Second Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving triplog #18
Camp Hill, PA · Sat, 29 Nov 2025. 9pm.

Today was Second Thanksgiving with my inlaws. It's kind of like being with Hobbits. ...I mean, in the sense of them having Second Breakfast, not in the sense of being around short people with hairy feet.

Second Thanksgiving happens because MIL and her longtime family friend, Lynne, both loving cooking. Each wants to cook a delicious Thanksgiving meal. So they agreed they'd take turns. One hosts Thanksgiving, the other hosts Second Thanksgiving a day or two later. 😅

Second Thanksgiving was at my inlaws' house. It was also a smaller party than Thursday. Beyond the 5 of us in the house (MIL, FIL, BIL, Hawk, and me) the only guests were Lynne and Dean.

What's on the menu for Second Thanksgiving? Well, since it's not really a traditional thing there's no expectation of it being about turkey. Which is okay with us, as I don't particularly enjoy turkey (though I'm okay with it) and Hawk really hates it. So MIL made a roast of beef that was deliciously tender. 😋

Right now it's a bit after 9pm, and I'm fading, hard. The company left a few minutes ago. It was none too soon for me as I was struggling to stay awake. Though now that I'm laying down for a bit I'm waking back up. I  might go back downstairs soon to hang with family as they unwind for the night.

Leaving Pennsylvania... in the Snow!

Thanksgiving triplog #19
South of Harrisburg PA · Sun, 29 Nov 2025. 8:20am.

Today's the day we run the gantlet of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles to head home from Pennsylvania after Thanksgiving... and it's snowing! I'd seen precipitation in today's weather forecast a few days ago. I figured it would come as rain as the temperatures were too warm for snow. But evidently it's a bit cooler than the forecast as I woke up to this sight.



Well, this isn't what it looked like when I woke up. This photo is from just before we left my inlaw's house at 8am. I think the snow only started at about 7am since I watched it accumulate outside the window as I sat down to eat breakfast.

Will this snow interfere with our travel today? I hope not. I figure, one, we're leaving early enough in the morning that won't encounter much holiday traffic. Two, I figure this snow will quickly turn to rain as we drive south. Indeed, traffic maps show that the drive to BWI airport is still expected to take just 90 minutes. And three, the airport is far enough south that it would be out of this band of snow.



South of Harrisburg it's still snowing. It's freaky how big the snowflakes are. I think that's a consequence of the temperature being just near freezing. It's only about 34° F (1° C) outside. Snow is just barely sticking to the grass and the margins of the road. In the traffic lanes it's melting immediately. Still, it's good we've left early when traffic is light. If we had to contend with holiday traffic in this weather it could quickly turn into a mess.

Update: The snow tapered off by the time we reach York, as I expected, but then it came back as a mix of snow and freezing rain as we crossed into Maryland. Thankfully it's just rain at BWI airport. Our inbound aircraft is coming from Florida and is tracking on time, and weather to the west (where we'll fly) looks fairly clear.