A Bunch of Chickens on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is over...and now I need a vacation. It's definitely one of my favorite holidays, but damn does it run me ragged. I have no concept of a lazy Thanksgiving where you eat and sit/sleep on the couch the rest of the weekend. My family always stays at the same lodge in North Carolina for Thanksgiving weekend (where we eat a fabulous dinner without having to lift a finger). The best part is that the same families return year after year and there are oodles of young people to hang out with. It's the only time we get to see each other all year so we don't waste a minute; we try to pack as much fun into 72 hours as we possibly can. Which means there isn't much time allocated to sleeping. We went shopping downtown, played ultimate frisbee, learned to line dance, and people-watched at the local coffee shop.
But the real fun started several years ago when we snuck out of our families' hotel rooms to go to the local tavern. And we've been doing it ever since. There's usually a good bluegrass band, the beer flows, and our conversations get interesting...very interesting. But it's when the bar closes down at 2 that the funny stuff starts.
This year, we broke into a (rumored) abandoned haunted building. (The same building where several years ago we saw a light turn on in a bottom floor window and rise to the third floor window in the span of several seconds--which would be impossible even with the aid of an elevator.) I definitely regretted my initial bravery once we'd crawled through the window. It was freezing inside and crunchy dead leaves were scattered across the floor. We slowly made our way down a dark hallway and discovered little rooms with hospital beds. (I kept expecting someone sit up and look at us with empty eyes.) And then we discovered a dirty stairwell that led to the basement...and that's when we backed out. We retraced our steps and had barely crawled out the window when it slammed shut behind us. We all screamed and took off like our lives depended on it. We laughed about it the next morning (in the daylight), but sure as hell didn't go back for another round.
Our last night together was a lot more low-key (and a lot less scary). We sat out on the deck with bottles of wine to keep us warm and traded stories. And then we got hungry and decided to see who could get the most items out of the vending machine with a coat hanger. (I am proud to announce that I'm the reigning 2005 Vending Vandal with 4 items to my name...and bruises on my wrist to prove it.) We managed only 2 hours of sleep that night because we were having too much fun to go to bed.
Despite my full 8 hours of sleep last night, I still feel like a zombie. But it's the price I pay for a fantastically memorable Thanksgiving. Now I'm just holding on till Christmas...
But the real fun started several years ago when we snuck out of our families' hotel rooms to go to the local tavern. And we've been doing it ever since. There's usually a good bluegrass band, the beer flows, and our conversations get interesting...very interesting. But it's when the bar closes down at 2 that the funny stuff starts.
This year, we broke into a (rumored) abandoned haunted building. (The same building where several years ago we saw a light turn on in a bottom floor window and rise to the third floor window in the span of several seconds--which would be impossible even with the aid of an elevator.) I definitely regretted my initial bravery once we'd crawled through the window. It was freezing inside and crunchy dead leaves were scattered across the floor. We slowly made our way down a dark hallway and discovered little rooms with hospital beds. (I kept expecting someone sit up and look at us with empty eyes.) And then we discovered a dirty stairwell that led to the basement...and that's when we backed out. We retraced our steps and had barely crawled out the window when it slammed shut behind us. We all screamed and took off like our lives depended on it. We laughed about it the next morning (in the daylight), but sure as hell didn't go back for another round.
Our last night together was a lot more low-key (and a lot less scary). We sat out on the deck with bottles of wine to keep us warm and traded stories. And then we got hungry and decided to see who could get the most items out of the vending machine with a coat hanger. (I am proud to announce that I'm the reigning 2005 Vending Vandal with 4 items to my name...and bruises on my wrist to prove it.) We managed only 2 hours of sleep that night because we were having too much fun to go to bed.
Despite my full 8 hours of sleep last night, I still feel like a zombie. But it's the price I pay for a fantastically memorable Thanksgiving. Now I'm just holding on till Christmas...
posted by Rachel at 2:33 PM
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