Being from Phoenix and having Winter break so close after Thanksgiving, I like to spend Turkey Day in the beautiful Northwest for many different reasons.
- It’s cheaper
- It’s actually Fall here
- I have the greatest second family here!
The train ride from Tacoma to Portland
Tuesday afternoon, right after class, I hopped on an Amtrak train to Portland where I was going to meet my friend, Kelly Van Patten, ’15, for Thanksgiving with her family. I spent last year there and it’s so nice to be with friends when you can’t be at home. At Puget Sound, many people are from the Pac-NW, so it’s always an option to travel or stay in Tacoma and have a feast with friends.
Kelly and her family are from McMinnville, a cute little town an hour south of Portland. With vineyards and Christmas tree farms and beautiful parks, this town is the epitome of holiday cheer! We were joined by her older sisters, Caitlin, ’11, Erin, ’12, friend Jorden, ’12. Being around Loggers for the season helped me feel comfortable and at home.
Even though I missed my family a lot, the nice thing about staying up here is that you don’t have to fill people in on things going on in your life (“No, no, not Pugget Sound, Puget Sound) and you are able to just relax without family holiday drama (“WHY IS THE TURKEY ON FIRE!?”).
During my time there, I worked on a scarf I’m knitting, I saw Silver Lining Playbook (very good film), I went to someone’s 25th wedding anniversary (everyone was very confused by my presence, seeing that I didn’t know ANYONE), and ate a lot of Burgerville. We went to Airport Park with the Van Patten’s four dogs and walked through the wooded paths which was the perfect spot for a photo op.
What I’m getting at in this post is that I think it’s important to have a Thanksgiving feast in college, whether it’s at home with your own family or with friends that you care about. I was very thankful that the Van Patten’s took me in for the holiday weekend and fed me until I literally almost bursted.
Happy Holidays!
A couple more photos from my break:
Walking into Airport Park with the dogs
In a mushroom inside the park with dogs Toby and Jasmine