America- Thanks, again

Despite 30-degree temperatures and biting wind, Carl Williams was up at sunrise Thursday to prepare turkey legs, bratwurst, hamburgers and hot dogs on an outdoor grill in Detroit before the city's annual Thanksgiving Day parade.

He had a lot of cooking to do. Thousands of people braved the chilly weather for the parade before football fans from the Detroit Lions-Indianapols Colts game across the street started showing up.

"Shoot, this is the place to be," Williams said as he warmed his hands over the glowing coals.

Across the country, millions of Americans gathered with family and friends on Thanksgiving to enjoy gut-busting feasts and take in holiday traditions such as football and parades.

In New York, where the weather was an unseasonably warm 65 degrees, the big hit of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was a giant yellow sponge with a red tie.

Thousands of onlookers jammed the streets to see the floating SpongeBob SquarePants and the scores of other gigantic balloons, floats and bands that mark the traditional kickoff to the holiday season.

Tim O'Connor risked total exhaustion by holding his 4-year-old grandsons, Sean and Declan, in his arms during the parade.

"The atmosphere of the parade is so friendly," he said. "It makes it a nice event, and it gets them out of the house so that parents can cook dinner."

The Detroit parade took place a day after the first winter storm of the season hit the Midwest. But the weather did not stop Nick Nicholson and his family from watching the parade in person, instead of on TV as they usually do. His daughters, Katie, 10, and Lindsay, 3, sat in a little red wagon at his feet, wrapped in fleece from head to toe.

"I wanted to sleep later, but this'll be fun," Katie said.

Stranded in Chicago

Meanwhile, travelers at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport were thankful just to get home Thursday.

The Midwest storm stranded hundreds of holiday travelers at the airport overnight after nearly 50 flights were canceled. The National Weather Service said parts of Illinois got up to 8 inches of snow, while up to 9 inches were expected in southern Michigan.

Strong thunderstorms, high winds and icy conditions made driving conditions treacherous for thousands of other travelers.

"It's not worth getting upset about -- it's Mother Nature," said Theresa Pixler, whose flight from Chicago to Sioux Falls, S.D., was canceled Wednesday night. She hoped to make it to her final destination in Iowa in time for Thanksgiving dinner.

"You have to take it all in stride. We'll get there eventually."

Across the country, many families opened their homes to servicemembers who couldn't make the trips to see their own families for the holiday.

Joshua Flesher, a 20-year-old Marine based at Fort Knox, was one of four soldiers staying with a family in New Albany, Ind. "If it wasn't for them, I'd be standing duty right now," he said.

Most of the Marines invited to families' homes recently finished boot camp and will likely ship out to Iraq when they finish tank gunnery school.

More than 100 servicemembers in Virginia also enjoyed a home-cooked Thanksgiving meal thanks to families there. Jan and Steve Daum of Gloucester, who were feeding two Army National Guard privates from Fort Eustis, figured the more guests, the merrier.

"We had done Thanksgiving with just the two of us, and it's not as much fun as with a crowd of people," Jan Daum said. "When you can't be with family, make a family."

In Florida, residents still recovering from this year's disastrous hurricane season were taking time to be grateful for the little things.

"You're thankful for what didn't happen to you, being right here in this area. You just look around and be thankful," Richard Strong said as he looked at the barrier island of Sanibel, which was pummeled by Hurricane Charley in August. "The damage is still everywhere and very evident."