Dirty dishes and a day full of cooking have more and more people deciding to skip what many would call chores on Thanksgiving Day.
Tradition, for some, wasn't about staying at home as it was about going out for dinner.
It's the perfect holiday tradition, combining good food with atmosphere, and even better, the company. But when all you want is to surround yourself with those you love, you do what Donnie Dahnsaw did and take the 11 hour drive to Maryland from Jacksonville, Florida to spend Thursday with girlfriend, Lola Tinubu.
Both were having dinner Thursday evening at the Rusty Scupper restaurant in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.
"I didn't want her to spend Thanksgiving by herself, and I didn't want to spend Thanksgiving by myself," said Dahnsaw.
Time is limited for the couple as both are members of the U.S. Navy.
"We just wanted a night off to pamper ourselves and have fun," Tinubu said.
It was an obvious question that led the two toward dinner away from home: Why stay in when you can step out, and why deal with dirty dishes when you don't have to?
"She doesn't have to do the dishes, she doesn't have to cook. It's a win-win," Dahnsaw said.
The Rusty Scupper has served that purpose for 34 years. A full Thanksgiving meal is served, complete with dessert.
More than 1,000 people chose to come enjoy the meal, said general manager Ed Prutzer.
"It's a big buffet, we add a couple things every year, and it's almost the same people that come back year after year, so it's almost like the 'Rusty Scupper family' coming in and having dinner with us," Prutzer said.
In fact, there were many people who were returning.
For the Pathare family, Thursday dinner marked their fifth such occasion. It was also their 37th wedding anniversary.
With no family in Maryland, the familiar faces at the Rusty Scupper have become a Thanksiving staple.
"We know some of the people, the waiters here," said Bhushan Pathare.
He said likened the experience to being family with the people he sees each year.
"To a certain extent. On Thanksgiving Day, at least," he said with a chuckle.
At the very least, no one ate alone.
