworkers.

It's really not until those dinners though that you realize just how much of a family your tour-mates become.  The three years I was on tour with Christmas Carol it was usually just the crew who celebrated together - 7 stagehands and a bus driver.  Those were good times.  I remember my last very well - we were in Columbus Ohio and I was hung over - after dinner we went to see Rent at the movies.  My first year I don't remember the meal, but I remember the hotel - it was a Howard Johnsons in upstate New York, and they had a flooding problem so as you walked through the hallways the carpet just went "squish, squish."  It was sooooooo gross!

Sesame Street Live afforded me new experiences - international Thanksgivings!  It seems that no matter where in the world you are somewhere nearby there are other's celebrating Thanksgiving as well. 

Thanksgiving 2006 - Nassau, Bahamas:  After being perfectly fine the entire month we were in Mexico, I got a bug on the last day.  He was not a nice bug.  In fact he was quite a mean little bugger of a bug.  I was in so much pain that I had to be given a shot (of goodness knows what) at the Mexico City Airport by a doctor who didn't speak English but could only figure out what was wrong with me through motions and my bawling, and that was just to get me on the plane!  That day we flew Mexico City to Miami, had to go through customs in Miami, recheck our luggage, fly Miami to Nassau, go through immigration in Nassau, wait for the luggage only to find out that my bags were MIA!!!  I was miserable.  I spent most of the week, when I wasn't at work, in my room, in pain.  So that said, I have no clue what a Bahamian Thanksgiving is like.

Thanksgiving 2007 - Lima, Peru: 2 days prior to Thanksgiving I start having horrible pains and cramping in my stomach.  I did not get to enjoy a Peruvian Thanksgiving at the Lima Doubletree Hotel.

Thanksgiving 2008 - Madrid, Spain: Finally!!! An international Thanksgiving that I could go to!  The hotel did up a nice spread for us since we were the only Americans staying at the hotel.  I think there must have been one turkey for every three people - there was so much food!  It was nice, the cast, crew and management all celebrated together like the enormous dysfunctional family we were.

This year I will not be spending Thanksgiving with my family; they will be in Indiana (where my sister and brother-in-law live) and I will be in Pittsburgh.  I'm working the day before and the day after, so traveling to Indiana for one day did not make much sense.  Instead I will be at this:

I will be running a 5K with Alyssa through downtown Pittsburgh.  See - I told you I was still running!

For Thanksgiving dinner I have gotten a little 3 lb turkey roast, a box of Stove Top stuffing, and a can of cranberry sauce (NOT the weird jelly stuff that comes out shaped like the can - the stuff with whole berries in it), so Ellie and I will have our own little feast.  And since it'll be our first holiday together I'm even going to give her some turkey!

Stay tuned... Next Thursday I'll have the story of my favorite Thanksgiving ever!  It involves a popular children's television show, a popular holiday parade, a popular boy band, and a popular television mom - can you guess what it is?!?