Thanksgiving Getaway

We went on an extended Thanksgiving road trip visiting friends in our native NJ and in PA before spending the holiday with family members in PA. Our return to Nashua, NH, preceded the 5-inch snowfall this past Tuesday, December 2, the first of the season.

Most folks will agree that long-time friends are truly the best even if the get togethers are less frequent than we would like them to be because of distance and other reasons. Whenever we can, we connect with my high school friend, Sara, and husband, David, also NJ natives, who now reside in PA.

Christmas tree photo has become a tradition for us and friends, Sara & David

Many of our get togethers have taken place during the holiday season of either Thanksgiving or Christmas and we catch up with a meal and lots of conversation. At Christmas, there are always photos by the tree wherever we happen to meet. Thankfully, their tree had already been set up ahead of our visit.

Individual photos are always followed by a group "selfie" photo and we've always managed manage to fit everyone and the tree in the picture.

Thanksgiving dinner was celebrated with the grandchildren and their parents. The only one missing from the above photo was Patrick, the photographer.

The Christmas tree was set up and decorated by family

The family Christmas tree was set up and decorated as a group effort before everyone sat down to dinner.

Harrisburg, Lincoln & Lancaster Railroad train ride with Santa and the conductor

The train engine is a 1868 steam locomotive replica

There wasn't any Black Friday shopping for anyone, instead we all went on a family outing in Elizabeth, PA — riding on a narrated train excursion through the Stone Gables Estate on the holiday decorated Harrisburg, Lincoln & Lancaster Railroad. 

Photos from the train ride and a group family photo (minus myself)

The ride featured a replica of an 1868 steam locomotive, pulling replicas of an 1848 Pioneer Coach and a mid-1860s Combine & Day Coach. (Stone Gables Estate is a biblical faith-based ministry/business. Its mission is to donate 100% of net profits to aid abandoned children worldwide.)

Selfies were taken by the hotel's holiday decos

Our Lancaster, PA, hotel was fully decorated the morning after Thanksgiving. Elves in the form of hotel employees worked to set up multiple tree displays and a gingerbread house in the lobby, all good photo opportunities, which we could not resist.

A variety of red cars in keeping with the season

While other family members left for their home on Saturday, we stayed for the weekend and traveled 30 min. from Lancaster to Hershey, PA, to visit America's Transportation Museum. The museum is dedicated to the preservation of automobile history and is also known as the AACA (Antique Automobile Club of America) Museum, which is rather confusing as the museum is not affiliated with that organization.

The 71,000 square foot museum opened in June 2003. It displays over 130 cars, buses, motorcycles and automobiles in themed settings from the 1890s to 1980s. Rather than display the cars in long rows, the AACA Museum incorporated an educational approach in its displays by adding scenery and set designs to complement the period in which each car was built. Vintage autos are shown in unique settings through the decades. 

Vintage Tucker autos in the museum

Major collections include the Cammack Tucker Collection, billed as the world's most extensive collection of Tucker automobiles. (The collection is named for David Cammack, a historian and collector whose entire collection was donated to the museum after his 2013 death.)

We spent over 2 hours touring this museum, a welcome escape from a cold and windy day outdoors. A future post will feature more of the displays. (I appreciate your comments on our Portugal visit. There's more to share, those posts will most continue in the New Year.)

Your Turn — Did you celebrate Thanksgiving with any traditions ?