Honeymoons, Thanksgiving, and everything in between
This week we settle in for a post-Thanksgiving catch-up, sharing how wildly different our holidays looked — from Peter’s early family feast and multiple pie rounds to Aubrey’s first snowy Wisconsin Thanksgiving with a marathon dog show in the background. We recap Aubrey and Hayden’s dream honeymoon in Punta Cana (complete with a personal butler, swim-up suite, and unexpectedly eye-opening moments outside the resort), reflect on the realities of tourism, talk about the new food-pantry project Aubrey is helping with, and rant lovingly about overconsumption and skipped-over Thanksgiving vibes. It’s a cozy, thoughtful, everything-we’ve-been-up-to episode.
Thanksgiving Recap
We compare how our Thanksgivings looked this year:
We compare how our Thanksgivings looked this year:
- Peter had family in town, ate early because Alex worked, and enjoyed the luxury of being done with dinner by 1:30pm — which meant pie three separate times throughout the day.
- Aubrey and Hayden had their first Wisconsin Thanksgiving together: quiet, cozy, just the two of them… and a national dog show that somehow ran for nine hours.
- Hayden cooked the full spread — turkey, stuffing, rolls, mashed potatoes — while Aubrey happily avoided the kitchen.
- The Costco pumpkin pie reigned supreme.
- Wisconsin immediately greeted them with bitter cold and a looming winter storm warning.
Honeymoon in Punta Cana
- Aubrey and Hayden finally took their honeymoon: a full week in the Dominican Republic at an adults-only all-inclusive.
- Thanks to deep research and a weird price quirk, they booked a VIP swim-up suite that was:
- Perfect weather the whole trip: 85° highs, 78° lows, light rain only at night.
- The butler sent daily WhatsApp newsletters with weather, restaurant schedules, and events.
- Resort activities
- Parasailing
- Muddy ATV/buggy tour
- Swimming in a water cave
- Tasting Dominican hot chocolate, coffee, and tea
- Exploring local beaches
- Aubrey would like to return and never come home again.
The Realities of Tourism
- They learned resort employees often earn around $450/month, even in high-demand roles.
- Staff often work 12 days on, 2 days off, with housing just across the street.
- Resort guests are encouraged to leave TripAdvisor reviews for staff because bonuses and days off depend on it.
- Aubrey and Hayden tipped generously and left detailed positive reviews.
- We talk about how tourism helps but also doesn’t necessarily feed the real local economy.
What’s New at Home
- Aubrey is settling back into Wisconsin winter and starting her new job.
- Peter’s work has been the usual year-end chaos: med students, residents, OR days, and holiday-season busyness.
- He looks forward to January even though January hasn’t really slowed down in recent years.
Aubrey’s New Unpaid Job
- Aubrey is now the social media manager for her best friend’s mobile food pantry in Salt Lake.
- The pantry serves communities that can’t easily get to traditional food banks.
- Winter increases needs dramatically.
- Aubrey’s been making Canva graphics, Reels/TikToks, and growing the project’s presence.
- Shameless plug: Instagram → freefoodtruck.slc
Rethinking Consumption & the Holidays
- Aubrey has been reflecting on:
- Volunteering
- Spending money intentionally
- Avoiding overconsumption culture — especially around the holidays
- Donating or supporting causes rather than buying random gifts
- She shares love for:
- The Hank & John Green–run Good Store
- Awesome Socks Club subscriptions that funnel profits into maternal health in Sierra Leone
- Coffee/tea subscriptions funding TB research
Peter’s Mini-Rant on Thanksgiving
- We revisit the idea (from Middle of Culture) that Thanksgiving has meaning but gets ignored since it can’t be easily commercialized.
- Halloween and Christmas dominate because they’re more profitable.
- Black Friday is a shadow of itself — 30% off is now considered a “deal.”
Wrapping Up
- We’re both getting back into routines after travel.
- Aubrey is preparing for a long winter of hibernation.
- Peter encourages light exposure (even artificial) to survive seasonal darkness.