Thanksgiving

2025/11/27

8:55am

I'm going to try and journal today as I travel. You know, on my breaks. I can also use voice recordings for notes to draw from as I have thoughts while driving. I'm finished getting ready and I've had my toast. The coffee is almost done and the checklist is looking good. I should be on my way shortly, I slept well last night and feel well rested for my travels today. Bingford is all excited... HAHA! He has loved going on adventures and sharing them with his family back in California.

9:45am

I'm getting a much later start than I hoped. But this has been a really good morning. I'm all set for a day of travel. What adventure awaits me today? Let's find out!

9:55am

I am using the Supernote digest feature and voice-to-text to make notes along my drive so I can journal the day later. I'll be writing everything tonight. But the time stamps will reflect when I logged the note in my journal digest. Once I cross over into central time, I'll be adding a little "c" to the time stamps. This section was a test. It worked well, so I'll continue throughout the day. And then tonight, I'll actually write out my journal... hehehe

10:00am

Ross recommended the Stone Temple Pilots to listen to on my drive today. So I'm going to give them a try. I hadn't heard of them when he mentioned them. I'm looking forward to checking them out.

10:15am

Bingford and I stopped to see the big pink dinosaur! I see it every time I take this trip. Bingford insisted we stop and see it up close this time... LOL jk He took a selfie... HAHAHA

10:30am

Well, Stone Temple Pilots aren't my thing... LOL At least for my car trips. The music was good. But it was too loud to understand the lyrics over my car speakers. I may need to try them again in a different context. Perhaps through headphones and when I'm in a different vibe. I want to hear the lyrics... LOL

10:45am

I've switched over to vintage Thanksgiving music. It is sooo much better for today's drive... LOL

11:25am

One of the songs is Homesick. I used to get homesick. When Mom was giving birth to my sister, I had to stay with my aunt and uncle. I was a very sad clown for days until Mom and Dad picked me up. And my first year at Church camp was horrible. I struggled with things like that for years. I don't get homesick anymore... LOL But I'm glad to go for visits ❤️

11:30am

Oops! I forgot my SJCAM! I wanted to capture parts of the drive. It's one of the reasons I got it... LOL But some moments don't need to be captured, I suppose. Some moments are just for that moment. So I guess this is a good reminder of that ❤️ I hope to remember it next time, though... LOL

1:00pm

I stopped at the little rest area on US-19. I stopped here for the first time on my way home on my last drive. It was a nice break. I also got out some of my snacks to tide me over until dinner tonight. I don't eat much on these trips until I get where I'm going. But I need to always eat something.

1:20pm

Joffrey's was out of my Sumatra beans this time. It's my favorite and I've ordered a bag each time for nearly 2 years. I'm sad they are out of stock this time. I hope they restock before my next order. I'm going to miss it. First world problem, I know. But I'm still sad. It's okay to be sad about these things.

1:45pm

I am half way to my hotel! Woohoo! When I used to do this trip in one day, this was only a quarter of the way... LOL

2:05pm

Today, I'm reminded that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be in this moment. I've spent most of my life chasing after something. I'm not chasing after anything now and I'm gratefully accepting everything God gives me in every moment.

1:30pm (c)

I just crossed over into central time. Until I cross back into eastern time tomorrow, the time stamps will have a little "c" after them... hehehe

2:05pm (c)

I just crossed over into Alabama! Yay! This is officially my first moment outside of Florida on Thanksgiving Day in years! Woohoo! The drive has been pleasant. And I'm glad I got a later start. I will still get to the hotel before dinner and well before the sun sets.

2:15pm (c)

I stopped for gas at my usual spot just over the border. And then I went to the rest area/welcome center I always stop at to go to the bathroom. There was a new sculpture there of some birds made of what looked like recycled bottles. I hadn't seen it before and took pictures. And I got a picture of the giant peanut, of course... LOL

2:50pm (c)

I'm finished listening to Thanksgiving music. I have about an hour and a half left until I get to the hotel. I've enjoyed this music today. I'm looking forward to listening to Christmas music starting tomorrow ❤️

4:20pm (c)

I made it safely to the hotel. The drive was good and without any trouble. I only stopped for breaks. I'm ready to check in and relax for the evening. What will I have for dinner?!

5:10pm (c)

I'm all settled in at the hotel now and waiting for the free dinner to begin. That starts at 5:30. I'm still on the fence. I may end up getting a pizza from the restaurant... LOL That's what I usually do. I want to eat before I do much else tonight. I'm starving... LOL

5:40pm (c)

I went with pizza... LOL Brisket pizza to be exact. I looked at the free meal. It looked good. But pizza sounded great... LOL Also, I just heard from Mack. It sounds like we get to hang out on the 13th! Yay! Originally he had plans. Those fell through. So he reached out to me. I haven't seen him in a while and I'm looking forward to seeing him ❤️

8:30pm (c)

I've finished writing this entry from the journal digest I made along my journey today. I left a few things out. I decided those few things might be good topics to explore in their own entries. Next, I'll get this converted into text for posting.

9:05pm (c)

I didn't mention this earlier, but I wrote quite a bit of this while I was eating dinner. After dinner, I came up to my room to finish. I ate the whole pizza. Since it was my only full meal for the day, I was glad to have the pizza...hehehe I'm not sure I'll have the time to journal like this tomorrow. Even if I do the journal digest using speech-to-text on my journey again, I won't have much time to write out a journal entry tomorrow night. And the speech-to-text makes enough mistakes that it would take a while to correct those if I were to use the text it generates as the source of the entry...LOL I handwrote everything except this final section...hehehe I enjoyed this process today, though. I think it worked well and I plan to do it this way again in the future regardless of how tomorrow works out.

I haven't put very much focus on this being Thanksgiving. But I am incredible thankful. I'm thankful everyday. I feel I may reconnect to this holiday again someday. Yet I know I don't need this holiday to be grateful for everyone and everything. Regardless, this was a happy Thanksgiving. My heart is happy ❤️