Pilgrim Pride

    Every year my family travels for the Thanksgiving Holiday.  Sometimes friends or family are with us and sometimes the four of us "fly solo." We started back in 2004 and enjoyed it so much that we decided to make it a family tradition.  Back then we were adventurous.  Our first Thanksgiving away was spent in Las Vegas and we had a blast.  My kids liked the trip almost as much asthe grown-ups (it was Mark, me, and my in-laws).  The following year the four of us traveled to the Beaches Resort in Turks & Caicos.  We hadn't planned on celebrating the holiday with any other family members but, as fate would have it, we ran into my second and third cousins while we were there.  In 2006 we headed west again -- this time to sunny California.  We traveled into the desert and took a tram to the top of the mountains. My in-laws joined us for a trip to Palm Springs and it was a wonderful adventure.   Last year the four of us headed to Sarasota Florida where we stayed with my best friend Jen and her family for the week.  She cooked up a feast and we spent a lot of time relaxing by the pool and at the beach.  

    This year we decided to stay a little closer to home.  We headed north to Plymouth, Massachusetts -- birthplace of America.   I can't say the kids were thrilled with my plans at first.  Afterall if you spent the last 4 thanksgivings in warm climates, you might be thinking that a chilly New England vacation is a bit lame.  Thankfully (pun intended) they did get into the spirit of things once we arrived.

    We stayed at the John Carver Inn, a lovely boutique hotel, walking distance from the waterfront.  It had a fabulous indoor pool shaped like a replica of the Mayflower.  It had a 50ft waterslide (which the boys loved!) and a hot tub in the replica Rock (which Mark and I enjoyed too!)  On Wednesday we visited Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower and enjoyed the actors on board who were really into their roles.  Then we walked around the town, sipping warm apple cider and sampling home made fudge around town.  

We even stopped to take somefun photos -- I wonder if the "first Kornfelds" looked like this!

    On Thanksgiving Day we headed for Plimoth Plantation.  We all enjoyed the Wampanoag Village where actual native americans tell the story of their past and present.  Dylan really liked sitting on the deer skins inside the long houses.  Brett had his camera with him and was documenting everything. After the Wampanoag Village we headed to the 1627 Settlement which is a replica of the original town's settlement.  There, people are role-player the original Pligrims that settled here.  It was an interesting event.

    The highlight of the day was the Victorian Thanksgiving Feast.  We enjoyed a wonderful sit down dinner served family style.  We ate with two other families and were surrounded by actors dressed in attire fit for 1863 -- the year President Lincoln declared the 4th Thursday to be a national day of Thanksgiving.  We were toasted and serenaded and really felt like we were part of a special day.

    I hope all of you enjoyed your Thanksgiving celebration too!