Thanksgiving is one of those holidays in which people tend to embrace traditions - maybe it’s going to the same place every year, or seeing the same people, or eating the same food. There is something comforting about knowing what to expect. But there is something magical about doing something completely fresh and new.
We tend to change it up every year anyway, but when Willa made these placemat’s at school, it’s all I needed to see to be motivated to plan an epic Thanksgiving family adventure.
Cody worked the day before Thanksgiving, so the kids and I spent the day baking homemade bread, cooking turkey and mashed potatoes, setting the table, and getting excited!
Cody and Huxley carved the turkey and we had our traditional meal on Wednesday evening, feeling pretty thankful to be in this particular moment of time with each other.
The next morning, Thanksgiving day, we would be going to the end of the road, to the edge of the world, as far east as we could get. We were ready.
We got up early, packed up all the leftovers, the butane stove, some paper plates and forks, and some tasty beverages in the back of the Ram Van, and hit the road.
First stop, Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge. Second stop, Millpond Diner for some breakfast.
Diners like this are so cool. It’s always fun to see the booths and stools (usually red) filled with all types of people, the waitresses walking around with their coffee pots and calling you hun, the same kind of food on the menu, the silver exterior. There’s a comfort that comes with knowing what to expect in a place you’ve never been that isn’t unlike the comfort of the traditions behind Thanksgiving.
Onward to the edge of the world!
When we got to Provincetown, we drove to the furthest beach we could find and ran to the end. To make it even more dramatic, there was a decent drop off at the edge. We prepared to jump.
Nothing between us and England but the wide open blue. It’s a far out concept even for me, but the kids were fascinated to imagine thousands of miles of ocean.
We decided to check out Provincetown a bit. Being November in a summer destination town, there wasn’t much open. We wound through town and headed to the causeway to take a walk, passing this welcoming rainbow of chairs and bears along the way.
It was a pretty chilly and windy day, but we braved the walk across the causeway in the winter sun. There was a surprising number of other people out doing the same thing. Nice to see so many families out enjoying each other’s company.
One warning, if you or someone you know has to use the bathroom on Thanksgiving day at the edge of the world, good luck to you. There was literally nothing open for miles (even Dunkin’ Donuts had closed at 2:00!) As our search led us further and further from Provincetown, we realized we were going to have to alter our plan a little bit. We finally found a gas station near Wellfleet.
It ended up being a worthwhile detour. We headed to Marconi Beach for our Thanksgiving picnic. The dunes on this beach are huge! We took some time to explore before dinner.
We headed back to the van to start cooking! Cody fired up the camp stove while I got the back ready for a picnic.
The kids also used this opportunity to warm up their freezing hands!
We finished eating just in time to watch the crescent moon rise against the backdrop of the sun setting over the edge of the earth.
This Thanksgiving, I was most thankful for my family, and our Ram Van - the vessel for adventure.
With the moon in the rearview, we headed back home with minds and hearts full of the magical moments of one of my favorite Thanksgiving days yet.
