A Wild & Wonderful Thanksgiving

For years we have been cooking a full Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings, usually inviting grad students and friends to share in the bounty with us. Last year I was lucky enough to have my mom, stepdad and brother visit over the holiday. But this year seems to have been especially hectic, so Troy and I decided that this time we would spend it alone.

For a long time we have understood that getting away together, especially to the woods or to the ocean, is a requirement if we are going to maintain both our relationship and our sanity. We decided to stop giving "gifts" or at least things for our birthdays and x-mas. Instead, we save money so that we can have experiences together--going away for a weekend together at least twice a year.

I scoured the internet and was able to found a cabin near Seneca Rocks, West Virginia that had a big fireplace, hot tub and also allowed pets. We did all our cooking on Wednesday night (Troy actually stayed up all night long cooking the turkey, but that is another story that I'd rather not get into) and brought the feast with us on Thursday to the cabin.

I was a bit put off at first by the fact that the cabin was right off the highway and not at all secluded in the woods like I had imagined.

And the decor left something to be desired.


But soon we drove a mile or two and this was our view.


There was even some snow in the higher elevations, which was really fun for us because we really miss it. So we went for a walk, had a beer and checked out the scenery. All these things made me feel much better.




And our Thanksgiving dinner that evening was delicious. Troy made a really yummy no-bake pumpkin pie.


The next day we checked out Seneca Rocks--a well known rock-climbing destination.

Although Troy would have love to climb, we don't have the equipment or the expertise to go it alone. I settled happily for a hike to an observation point near the top. It's about a 900-1000 foot elevation gain, a fair hike by most people's standards, but Troy was itching to take side trails and do some scrambling.

I had to reign him in on this one, with a little help from posted signs along the trail.

It was a breath-taking view once we got to the top. The pictures don't really do it justice.



All in all it was a really great trip. Although these getaways never seem quite long enough, we got some good relaxing time in and feel pretty refreshed.