Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving in California 2008

I should probably warn you that this is going to be a long post. I have so much to say and so many pictures to share of the wonderful time that Bill and I had in Sonoma County with my family. It was the first time that Bill and I celebrated Thanksgiving without the kids. It was a little strange without them, but we truly enjoyed having some alone time to reconnect. In case you wondered where all of the kids were....here's the run-down. Taylor, Jalen & Courtney spent Thanksgiving with their Dad. Matthew & Kaela stayed with Uncle Jon & Aunt Sheri and spent some time with Papa Ray. Allie went to Sunriver with Alex's family and they all had a great time. We stayed in touch with the kids quite a bit during our trip, thanks to the wonderful world of text messaging.

Wednesday

Bill and I left on Wednesday afternoon after a bit of drama. Our Honda started making horrible noise like maybe a belt was slipping or something. We rushed around in afternoon traffic and rented a car at the last minute. It was so stressful and at one point we had to just laugh before we started crying. We got such a late start, that we didn't make it into Sebastopol until 2:30am! Thank goodness for 6 hour energy shots! It really saved us on this trip. We also listened to audio books the whole way down which was a great way to pass the time driving down I-5 in the middle of the night.

Thursday

Thanksgiving Day...We went over to my cousin Paul's house with my Dad and Linda. Of course, we were greeted with the most amazing smells of Paul's cooking as we came in. Both my cousin Paul and my cousin Ryan are chefs in Sonoma County. I'll tell you more about their restaurants later in my post. First I want to talk about the fabulous menu! Ok, here it goes.....

• Smoked Willy Bird Turkey with Gravenstein Apple Bourbon Glaze
• Kurobuta Black Hog Ham with a Spice Whiskey Glaze
• Fettucinne Pasta with Lobster Carbonara, Caramelized Parsnips, & Uni Cream Sauce
• Brussel Sprouts with Smoked Andoulille Sausage, Apples, Currants, & Point Reyes Bleu Cheese
• Wild Oregon Mushroom Stuffing
• Russett Mashed Potatoes with Creme Fresh & Chives
• Cranberry Pineapple Chutney
• Woasted Wing Wing Gwavy (ha ha...This was a bit of an inside joke)
• Sourdough Butter Rolls
• Bourbon Spice Apple Pie
• Zinfandel Blackberry Pie with Pepper
• Marshmallow Studded Pumpkin Pie
• Champagne, Wine, Champagne, Wine
  

Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving....Enjoy ~

Bill & Angie

Bill climbed up my Uncle's Avocado tree. My little Monkey!

Bill smoked the Turkey and it was the best Turkey that we've ever had.

My Cousins.....Ryan, Alex & Paul. I love you guys!!!!

The boys...Paul, My Dad, Ryan & Bill

Friday

We woke up with smiles on our faces and headed out to a wonderful little candy shop in downtown Windsor called Powell's Sweet Shop. Every time that we go to Windsor, we make it a point to stop by this shop and pick up some candy. They have all of the old fashioned candy from your childhood there. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is playing on the big screen and you can really get lost in this store. I can't even count how many times we said, "Oh, do you remember these?"

All of our candy treasures.....

I found my favorite soda from when I was a kid....BUBBLE UP. It was so good. Gosh, I wish you could still buy these at the grocery store.

Next stop, we headed out to Dry Creek Road in Healdsburg to check out the wineries. When you drive down Dry Creek Road, you find signs at every intersection with arrows to tons of wineries. We were really in the California Wine Country!!

We decided to stop at Ferrari Carano Winery. It was by far the most incredible winery that Bill and I had ever been too. And for those of you who know how much we enjoy wine tasting, you will understand what a bold statement that is.

The entrance to the winery

Silly Billy

This room was beyond incredible. Look at all of the wine barrels! There was no access to this room for the public, so luckily the picture turned out OK through the glass.
It was decorated so beautifully!

The tasting room downstairs....3 stories down

Dad, Linda & Angie

Bill & Angie


After wine tasting, we went to have lunch at my cousins Paul's restaurant...Monti's
Thanks for a wonderful lunch Paul.
You are an amazing chef and we are lucky to have you in our family!

After taking a rest from all of the wine and food, Bill and I headed out to Healdsburg to my cousin Ryan's Restaurant...Willi's Seafood.

How did I get so lucky to have such amazing chefs for my cousins.
Ryan's restaurant was so wonderful and we left so full and happy!
Thanks Ryan....YOU ROCK!!


Saturday

We made it to Saturday!
Bill and I met my Aunt Loretta (Auntie Lo Lo) and Uncle Danny for Breakfast at KC's. It was so nice to be able to catch up with them.
We are trying to get them to come up to Oregon this summer.



Dad & Linda headed to Sacramento to visit her Dad and catch their plane back to Pasadena.
Bill and I drove about 3 1/2 hours to my home town of Eureka. We met my Aunt Darline and Uncle Ray there for an early dinner at the Lost Coast Brewery. We also wanted to watch the Oregon Civil War Game. Even though the game didn't turn out like we had hoped
(poor Beavers), it was so nice to see my Aunt Darline & Uncle Ray.


We stayed the night in Eureka and headed home on Sunday.
Whew....I told you that would be a long post. But we created memories that will last us forever.
Bill and I are both heading to the gym after this trip. Way too much food and fun!