Thursday, November 24, 2016

A Thanksgiving picnic with friends

Thanksgiving Friendsgiving picnic

Even after calling California home for almost eighteen years now, I still have a somewhat ambiguous relationship with the Thanksgiving holiday.

As expat orphans we have been lucky to be graciously invited into friends' homes in the past. Our very first Thanksgiving at a friends' home in Sebastopol is still a fond memory, as is an alfresco dinner in an enchanted garden with the same friends many years later. In between there were Thanksgiving dinners in the desert, sharing the dinner table with other holiday orphans at a favorite desert hideaway. An escape to Big Sur and Thanksgiving at Big Sur Bakery. And two years ago I got to watch my friend Maxine set a rustic holiday table.



My favorite part of Thanksgiving is watching a busy city slow down, embracing the solitude and quiet that comes with a 4-day weekend without commitments or obligations.

This year, with the weather forecast on our side, we embraced the "Friendsgiving" concept for a day trip to West Marin with {fellow expat friends} Anna, Alessandro & Luca: leaving the city in the morning for a winding drive to Point Reyes, an alfresco picnic with endless ocean views followed by a restorative hike in the crisp fall air ~  and even running into more friends along the way!

APlat SF casserole tote bag
Thanksgiving Friendsgiving hike and picnic

PS: the tomato tart is a classic recipe from the blog archive ...

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