I remember my first Thanksgiving road trip. It was right after I was married and we lived across the state about 5 hours from our families (if the pass was clear). Newly married and newly employed meant no time for traveling home. This meant we would be by ourselves for the holiday and I had no desire to cook some big meal for two.
So, we hopped in the car and drove a few hours into the next state to eat dinner at some local version of Denny’s that was open. Somehow this seemed more fancy than eating at the one down the street and we still got to eat all the usual Thanksgiving Day suspects (definitely not paleo back then).
But ever since then, something about Thanksgiving has said road trip to me, whether to visit family or get away from them. And when my son’s dad and I divorced, I gave him Thanksgiving (and Christmas Eve) every year because those were big days for his family. And I could take a road trip for Thanksgiving without any guilt.
Turns out, my bf enjoys doing the same thing for the holiday! Mostly because his family is in Colorado. The first year we met, he took his kids to Kalaloch for the long weekend and they huddled around a beach campfire waiting for their vegan loaf and veggies to warm up in the Dutch oven.
If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know last year we ate dinner with my family (and son) and then took off for Kalaloch (his kids were with their mom and mine had to work). We had a wonderful time and I wrote about it in Buried Treasure In The Twilight Zone.
This year, we made plans to have ALL of us head over to the Washington coast and Kalaloch. I even asked to borrow my dad’s camper RV so we could have a warm and dry place to take shelter if the weather did its predictable thing (nothing is worse than cold, wet kids for 4 days). Although we had all the clan coming to start, we are down two now as the 21 year old is going to Arizona to be with her boyfriend’s family and my son opted to use this limited vacation to visit his dad’s family last week with his aunt. And the 17 year old is now taking her own car so she can join her friends AND us. Such is how it goes when the kids get older!
Okay, so if you are wondering about the point of my whole post, we will be having Thanksgiving OUTDOORS. Besides the fact that I hope to try and visit some of the beaches we missed last year and possibly a trek up the Bogachiel River Trail, I wanted to share with you what I plan to pack for FOOD.
Here are some of the things that will be in my cooler this year:
- Apple Pie A La Mode Dip
- Rosemary Pecans
- Egg Cups
- Lemon Tarragon Chicken Salad (sans chicken)
- Paleo Hot Cocoa
- Mashed Potatoes (the faux paleo kind)
- Horseradish Mushroom Jerky
- Stone Age Bread
- Precut veggies
- Fruit
- Sunbutter
- Gaucamole
- Turkey Sticks (if I can make to Costco before we leave)
I know, not fancy but EASY. That’s how I roll. Now, if you are wondering where the dessert is on my list, don’t worry. I scored and my bf is bringing his family favorite apple pie done up gluten free because of little ‘ol me!
We will also stop at the pizza place I wrote about and maybe see if the thrift store is open again. And I have my holiday shopping list for the hardware store!
Second Editor’s Note: I don’t ALWAYS ditch my family for T-Day but it happens more than Christmas. My family has an unspoken rule that Thanksgiving is better to skip than Christmas (which we try to hold sacred). And because I have yet to be able to convince my son to spend the holiday in Hawaii. Someday…
And if I was staying home and dining with the family? We do the potluck thing so it would be Paleo Green Bean Casserole. It’s been a hit with everyone for the past few years; paleo, vegan or not. (I use veggie broth)
Happy Thanksgiving!
You can check out some of the hikes we do while on the Olympic Coast over on my Olympic Peninsula page. Every year we try to do a few new ones!
Other posts I have written about this time of year:
The Best Reason To #OptOutside on Public Lands On Black Friday
Giving Thanks and Paleo Food Ideas For The Road
Honoring Native American History Means A Place At The Table
Gather And Reviving First Nations Traditions
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