|
Over the River and Through the Woods in an RV
 There is nothing like heading over the river and through the woods at
Thanksgiving. And if it's to grandma's house or Uncle Bill's, when your in your
RV, it is an adventure.
The American Automobile Association predicts nearly
32 million Americans will be traveling by plane, train, bus, car or RV over
Thanksgiving weekend. And, according to the AAA, 83% of those planning to travel
more than 100 miles for holiday feasts will be going by car or RV. Higher gas
prices averaging near the $3.00 per gallon mark this year - haven't slowed the
flow.
The situation on the roads can get tense at times. One of the most
important rules of the road is "be courteous to other drivers". Most RVs travel
a little slower than automobiles, particularly on hills. Stay in the right hand
lane when not passing other vehicles, and allow faster traffic to pass you.
Experts are advising drivers to keep their cool. "Realize there are several
million people on the same roads you are, and they're not there just to annoy
you. They're doing the same thing you are. So try to take it easy, and not be so
aggressive towards other drivers," said a spokesman for the American Automobile
Association.
Thanksgiving holiday RVing trips often mean packing up the
kids. If you've ever been on a vacation with children, you know it can be a
challenge. Eileen Ogintz, a family travel columnist and mother of three, likes
to travel with her family so much she wrote a book about it: "Are We There Yet?
A Parent's Guide to Fun Family Vacations."
RVers may find that children
handle the restrictive conditions of seatbelts and sitting over long distances
badly, even though they're for their own safety. "First of all, make sure every
child has a backpack, let them help pack it themselves with some of their
favorite things." She also brings along a kids' jokes book.
Ever heard a kid
whine, "She's on my side!"? Some parents have told Ogintz that a roll of masking
tape helps them solve this problem. Whatever its obvious use might be to you,
for those parents, it was a way to let kids mark off their own space.
For
the "Are we there yet?" crowd, a laminated map is good. They can mark off the
route, and see how far they've gone - and maybe even learn to be the future
navigators in the process. Time will pass more quickly with plenty of books,
especially books on tape, and holiday song tapes.
If you're going to be
traveling at night, bring a flashlight so children can read while you're
driving. Water bottles, small stuffed animals, and plenty of colored bandages
are also good gear to bring along.
"You'd be amazed how many kids insist
they need a Band-Aid when there's not one to be found," Ogintz said. "And, if
the going gets rough, just toss them in the back and let them throw them at each
other."
 But no matter how many distractions you pack, children won't last
more than a couple of hours at a stretch without a break. "You can't take it,
and neither can they," Ogintz said. Plan to stop every few hours to walk around
- sightseeing is OK if it's available, but do something active. Don't expect
that kids will be able to go straight from sitting in the car to sitting in a
restaurant.
Thanksgiving Day Parades are always a favorite. The Macy's
Thanksgiving Parade tradition began in 1924 when immigrant workers held a public
festival to herald the coming of Christmas. The parade has missed just three
years since then, from 1942 through 1944 during World War II. While more than 45
million people were expected to watch the Macey's Parade from home, across the
country, other Thanksgiving parades will be under way, from small-town America
to virtually every big city. Since you are already on the road, try to plan one
into your schedule.
Then there is Thanksgiving Dinner. At the first
Thanksgiving pilgrims and Native Americans each contributed the foods they knew
and grew, and in 386 years, the basic menu hasn't changed all that much.
"We
think turkey was part of it, but we're not certain," said food historian Jan
Longone. "We know that wild ducks were, we think lobster was because it was so
ubiquitous at that time, and squash and beans."
While the menu may not have
changed much, some of the basics, like corn, sure have. According to food
historians, today's Northern Flint maize would be similar to the corn the first
Thanksgiving participants had. But, they probably didn't eat it on the cob with
butter or salt. Most likely they removed the kernels, ground them up and
prepared them as a form of soup or put it with wood ash and made a kind of a
hominy. Pumpkins have changed too, they weren't always bright, orange and plump.
The first pumpkins we had were very small, gourd-type things.
In earlier
days, the settlers might have cooked their turkey on a spit, over an open fire.
That's still a possibility while RVing, but there are other alternatives. Food
writer Scott Peacock suggests roasting your turkey in an old-fashioned
rotisserie. "It's a great way of connecting back to a time when the holiday
originated," he said. The rotisserie Peacock uses is a tin reflector oven with
one side that opens. It sits on the ground, right in front of an open fire, and
you turn it by hand - every 15 minutes. Peacock finds cooking on a fire hard but
satisfying. "You sweat, and you burn yourself," he explained. A 10-pound turkey
cooked this way will be done in about three and a half hours.
Another
challenging but satisfying way to cook your turkey is on the grill. Food experts
suggest not to buy anything larger than a 12-pound turkey if you want to smoke
or grill it for Thanksgiving. Anything larger will take too long to cook. A 12
pound turkey can take up to six hours. And every 45 minutes, you need to add
live coals to keep the fire smoldering.
Of course many RVs have full size
ovens and microwaves, and you can prepare a turkey just like you would at home.
But that takes a lot of the fun out of it!
No matter which way you choose to
cook your bird and your stuffing, make sure everything is well done. Stick a
meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, not touching a bone. When
it's done, the thermometer will read 180 to 185 degrees F. The stuffing, if
placed in the bird, should reach 165 degrees, enough to kill any bacteria.
The drill starts all over again on Sunday, when millions of families start
heading back home. To cope with the stress of the round-trip travel, AAA says,
be patient, and have a sense of humor. After all, it's a holiday weekend.
|
