2014 John's Fiftieth Birthday Bash

To celebrate John's 50th birthday, we met in Flagstaff AZ for the Pickin' in the Pines Bluegrass Festival being held from September 13th through the 15th. John flew from Monterey to Phoenix to join his friend Michael Durden, while we drove from Reston to Phoenix to pick up Claire. John and Michael arrived early to help set up for the Festival, and we drove up on Friday to join them. While Michael camped, we stayed at the motel in Ft. Tuthill, on the grounds of the Festival, and only about a block from the amphitheater. We enjoyed three days of incredibly good bluegrass music, and gorgeous Flagstaff weather, despite a huge storm that had battered the Baja region and was making its way across the country. The four of us drove back to Phoenix after the Festival, where John stayed long enough to visit with Joe and Ashley, Hunter and Sophie, and pick up his birthday present, a new motorcycle helmet. We also got to visit Alli at her worksite, Lux Central, where she and her friends fixed us a great lunch on our way to the airport to drop off John. Then John Sr. and I drove back to Reston, stopping in Norman OK for one night to visit with Ed and Lena Frost, and again experiencing the cloud extravaganza caused by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Odile as we tracked it across the country. Quite a birthday celebration!