Thom is finally fifty! To celebrate this milestone, he invited a group of friends to join him and his family at a campground in the North Cascades. It’s been their family tradition to go to this particular campground each year on his birthday, but for fifty it seemed fitting to invite a crowd. He sent me an invitation a couple weeks ago, but since I live almost 450 miles away it was more of a joke. I told him I’d love to join him, but it wasn’t going to work out.
As the days ticked past, I thought maybe I should go. You only turn fifty once, and 450 miles isn’t that far. So on the day of the party I jumped in the car and headed west. Nine hours later I pulled into the campground, and found Thom and a group of friends standing around chatting. When he realized what was happening, he did the best double-take I’ve seen in a long time. It was hilarious and emotional and awesome.
I met several of his friends, re-met his in-laws, and had the wonderful opportunity to see my nephew Julian again. It’s been a few years, and it was great to hang out with him.
We enjoyed dinner and a campfire. Everyone– even the little kids– stayed up late talking and laughing. It was a fun group. The next morning Thom went skiing (of course) and Katie decided to bike up a mountain pass (of course). Since I had to get home, I jumped back in the car. But before heading back east, I wanted to see the pass. Up I went.
Yeah, the North Cascades are breathtaking.
As I drove up the highway, I caught up to Julian, who was biking. He’s the tiny speck in the lower right, climbing the highway just in front of a patch of snow:
He’s an incredible biker and was going faster uphill than I usually go on flat ground.
It was a quick-turnaround trip, but worth every minute. Happy birthday, little brother!
