Thanksgiving is the time of year where families gather and cherish their moments together. Kinnelon students are preparing for a week filled with joyful activities including traveling. According to USA Today, “Nearly 25 million seats are scheduled to depart on flights from U.S. airports over the holiday week.”
KHS students have exciting plans this holiday season, including Max Connelly who is going someplace special. “I’m going to Disney World. On the way I will see my grandparents in Orlando.” This is a yearly tradition for Connelly, and he will be one of 25 million Americans who are expected to travel during Thanksgiving weekend.
Connelly’s favorite place at Disney World is the Magic Kingdom Park. Magic Park has a wide variety of restaurants. “My favorite restaurant at Magic Park is Liberty Tree Tavern,” Connelly said. Liberty Tree Tavern is a colonial-style restaurant with multiple Thanksgiving dishes during the holiday. One of Connelly’s favorite dishes at the restaurant is the Patriot Platter, “The Patriot Platter has a lot of items which include Roast Turkey Breast, Pennsylvania Pot Roast, and Oven-roasted Pork with Mashed Potatoes.”
After the long day at Disney Connelly heads back to his grandparents house to enjoy some homemade cooking.
Most people have a favorite dish that they devour on Thanksgiving. This could vary from turkey, mashed potatoes, ham, and pumpkin pie. However, Connelly has a different preference. “Mac & cheese is my favorite dish,” Connelly stated. This dish has a special place in Connelly’s heart as his Grandmother has a special recipe for it. “One of the reasons Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday is I get to enjoy my grandmother’s mac & cheese. “She adds ground beef, Italian sausage, Italian herbs, and mushrooms,” Connelly said.
Connelly then spends the next few days playing games with his grandparents. “There is this game called Spin-the-Pie. To play, you have to segment a paper plate into six sections. The sections are family, friends, travel, home, pets, and work as you have to write prompts for each section.”
The person then has to cut a small round piece of paper and stick it into the center of the plate. Then attach a wheel to the plate with glue.
After the preparation of the game is over, guests must spin to see which section they land on. Connelly explains, “If a guest landed on family, they would have to explain a memory that they are grateful for.”
Connelly stated, “This activity is really meant for expressing your gratitude to other family members. We only see our grandparents once a year so this activity expresses our love and bonding with each other.”
Another KHS student that plans on traveling is senior Ilya Klevtsov. “During this time of year, my family goes to Kalahari which is a water park.”
Kalahari is located in Pennsylvania which is a resort. According to CNN, “Kalahari Resorts and Conventions now hosts some three million visitors a year at its three indoor water parks in Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania.” Kalahari is no stranger to crowds as that number will only increase as the countdown to Thanksgiving begins.
Klevtsov loves the decorations at the water park during this time. “My favorite ride is the lazy river. Around the river is decorated with Thanksgiving colors. There are even kids with a Turkey-like tube floating around the river.”
The lazy river is when you sit in a tube and admire the sights of the waterpark. It is a wind down from all the ruckus at the place.
After the eventful day, Klevtsov and his family go to the buffet at the resort. “Kalahari has something called the Thanksgiving Feast; the buffet then serves turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing,” Klevtsov stated.
Thanksgiving is when we make everlasting memories with family and friends. Connelly and Klevtsov are planning on having a blast during their time off as this is a special moment.
