Thanksgiving Day

The Hyatt 

We had breakfast in hotel, since it was free.  Then we got ready to go to Sharon and Michael's.

bright mural

Street art

We hung out at Sharon & Michael's for a little while

We got a Lyft to go to the Teddy Roosevelt Island park.  Jamie hung out at Starbucks, getting some quality alone time.  Michael stayed with Ella.  It was pretty chilly.

iconic view

Nathan & Sharon

Cypress knees (roots of the Cypress tree)

We had a Lyft ride back to join Jamie at Starbucks for a light lunch.  This Lyft driver did not get a good rating.  He kept wanting to drive on the bicycle path.

Then we went grocery shopping to buy the ingredients for Nathan to make a pumpkin cheesecake.  

Nathan started the process for making the cheesecake.  He won't bake it until after dinner tonight and we will eat it tomorrow. 

We had a 4 pm reservation at Lyon Hall for Thanksgiving dinner.  It is a French restaurant.  Sharon, Michael & Ella went by car and the rest of us walked.  It was about 1 1/2 miles away.  

The walk was cold so the hot toddy was especially delicious.  We did the fixed price meal.  It was delicious.  I started with the roasted Brussels sprouts.

Ella kept us entertained while we waited.

I had the fillet Mignon.  I could have had the turkey dinner but the steak called me.  

We all took turns going to the rest room.  Funny, it looks like a mirror behind the sinks but no. .. on the other side of the low wall is the men's restroom 

Sharon was feeding Ella so Michael helped out by feeding Sharon.  

My dessert was a pumpkin pie tart.  Then the walk home the moon was out.

Nathan finished the cheesecake and got it in the oven

We had a chance to chat with Linda. She is in Thailand which is 12 hours ahead.  So her Thanksgiving was over and she was ready to go to work.

Nathan trying to look mad.

Linda in Thailand

Introducing Ella to Linda

Getting the cheesecakes out of the oven

Delicious looking pumpkin cheesecakes with ginger snap crusts.

Today was a cold day.  It hovered around 30 degrees all day. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer.  I forgot my hat but at least I remember my long underwear.

Portland to DC for Thanksgiving

Nathan, George and I went to DC to have Thanksgiving with Sharon (my niece), Michael and little baby Ella.  Jamie and Pam also will be there.  3 am came awfully early.  We had a 6 am flight out of Portland.

This is a jellyfish display at PDX.  

We flew from PDX to Minneapolis.  George and I sat together but Nathan had opted for comfort plus so he sat closer to the front of the plane.  He also had a window seat so he got this great picture of the sunrise.

In Minneapolis there was this great mosaic at the women's restroom

close up of the mosaic

I was surprised to see that there was no art in the Reagan airport.  So no pictures.  Maybe when we are on the way home I will find something.

We got a Lyft ride to the Hyatt Hotel in Arlington

The is the view from our window

nearly full moon

Pam met us at the hotel.  I was a little discombobulated because I had just found out that my LINE app was not working.  Line is like WhatsApp, only it is the one that Jamie, Pam and family all use.  I was trying to fix that, unsuccessfully.  I found out that I had been missing a lot of baby pictures since I had gotten my new phone.  Darn!!  

We got a little settled and then we went up to see Jamie and Pam's suite.  We ordered a pizza.  When it was ready we went to pick it up and then walked to Sharon & Michael's place.  They live about 1/2 mile away from the hotel.  I got to meet baby Ella. She was just as cute as she could be.  

Grandma Pam with Ella

lucky me

Micheal with Ella

We put her down and then ate our dinner.  After our dinner Ella got to eat.  

Jamie & Pam

Then we sat and chatted for a while.  When Sharon and Michael kicked us out we went back to Jamie and Pam's suite to chat some more.  Nathan managed to fix my phone with the Line App.  So now I am connected again.  That is a relief.  

Mackinac Island to our various homes

We left the penthouse at 7:20 am and went to wait for the ferry.

We got the 8 am ferry with plenty of time to spare.  Debbie drove us back to the Traverse City airport.  It took about 2 hours.  We went the faster route.  We turned in the car and then went to try to help Sue check-in.  She did at least get boarding passes for both flights.  We decided to sit and have lunch at the only cafe at the airport. Debbie and I each had a small bottle of pinot grigio with our meals, then we went down to the gate.  They only have 6 gates.  They were able to finally assign a seat for Sue put us all together.  It was not a full flight. No service on the flight, since it was so short.

Traverse City airport

We got to Detroit on time.  Sue had a long wait for her flight.  Debbie and I had to hot-tail it to our gate.  We went from C 8 to A 54. Not too bad.  Our flight was delayed so we really had not needed to rush.  I went to Seattle as well so that I could be with Debbie for the long flight.

The train system in Detroit is cool.

Seattle - each pillar is decorated differently

We arrived in Seattle only a little late.  Debbie headed off to get her car and then she had a several-hour drive home.  We heard from Sue that she arrive in Knoxville and then that she had arrived home, safely.

My flight to Portland was delayed 1/2 hour.  I got back to the Portland airport at 8:30 pm.  George and Rebecca met me.  I was home safe and sound by 9:15 pm.  Debbie had gotten to her home a little before me.