Nine Freeways!

Figuring to avoid the inevitable traffic jam on the way down to Orange County on Thanksgiving Day, this is the route Cousin Green-Nik took:

170 S to the 134 E.
134 E to the 5 S.
5 S to the 10 E.
10 E to the 710 S.
710 S. the 91 E.
91 E to rejoin the 5 S.
5 S to the 22 E.
22 E to the 57 S, exit at 17th Street in Shmanta Ana.

To sum up, that's the 170 S to the 134 E to the 5 S to the 10 E to the 710 S to the 91 E to the 5 S to the 22 E to the 57 S.

Nine Freeways breaks the existing record by two freeways.

The Great Plotnik, on the other hand, steeled himself for the two hour ride, got on the 101, hit the downtown interchange, then moved on to the 5 S and stayed there all the way to Shmustin. There was NO TRAFFIC! NONE! Plot kept looking at the Great PunkyDunky and saying 'What the hell is going on here?' and 'Why aren't there any cars on the freeway?' It took 45 minutes.

The big screen TV was on at Brother Shmeckl's. Much food was gathered in the kitchen, to which The Great Plotnik added Chinese pickles, The Great Ducknik added pecan and apple pies and The Great PunkyDunky added sweet potato pie with a pecan crust.

A basketball game in the park followed. Usually one of the Plotniks sustains an injury during this annual contest. Nephew BiggieBurger almost always sprains his ankle. But, like the traffic, this year's injury report was light. Nephew BiggieBurger stepped on Brother Shmeckl's foot and Schmeckl's foot got swollen. The Great Plotnik and Nefnik dove for a ball, forgetting (a) they were playing on concrete and (b) they were on the same team. A bright red strawberry on Plotnik's elbow was all that resulted. The Great PunkyDunky thinks he can't be stopped, but wait 'til next year.

Thanksgiving Day dinner was spectactular. Now that Chiefie-nik is no longer available to carve the turkey, Cousin Fred-nik carved the first turkey, The Great Plotnik the second. At least half the birds were consumed on the cutting boards by marauders and pirates.

38 people demolished turkey, pumpkin soup, several sweet potato casseroles, asparagus in lemon butter, creamed spinach, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberries with sugar and cranberries without sugar, Chinese pickles, sour pickles, stuffing with meat, stuffing without meat, a vegetarian casserole, corn bread with corn, corn bread without corn, and of course dark meat and white meat.

What a lovely holiday. People get older, kids get bigger and cuter, new boyfriends and girlfriends arrive, and though you lose The Chief and Fred-nik's father too during the year, their spirit lives on and gets toasted before dinner. We have so, so much to be thankful for.

Like Apple pie for breakfast. BZ, hope you enjoyed the snow. We missed you.