UNFORGETTABLES
One of the best memories that my wife Natalie and I share is our first Thanksgiving as a married couple. I left South Georgia on the day before Halloween in 2012 to head north for what became Superstorm Sandy. I spent the next month helping our team provide assistance to utility companies throughout the Northeast. Personally, I spent most of my time at the Jackson, New Jersey, site, which was located at a Six Flags Theme Park. When I left Bainbridge, I had no clue that I would be in New Jersey for so long and no clue that Natalie and I would be able to have such an unforgettable Thanksgiving.
Natalie and I married on May 13, 2012. Thanksgiving 2012 was to be the first holiday that we spent together as a new little family. As November wore on and our team was still working hard in the Northeast, it became clear that I was in danger of missing our first Thanksgiving. Always looking out for me, Tommy Hopkins suggested that Natalie fly up to New York and that I take a day from our site in Jackson, New Jersey, to spend Thanksgiving Day with Natalie in New York City. As luck would have it, the Jackson site shut down the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and I was able to meet Natalie at the airport when her flight arrived. We spent the next couple of days enjoying all that New York City has to offer during the holidays.
We awoke bright and early on Thanksgiving Day and immediately got ready to go see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in person. What a wonderful experience! Television does not do justice to the size of the floats or to the size of the crowds. After the parade, Natalie and I enjoyed an amazing, albeit not traditional, Thanksgiving meal at Central Park. Then we leisurely explored Central Park, Times Square, and the shopping district. The day after Thanksgiving, we explored New York City a little bit more, including a sight-seeing trip to Macy’s on Black Friday. We bought a Big Apple Christmas ornament to commemorate the trip and rode the ancient wooden escalator in awe. Later, we met my cousin and his wife, who live in the City, for dinner and soaked up our last night in the City of Lights.
As great as our holiday was, after a month away, I was eager to head home, and somehow I convinced Natalie to ditch her flight home for the long ride back to South Georgia! We took the scenic route back home and got to see a large portion of the beautiful east coast and the mountains. It is a wonderful memory for us to have made on our first Thanksgiving together, and we continue to have much to be thankful for!
Wheat Kirbo, Team Member
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