Tuesday, December 2, 2008

A Croatan Thanksgiving



This year we packed up the car and decided to get out of Raleigh and head to the woods for a peaceful Thanksgiving in the Croatan National Forest. We enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal cooked over an open flame just as the Indians would have done with the pilgrims back in the early 1600's.

We spent most of our time relaxing, cooking, hiking and enjoying a warm fire. Our hikes took us through some of the most beautiful Pocosin swamps and longleaf pine ecosystems in the Carolinas. We gazed out over the Bogue Sound witnessing beautiful sunsets and listening to the chorus of migrating waterfowl. Occasionally we would be reminded that we were not the only people in the woods. We made sure we had orange on at all times as the sounds of gunshots were ever so close. The overnight temperatures dipped into the upper 20's but our days were sunny and beautiful with highs in the 60's. We awoke on Saturday to the pitter-patter of rain and packed up our belongings and headed home.

Movie Notes:
When Mom and Dad arrived at the Nannies on Wednesday to pick me up they found me sporting a bloody lip. I had taken a fall from a bike and the result was a puffy lip that looked a lot worse than it was. Every time Mom and Dad laughed about my lip I cried. I knew they were making fun of my undeveloped coordination. When Dad carved the pumpkin he didn't realize that he unintentionally carved a pumpkin with an upper lip similar to mine.

Thanksgiving dinner included fresh cranberries, wild rice, October beans, turkey legs, pumpkin seeds, a pumpkin dump cake and hot peach cider to wash it all down.

The centerpiece for Thanksgiving dinner was a collection of items from around the campsite. We used driftwood, leaves, fruit (ours), fresh cranberries, acorns and pine cones.

Happy Holidays

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