Though I’m from Ecuador, where I didn’t grow up celebrating Thanksgiving, I’ve embrace the celebration fully since I came to the US. I love it as a time to leisurely spend with friends and family, cooking together during. Since I had the kids, I have often hosted it at my house and had friends and family over for dinner (and have always ended up inviting more people that I originally planned: to the amazement of my American husband). Every thanksgiving I had improved little by little my turkey cooking skills. I love to cook and now I have the turkey preparation nailed down, which is a distance from my initial either never ready on time or not very tasting turkeys.

This year, since the kids started school, my family has had an extremely hectic schedule. Don’t you guys feel like you have crazy schedules and activities as well?

We have been juggling my husband’s intense work schedule, my part time work, transporting the kids to and from soccer practices and games, dance classes, WuShu classes, mandarin conversation classes, and more. Not to mention that activity with questionable value for the kids, but certain torture for the parents and their relationship with kids called homework. What do you guys feel about homework? Also, my mother in law is coming for Christmas, so we’ll be cooking a turkey then.

During these three months of hectic schedule, there was a pause when we felt really zen and it was when we went camping for a long weekend with another family to Bothe-Napa State Park. While doing one of my drives to a location of sorts with my kids, I was thinking how nice it would be to not have to cook and just be gone for the Thanksgiving holiday. I thought it would be so nice to stay in one of the yurts of Bothe Napa, since a tent would be too cold this time of the year. I mentioned the idea to my 10 year old Isabela and my 7 year old Sebastian, and they said they would like to go, but if another family would come too as otherwise it would not feel like Thanksgiving.

I have a friend, whose kids my kids love, and who has been crazily moving houses again on her quest to get into the best possible public school in the east bay. As I was catching up with her on the phone, I mentioned my desire to go away for Thanksgiving. She immediately said her family would love to go somewhere outside of the city as well. The next day, she e-mailed an online add from Sunset magazine about a place near Santa Barbara called El Capitan and where there are tents with 2 double beds that house 4. They tents are supposed to have heat and you don’t have to pack for winter camping in the outdoors.We like to do real tent camping, but since its winter!. We love to do road trips in which we go off for long drives (we’ve done several awesome ones, that I’ll be mentioning in the future) listening to stories on tape and stopping where we’ve felt like. So, we immediately made reservations and off we are going to Santa Barbara. I would love to know of other places that are not outrageously expensive where one could scape during the winter months. Do you know of any?