Friends and Fireworks

John is back. And while it’s wonderful to have him back, I immediately missed getting to sprawl diagonally in our cozy bed. I’m thinking that since we already confirmed the proof of concept while Andrew was visiting, I’ll just kick John out of bed and let him sleep on the floor from now on. I’m sure he won’t mind…

We haven’t found wasabi peas since starting our trip, so John stocked up while back in Austin.

Since I was already in Denver to pick him up from the airport, we took the opportunity to meet up with some Denver based friends – Beth and Marcus. This proved to be a wonderful experience, as they served an incredible four-course meal while we watched the fireworks from their 9th floor balcony (not to mention that they also provided great company). There were at least 12 different firework shows we could see in the distance, and one incredible close-up one. Considering that I almost forgot it was the Fourth of July in the first place – it’s hard to keep track of days when you have no obligations – we were pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

The four of us at the art fair. The flag was made entirely of trash, no doubt representing American consumerism.

That night marked the first time since the wedding back in Phoenix that I slept anywhere but in the van. We were worried about the chances of finding any sort of campground to stay at on the busy holiday weekend, and it was already midnight, so we crashed in their guest room. Since our bed is so comfortable, the only real advantage was having a convenient flush toilet nearby. Surprisingly, I missed the coziness of our van, and the convenience factor of having everything – snacks, computer, kindle, etc – nearby.

The next day, we all biked to an art fair that ended up being a blast (although this could be largely attributed to the fact that we found multiple tents serving free alcohol). We spent the time admiring pieces of art that – if placed in the van – would more than double the value of our ‘home’.

The impressive (and most likely unnecessary) drink mixing machine in the gin tent.

Seemingly out of place at an art fair, was a large section devoted to Arrow Electronics and “Five Years Out”. And in an even more out of the blue twist, they had a group of African acrobats performing on a stage. While undeniably talented and entertaining, we could not figure out how it had anything to do with aerospace, power management, security, or any of the other target markets for Arrow.

The acrobatic troupe representing Arrow Electronics

Now, we are holed up in a library in Fort Collins on a decidedly dreary, rainy day. Surprisingly, in the two months we have been traveling, this is the first consistently rainy day that we have had. We have seen a decent amount of rain, but it almost always dumps for less than one hour and then immediately returns to clear blue skies. I guess I should stop whining and be thankful for the generally good weather we have enjoyed thus far.