Thanksgiving Trip - Day 4

Turkey Day!  I was awake by 0600 and worked on my travel blog.  At 0730, I went down to breakfast in the lobby while Brenna and Mollie continued to sleep.  They finally woke up at around 0930 and went down to breakfast themselves.  I could only convince Mollie to come with me to The Albemarle (Brenna stayed in the room).  Once there, we visited for a little while with Shannon and Sean.  However, most people were getting ready for a photo opportunity that was scheduled for lunch time.  As a result, I took Mollie back to the hotel so should could get ready too.  By 1230, our family was ready to leave for The Albemarle.  When we got there, we found out that the photo had been moved to later in the day.  Instead, we visited for a little bit (and met Theo for the first time).  A bit later, everyone piled into several cars and we drove into downtown Asheville.  The weather was great so I parked our car in a garage (1315) about half a mile from the restaurant and we walked the rest of the way.  When we reached Isa's Bistro, we met up with over 30 members of the family.  The restaurant was quite cozy and had a spacious basement dining area for our large group.  The amazing meal consisted of two main courses and delicious dessert.  Brenna and I both had the House Caesar Salad and Koch's Farms Herb Brined Turkey Breast while Mollie had the Poached Pear Salad and Steak Frites.  We all enjoyed the Basque Cheesecake.  Brenna had the special wine pairings that went with her selections while I tried some local beers.  Mollie was very adventurous with her drink choice.  I didn't actually see the girls much during the meal but everyone mingled and tried each other's food.  What an amazing feast!  At about 1630, we finished eating and walked back to the car.  From there, we drove back to The Albemarle and met up with the rest of the family.  Once the large group family photo had been taken successfully, everyone changed into something more comfortable.  For the next six hours, the family visited, relaxed and ate/drank in the common area.  Before we knew it, it was already 2200!  I took the girls back to the hotel and we spent the next hour talking and winding down from the busy day.  Bedtime was at 2315.  What a successful Family Thanksgiving!