Thanksgiving in Alaska (Year Two)

Cody and I had only been living in Alaska for three weeks at this time last year.  Thanksgiving was a VERY different affair.  This was the first year that either of us had ever been away from our families for the holidays.  Admittedly, we both had a tough time with the holidays last year.  We still had a blast exploring and making new traditions, but we were homesick.  We spent most of Thanksgiving 2012 at our apartment, just the two of us.  We cooked, and ate, and watched football.  But, we also drove up to Eaglecrest Ski Area and did a little hiking before we tucked into our big meal.  It was just the two of us, we made the most of it, and we had a wonderful time.

This year was a much more social affair.  Cody and I were invited to multiple Thanksgivings! We spent the earlier part of the day with two of our good friends (parents of one of my students) and their families.  It was such a nice time and very family-oriented.  We ate food, played games (hide-and-seek with the little ones), talked, laughed, and generally had a beautiful time.  Then in the evening we headed to another friends home.  This event was dubbed "Friendsgiving" and it was a bunch of our other child-less friends.  There was more food, more laughter, and adult beverages.  Friendsgiving was much more informal and imitated what I am sure lots of twenty-somethings do for Thanksgiving…drink with friends (haha).  Both parties were great! I wish I had pictures from the day but I was too consumed with having an amazing time.  Someone else did manage to snap a picture of Cody and I at Friendsgiving.  It's a silly picture, but I still like it :) 

Holidays can be tough without family.  But, by creating a loving and close-knit group of friends we have been able to make the most of it.  Besides, this is what our twenties are about, right? Adventure, friends, over-induldging, seeing the world, and learning about ourselves :) Happy Thanksgiving! 

Questions:

What did you do for Thanksgiving?

What is your favorite Thanksgiving memory?