Breaking with tradition: Thanksgiving travels

Two generations of LSU marching band members celebrate Thanksgiving together at the game. From left are Kelly, David, Matthew and Kirby Cummings.

Family tradition takes many forms for many people, and Thanksgiving is no exception. Last year’s holiday was an opportunity to bring the Cummings family back to its origins.

Eldest son Matthew was off at college at Louisiana State University, and couldn’t come back for Thanksgiving as he served in the marching band and would need to perform the next day at the homecoming game. So instead of cooking dinner for the extended family, which has been their tradition for as long as they can remember, they decided to pack up Mom and the two dogs, the turkey and trimmings and go to him.

It was a celebration loaded with memories; in fact, it was at this very same campus that Kelly and David first met and fell in love, marching lock step in the band on these same grounds. Years later, it was a nostalgic thrill to watch their son following in their footsteps – literally.

Thanksgiving dinner went off without a hitch; they rented an extended-stay hotel suite and prepared the food in the tiny kitchen.

“The turkey filled the oven wall-to-wall,” recalls Kelly with a laugh, and mother and daughter worked elbow-to-elbow in the tiny hotel kitchen to produce a meal that met all the seasonal requisites. The next day they headed out for the game and enjoyed it together.

“It was exciting and something new to do,” said Kelly. “My husband was a little stressed out, packing everything up – but it actually turned out to be very relaxing, with very little to clean up, and then we got to go shopping. It was nice.”

This year, Matthew will be marching on Thanksgiving Day, but the game will be at College Station; so instead of going for the whole weekend, the family is making a day trip of the holiday and planning a tailgate-party Thanksgiving. They’ll borrow an oil fryer from an uncle and deep-fry the turkey right there in the parking lot.

For the Fazal-Merchants and the Bloomers, it was more about starting a new tradition – and what’s more traditional than Disney? Both families decided to take advantage of the weeklong break from school to plan a trip into the world of make-believe.

For Fermeen Fazal and husband Rizwan Merchant, the trip to Disneyland in California was a family first. Her big extended family hails from Pakistan, and every year they get together for the traditional feast – a multicultural celebration: one roasted turkey rubbed with tandoori spices, and another fried Cajun-style. They serve both turkeys with cranberries, mashed potatoes, squash casserole, and chutney. Six years ago, tiny 8½-pound Saira was born three weeks before Thanksgiving, and Fermeen propped her up next to the 20-pound turkey for a photo – and a new annual tradition was born. 

Last year, however, they decided to take a break from the festivities and make a break for the coast. They flew to John Wayne Airport right next to Disneyland the Saturday before Thanksgiving, long before most holiday travelers were crowding the airlines, and the parks weren’t crowded because most people come over the Thanksgiving weekend.

“It was our first time to any Disney park, and we had a great time!” Fermeen said. Saira, then 5, got a princess makeover; Shahrick, 10,  attended Jedi training camp, and the whole family got to watch the fireworks each night.

On Thanksgiving Day, they lined up for a 10 a.m. opening-day screening of Frozen. “It was a super cool experience to watch it in downtown Disney because they gave the audience a Frozen pin,” said Fermeen.

The family celebrated a turkey-buffet lunch at their hotel and flew home to Houston after lunch. “No one wants to fly on Thanksgiving Day, and so flights were cheaper and the airport was dead. We got back home to Houston to enjoy Friday and the weekend here. It was awesome!”

Her sister, who travels every year from her home in New York to be with the family, was a little bit disappointed at their absence – but since the family had the rest of the weekend together, there was plenty of time to make up for it.

“We arrived at 6:30 and we missed the turkey but we were in time for the pies,” reported Fermeen. “And we took a picture of my daughter with the turkey carcass.”

Captain Hook, Dawn Bloomer, William Fowler, Kevin Bloomer and Mr. Smee (from left) enjoy Pirate Night aboard the Disney Wonder.

Dawn Bloomer has always been a self-described “significant Disney fan,” and when she heard that the Disney Cruise was leaving from Galveston, she booked cruises for her and husband Kevin, and son William Fowler, right away. There were two choices – summer or fall. Thanksgiving week cost more but worked better for their schedule, “so we decided to limit our exposure to miss school and plunked down the cash.”

The Bloomer/Fowler family’s Mimosa Drive neighbors, the William and Linda Wu family, joined them as well. Hardcore fan that she is, Dawn reported “a very positive experience even though the weather was outrageously horrible.” Storms pounded the Gulf of Mexico and followed them into the Caribbean, and the seas were so rough that passengers were seasick for up to three days. When the winds finally subsided, it was still rainy and cold. When they finally made it to Castaway Cay, the rain stopped long enough for them to disembark, get some lawn chairs and sit on the beach and dig around in the sand a bit.

“The food was really good, and you could still go into the shops,” recalled the ever-optimistic Dawn. “The crew comes off the ship and cooks in the restaurant on the island, and the food is amazing.”

The good thing, Dawn said, was that the storm happened early in the 7-day cruise so there was time to recover and still make some good memories. And there was enough going on there on the ship that there was plenty to do without the shore excursions.

“I would say the highlights were on the ship itself – how much exposure you could have with the characters if you chose to.” Dawn packed a suitcase full of pirate attire so that the family could join in the fun during Pirate Night.

All meals on four of the ship’s seven very different restaurants were included in the cruise price. One unforgettable dinner was in the Animator’s Palate, with its mind-bending architecture and Pacific Rim cuisine.

“The whole restaurant changes colors, and the waitstaff uniforms change colors as well; it’s a really unique experience,” Dawn said. William got to go have his own kind of fun at the Oceaneer Club, and Dawn and Kevin were able to get away and enjoy some fine dining.

“One of the highlights on Thanksgiving Day was that it was so stress free – you weren’t cooking or cleaning, you didn’t have to do dishes, and there were all these games,” said Dawn. “I remember talking about how nice it was to be there for Thanksgiving and not even do work. We were just able to enjoy the family.

“There was so much going on on the ship as far as entertainment and amenities, you were never bored.”

Frozen featured as a high point for the Bloomers, as well. The movie had its premiere while they were out at sea, and like the Fazal-Merchants, they were among the first to see it. A big ice sculpture outside the movie theater added some serious atmosphere.

As far as missing the traditional annual family feast, it turned out that the rest of the family had plans as well – including Mom and Dad, who went to Vegas. 

“We have had many a Thanksgiving dinner together,” Dawn said, “but if we don’t, nobody’s feeling disappointed by that.”

Under Disney Cruises’ “rotational dining” system, the family migrates to a different one of the ship’s restaurants each night. On Thanksgiving Day, the Bloomers lucked out with one of the more formal restaurants and found themselves with a tough choice: traditional turkey dinner, lobster or prime rib. But as it turned out, one price covered all you could eat, and Kevin ended up with quite a lot to be thankful for: a serving of each.

“We sat with our friends, ordered what we wanted off the menu, then they had entertainment – which increased in elaborateness with each day,” Dawn recalled. “They just one-upped each other, and each show was more touching and heartwarming and theatrical and elaborate than the last.”

On the cruise, as with elsewhere in the U.S. culture, Thanksgiving kicked off the holiday season; all the holiday decorations went up, and a big gingerbread house was built before their eyes.

The whole experience was such a hit that when Dawn learned that a Disney Cruise would be back in Galveston in 2015, she booked a repeat right away – this time, hopefully, without the storm.

“It wasn’t like there was something wistful about not being home; it’s another adventure,” she said. “Me and my husband and son, we all travel a lot – so we spend a lot of time on the move. My philosophy is: To each his own. If it’s your holiday, it’s your family, and it’s your way to create memories – so make it something you want to do that gives you joy and satisfaction. There’s no one way to celebrate Thanksgiving; it’s to each his own.”