turkey dinner twice

I sort of had Thanksgiving dinner two times. First was Saturday at 7:30pm; right after I woke up on my night scheduled. So, it was breakfast; stuffing, cream puffs, and my favorite: the flourless chocolate cake! I spent time with J, sharing my Starbucks coffee with him, and attempting to wake up.

My second dinner was at midnight. Genevieve and I joined Paul and Jane, and later, Lucas, for our phenomenal meal. I had fresh fruit and vegetables, salad, green bean casserole, potatoes, turkey, shrimp cocktail and, of course, the delectable desserts; like that flourless chocolate cake! Wow!

Holiday meals are grand events in McMurdo. Our galley prepares food nearly all day long to accommodate 4 sittings: 15:00, 17:00, 19:00, and 00:00. White table clothes are unfurled, and the atmosphere changes from the typical mealtime rush to a more formal affair. Earlier in the week, a monstrous amount of freshies arrived on a flight from New Zealand. In honor of the occasion, the town shuts down operations for two days in a row.

The weekend was a wonderful break. The weather warmed up last week to the 30F mark and festivities ran all day and night in celebration of the holiday and each other. Plenty of people took hikes. We even ran a 5k Turkey Trot down the Ice Runway Road. It was a spectacular day for a jog until we all had to turn around and run into the wind back to town! For the miserable shape I am in, I am happy to say that I finished it under 30 minutes. And, I'm glad that's over!