Best Thanksgiving Ever

This Thanksgiving my friend Karen reserved a cabin for us near Government Camp on the slopes of Mt. Hood.  I really had no clue what to expect as I got a ride up North with Eleanor and her friend from Humbolt College Larry.  On the way up we stopped in Boring, OR (yeah, I
spelled it right) at a Safeway so I could pick up some food for the feast that night as well as to get some snacks to hold us over.  I got some great chili - God I love chili... Anyway, we had heard on the radio that the passes were all snowed in and pretty bad but luckily we were just a few miles below the snow line when we got to Cabin so we didn't need any chains.  We got to the cabin around 1pm and, after a little confusion from Eleanor as to where the key to the place was (in the lock box next to the door.... haha) we found our way in and the only words I can come up
with to describe the place was amazing.   Check out the pics.... Hot tub on a beautiful wooden porch outside with a swing over the Sandy River, fully stocked kitchen with a bottle of wine and candy left for us, a huge living room with a cozy fireplace and Brookstone Massage Chair (that was the icing on the cake for me) and a freakin' antelope hanging on the wall with two shot guns!  This place was the ultimate ski cabin.      
    After about twenty minutes of freakin' out about how cool the place was we went for a walk outside which took us across a pedestrian suspension bridge over the river.  As we were walking across I jokingly commented on how cool it would be if we found a grocery store on the
other side... yup, there was one, and a DQ (Dairy Queen) just up the road.  We really couldn't ask for anything more in a location.  The bridge was super slippery in the rain which I took full advantage of HERE. 
    Shortly after we got back from our walk Karen, Bart, Esther, and Robyn
showed up and began to prepare dinner as Eleanor, Karen, Larry and I chilled out in the hot tub for a while.  Bart even brought out a tomato mozzerella plate for us to snake on while we waited.  In the 3+ hours I sat in the hot tub I was able to polish off a fifth of captain with a little help from my friends.  Eleanor was able to polish off nearly two bottles of wine herself as well.. which she later realized were a hell of a lot stronger than the 5-6 Pabst she usually drinks.. haha. 
    We ate dinner around 7pm which was a feast of turkey, ham, green bean salad, mashed

potatoes, gellatin salad, stuffing, apple pie with ice cream, pumpkin pie, champagne etc.  It was absolutely amazing!  Hats off to the chefs.  Bart did a terrific job on the turkey.  Check out the picture of him cooking in the kitchen.... yes he has a bathing suit on... speedo, Euro Style... and yes that is hand on the other side of his crotch! Ha! 
    By the time we ate dinner several of us were pretty damn drunk.  Eleanor
even went for seconds in the bathroom before she realized it wasn't actually the kitchen.  We then tried to play a game of Cranium but it was way too
complicated for the state we found ourselves in.  Eleanor at this point decided it was best to pass out which of course is a no-no around me... so I had to dress her up a bit with some plants, a shotgun and gaselle (antelope).  After a little while chillin' in the massage chair I noticed everyone was crashing but it was only around 10pm (Damn turkey making people tired) so I plugged my Ipod into the tv and played Anchorman for everyone.
    After Anchorman we all pretty much hit the hay.  I climbed into a King size bed with Eleanor
and Karen (so big I didn't even bump into them all night long).  I slept in for a bit in the morning then got up to help finish off atleast one of the egg nogs we
had bought the day before and to help clean up (I felt bad because everyone had cleaned up before I pulled my lazy ass out of bed).  Bart and Esther took off for home and Eleanor and Larry took off to meet up with friends in Portland.  Karen, Robyn and I headed to Portland to pick up Karen's boyfriend Chad from the airport and then to the annual wine tastings at local vineyards in Dundee, OR.   We ended up going to Torrii Mor and Bella Vida wineries.  It cost about 10 bucks each to get in but we got to try some amazing wines, eat some exotic cheeses with great homemade breads and were able to keep the wine glasses afterwards.  I'd never been to a wine tasting before so it was a neat experience and the acres and acres of grape vines was cool to see as well.
    It was a terrific Thanksgiving that we are definitely going to make a tradition from now on.  Next year we hope to rent Kathy's Kabin for both Thursday and Friday night to make it a longer stay.  It's only 300 bucks for the first night and 200 for the second so split between 10 or so people that's not bad at all.  Only 364 days to go.. :)

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