This from the AP: As of Tuesday morning, nearly 400 independently owned inns, including several in Washington, had signed on to offer free rooms Nov. 10, the night before Veterans Day. Most of the establishments are small: The average size of a bed-and-breakfast in the U.S. is five or six rooms, according to an industry group. Some participants can spare just a single room, while The Colonial Inn in Smithville, N.J., is offering 20 of its 24.

A valid military or Veterans Administration ID is required for each reservation.

For a complete list of all the participating inns in our state, click here.

For families with young children, McChord's Sounders Lanes Bowling Center is the place to be on Thursday night from 7 to 10 p.m.

The 62nd Force Support Squadron hosts a bowling party celebrated on East Coast time with unlimited bowling, pizza, party favors and sparkling cider.

Tickets cost $13 each in advance at the Sounders Lanes front counter.

For more information, call 253-982-5954.

The Army & Air Force Exchange Service is encouraging military shoppers to share family memories for a shot at a $1,000 shopping spree in the "Memories Etched in Images Holiday Photo Contest."
Shoppers can submit their funniest, most creative or heartwarming photos to PatriotFamily@aafes.com with the title "Memories Etched in Images" in the subject line. The top 50 entries will be posted online and the winners will be announced by Jan. 22. The first place winner will receive a $1,000 AAFES gift card with $500 going to the runner-up. Third and fourth place will receive a $250 gift card and with the next five places earning $100 each. Entries will be accepted until Dec. 31.

Complete contest rules and entry details are available at aafes.com/Patriot Family Connection/Memories Etched in Images Contest.    

Today we gather around the dinner table with family and friends to share good food, warm laughter, and the happy memories of Thanksgivings past. But for many families, whose loved ones serve in the Armed Forces, this year's Thanksgiving celebration will not be complete.

A familiar voice will not be heard and a chair at the table will remain empty because, they have someone far from home serving our country.

Today also, members of the Army, Marines, Navy, Airforce and Coastguard (men and women, Active Duty, Reserve and National Guard alike) will gather in mess halls or in tents across the globe as friends and comrades to enjoy the traditional Thanksgiving meal.

So, as those of us who are blessed to be with our families celebrate and give thanks, let us remember in our prayers the homes that have an empty chair at the table and also offer a special prayer of thanksgiving and ask God's Blessings for the brave men and women of our Armed Forces, whose service and sacrifice will, we further pray, make the world a better and safer place. And a very special prayer dear God, for those homes that have an empty chair that will forever remain vacant and for those servicemen and women who have come back to us, may their sacrifice not have been in vain.