Weekend in Flag

Michael's parents came in town for Labor Day weekend to celebrate Judy's birthday. I won't tell you what birthday it was because a lady never tells, but I'll tell you that it was a major one. Okay, okay, I'll tell you...it was her 40th!

On Saturday we headed up to Flagstaff by way of Sedona. We stopped in the shadow of the red rocks for some views and some lunch.

We took the scenic route up to Flag from Sedona which wound through some passes and had some great overlooks.

After I died of happiness when checking in to the Inn at 410, we went out to dinner.

And got a crepe in historic downtown.
I tell you, a lot has changed in Flagstaff since my college years!

The next morning June was due for a bath. She loves bath time (and shower time for that matter).
We went to a Farmer's Market and an art festival.
But we got caught in the rain so we hurried on to lunch downtown.

We also drove out to Sunset Crater, a national monument with pretty cool views. The whole place used to be active volcanoes a long time ago, which renewed my childhood fears of being caught in spontaneous eruption (my parents thank you, makers of Dante's Peak). There were all of these mountains and flows made of lava rock.

And finally we enjoyed a fantastic meal at the Cottage House. After being inspired by watching Julie and Julia the other day, I had the beef bourguignon and was blown away at the deliciousness. But I doubt I'd ever have the over 4 solid hours of dedicated kitchen time to pursue Julia's recipe.
It was such a great long weekend, only slightly diminished in my mind by the fact that I came down with that crippling sinus infection (from which I am still limping towards recovery). I loved seeing my old campus, I loved spending time outdoors and I loved seeing my in-laws!