The Duck Shack

thanksgiving

Spending Thanksgiving with my family is a truly unique experience. 

And when i say 'unique' i mean that it is a novel episode that can't be given justice when it is written about in a blog. 

but i will do my best....   :)

In Willows, California there is a trailer park where 3 families get together to share thanksgiving. This is an annual tradition where at least 40 people cram into 2 modular homes (one of them being a double wide) and a camper and share one of the best holidays. This tradition began about 50 years ago, and started with 4 people- 2 of them being my grandparents. 

{Willows is SUCH a random town! which helps make Thanksgiving what is. It has a population of 5,000 people and consists of a sketchy airport, Wal-Mart, a Black Bear Diner, and trailer park.}

To help you further understand this tradition you must know that my grandfather (aka: the ol' tiger) is an avid duck hunter (Willows is his hunting area of choice?) and according to him, Thanksgiving happens to fall on duck season. So ever since, his family has spent Thanksgiving in small 'shacks' within the Willows area where he has been able to duck hunt to his hearts content and have thanksgiving on the same day. From this, we got the name 

"The Duck Shack".

Currently The Duck Shack resides in a small trailer park that is anything but glamorous. But that is what makes it so great. There is no parking and the term 'personal space' doesn't exist.

I always look forward to thanksgiving because it is a casual time to eat, drink, and be merry. It is a time to catch up on everyones busy lives. It is a time for the men to go hunting and the women to go shopping. And when the Turkeys finally come out of the ovens, it is a time to sit in a warm room filled with the smell of delicious hot food and toast to all that you are thankful for with the people you care most about. 

Thanksgiving is splendid. 

in the car...the Sutter Buttes: smallest mountain range in the world

we cant forget about Black Friday now can we? 

The friday after thanksgiving the ladies make the trek on up to Chico to get some boutique shopping in, although, i didn't buy anything this year :(

Every year my experience at The Duck Shack has 3 consistencies:

1. There is ALWAYS drama with the hotel rooms-no matter what

2. There are at least 3 turkeys (one is deep fried! yum!)

3. There is an abundance of Dogs-which means dog hair and slobber

One: Cramming 40 people into 2 trailers is a hard thing to do when planning dinner, but as far as sleeping arrangements go, it is impossible. Every year we rent 3 hotel rooms for those of us who don't want to be sleeping on the floors of the dirty trailers with the dogs. However for some reason, EVERY YEAR there is always some kind of drama with the hotel. For example, last year they didn't have our reservation. this year the rooms were FILTHY, and i mean grimy, slimy, dirty toilets. ewww. But everything worked itself out, like always, and we upgraded :)

Two: Yea, we have 3 turkeys for dinner and 4 fresh geese for hors'devours. YUM!

Three: Every family brings their dogs. there were at least 7 dogs this year, including 3 puppies. One of those puppies was a St. Bernard and at 7 months, it was bigger than all the other full grown labs. My dog is Otis...a Jack Russell who I consider to be my main man (sorry mike). 

meet Will and Otis 

Thanksgiving is always a treat. This year was so great. But now i am home and back to reality of writing papers and memorizing more about the human body. ughh...

i can't complain though, it was such a nice break.

i couldn't ask for better...

Oh! and it was EXTREMELY W-I-N-D-Y last night and this morning. We almost blew away :)