Thanksgiving Bounty in Coalinga

My friends like to kid me about my employer's generous vacation policy. (And it is generous.)

But now and then there are times when I feel like I really EARN that time off.

Today -- Thanksgiving Day -- was an excellent example.

I spent today driving from Southern California to Northern California gathering ballot argument rebuttal signatures along the way. Our arguments against Propositions 94, 95, 96 and 97 -- which go in the Voter Pamphlet mailed to every voter in the state -- were due yesterday afternoon. And our rebuttal to the proponent's argument is due tomorrow -- 48 hours later, with Thanksgiving stuck right in the middle.

That meant the only way to get the three signatures we wanted was for me to hit the road and go get them. Fortunately, our signors were all very gracious when I called and said I wanted to drop by their houses on Thanksgiving Day.

It didn't help, however, when I realized after driving an hour and a half north after getting my first signature that I hadn't done the paperwork right. Time to double back before continuing on north.

As luck would have it I passed by the Harris Ranch in Coalinga right about time for Thanksgiving Dinner. The photo above is from their buffet, but I didn't eat there. I ate in the coffee shop. I didn't notice the Thanksgiving Buffet until I was on my way out. The traditional Thanksgiving Dinner in the Harris Ranch Coffee Shop was excellent. But the buffet looked really lavish.

But most importantly -- when I take that major block of time off at the end of next year or the beginning of 2009, let's all remember my very-non-traditional Thanksgiving 2007.