I wasn’t expected to go home for Thanksgiving having returned for the unexpected visit in September and knowing I’d be visiting again in one month’s time during Christmas break. But my mom’s milestone birthday and an ideal roundtrip ticket price made it possible and served as a great way to surprise my mom for her birthday. My dad and sister and her family had arranged a surprise party at my sister’s home the day after I flew into Philadelphia. So, not only would she be surprised about the party in which her extended family and friends were invited, but, seconds after the initial surprise, she’d be shocked again by my presence.

Staying with my sister the night before the surprise party, I was on hand to answer the door the next morning. Three questions dominated the job of “door opener” courtesy of our witty relatives and family friends. They were: “Hey there, Hollywood, 1) Where’s your tan? 2) How many celebrities have you met? 3) Can you surf yet?” Predictable. From predictable to traditional, Thanksgiving occurred as if I had never left except for one tiny change: My sister and her husband welcomed their third child, Brayden. This was the first chance I got to meet my new nephew.

This trip home ended a lot like my last in which my dad and I toured the USS New Jersey. Across the Delaware River on the Philadelphia side lies the USS Olympia and USS Becuna. The Olympia is an oldest steel warship that’s still afloat, having been commissioned in 1895 and, three years later, used as the flagship of Commodore George Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War. The Becuna couldn’t be any different; it’s a WWII vessel, a submarine and, naturally, much more cramped.

Back in LA for a mere 15 days, I got a chance to report on a videogame called Darksiders in Agoura Hills, visit Malibu Beach and have dinner in Santa Monica. Now I’m on a plane back to Philadelphia where family, friends and Christmas await.