The Thanksgiving that Almost Wasn't

We've prided ourselves on our traditionally, untraditional Thanksgiving dinners these last few years. Rather than the hours of cooking and cleaning, we've gone to the buffet at Golden Corral...and the boys have LOVED it. This year, we had the option of going to join up with friends at their family celebration, but when we discussed it the boys unanimously wanted to stick with the buffet. Maybe we've all grown a bit antisocial over the holidays as well, in the absence of family, but whatever. 

So, we started making our plans. Among those plans was the idea to go see a movie. We decided on the "Wreck it Ralph" sequel "Ralph Breaks the Internet". Then, we had to decide on a game plan of where to see the movie and which Golden Corral to go to. Last year, we went to the one in Coeur d'Alene. There is another location by the Northtown Mall in north Spokane, as well. Then, we also had to consider where and when we would deliver our cookies for first responders. 

One of our other Thanksgiving traditions is that we make holiday cookies and take them to first responders who are working that night. The last several years, we've taken them to local firehouses for the fire fighters, which has been fun. Especially because they give us a personal tour of the trucks and everything. This year, we thought maybe it would be a nice change to take cookies to the folks in Jacob's ER at Deaconess. So, the final plan was to go get our tickets for the movie at the Northtown Mall before eating at the north Spokane Golden Corral. Then we would feast, watch and drop off the cookies at the end since everything was in that direction on the way home. Perfect! We'd leave around 1:30pm so that we could be at the buffet at 2pm and see the movie about 4:30pm. 

We got to decorating the cookies on Thanksgiving morning.

True to form, not a sprinkle was wasted. 

We chilled until it was time to head out, and everyone piled eagerly into the car. Except for maybe Riley, who was complaining that it was so early, and "why do we have to go now?" and "are we going to the movie first?" and "why aren't we going to the movie first?" He asks a lot of questions and tends to generally worry about the things the adults are planning, but he eventually relaxed. 

It is a bit of a hike getting to north Spokane, but after about 25 minutes, we go to the Northtown Mall and I figured out where the theater was. We pre-bought our tickets, which also had assigned seating, so that's handy. At least we wouldn't have to worry about finding seats if it was busy later. Then we headed off with our rumbly bellies (cuz we'd all skipped lunch in anticipation of stuffing ourselves silly) and headed up the road to Golden Corral. 

We spotted the sign from afar and everyone started getting excited. Then, suddenly something else caught our eye...from afar...a massive line of humanity. And not just coming out of the door, but wrapping around the building!!! Our hearts sank as Jacob pulled into the filled to bursting parking lot. The heaving masses were standing in the cool Thanksgiving air, mulling around in the hopes of getting inside for their dinners. It. Was. Madness! I've never seen anything like that at a restaurant, let alone a buffet. There was no telling how long it would take the folks already inside gorging themselves on Thanksgiving dinner to finish and make room for those eager waiting outside. Ugh! And the other Golden Corral (which to our knowledge is the only other buffet in the region) was all the way in Idaho, a solid hour away from where we were. Double ugh!! AND we'd already bought our movie tickets for just down the road! TRIPLE UGH!!! So much for making a plan and trying to be all proactive. And this was 2pm in the afternoon with the restaurant closing at 5pm. Yeah. New plan needed. 

Just when I thought we'd have to pull a "Christmas Story" move and have an even MORE untraditional Thanksgiving in some random Chinese joint, we started back down the main drag in search of open restaurants and noticed that IHOP and Denny's were open. OK, those were options, at least. Then, I remembered that the Perkins Family Restaurant down closer to the freeway had been open, as well. So, we opted for that in the hopes that maybe they would have pies at the very least. 

We parked without a problem and went inside with our fingers crossed. Needless to say, the boys were all reprimanding Jacob and I up one side and down the other for this turn of events, expressing their extreme disappointment. I couldn't blame them. I was bummed, too. I just know how not to complain about it when it doesn't help, but ANYWAY...we walked in and were seated right away without a wait. The place wasn't even full. The server was quick and kind, and we told the kids they could order whatever they wanted off the menu. Riley, who immediately asked if the kiddie menu included seconds, went ahead and just ordered off of the adult menu...a nice plate of chicken fingers with a side of Kraft macaroni & cheese. Perfect! Brendan went breakfast and ordered a huge plate of eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes AND French toast. Caleb got his surf 'n turf. "And all was right with the world."

We even ordered a fudge brownie silk pie to take home with us, so it wasn't half bad all considered. We "pulled it OFF!" (too many Christmas Story references? Must be time for Christmas!) We were thankful. 

Afterwards, the movie was hilarious and we took the cookies to the ER. The boys all got to see where Dad works and meet a few of his co-workers and some of the nurses. It shaped up to be a pleasant evening, but this definitely went down in the books as the Thanksgiving that almost wasn't.