One Week in Raleigh, NC: Bluegrass, Bluegrass, Bluegrass

Hello Friends and Family,

Just three days after returning home from Colorado we were loading up the car again to head to Raleigh, NC to visit friends and enjoy the International Bluegrass Music Association’s - World of Bluegrass Festival. I will refer to this as “IBMA” in the rest of this newsletter.

The original plan for the Raleigh festival was for me to travel to Raleigh alone Tuesday - Friday for the festival. I had just enough hotel points to book a suite at a hotel in Cary, NC for the entire week and convinced Courtney to come along with the whole gang.

The Best Laid Plans…

Over the last year I have gotten to know the members of the Henhouse Prowlers bluegrass band from Chicago, IL because of the non-profit organization they lead called Bluegrass Ambassadors.

I was so impressed with their charitable work I asked them if I could help them find sponsors for their showcase fundraiser at this year’s IBMA. They were skeptical of their new friend, but trusted me to execute and I delivered $5,000 in sponsorships so that more of the money collected during the event could support their mission.

The showcase was Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night from 10pm-2am. My plan was for me to take Mills from 9am when Courtney started work until right before dinner time. I would then head downtown for dinner and bluegrass.

(You can already see where this is going.)

We had a great week overall…but the “Junior Suite” was really a hotel room that had a kitchenette crammed into it. I overestimated Mills’ ability to remain quiet in the morning and the cramped quarters made working in the hotel room almost impossible for Courtney.

Thankfully our friend Michael owns a co-working space in downtown Raleigh and he graciously agreed to give Courtney a desk for the week and we muddled through.

More to come in my monthly report, but we learned a lot that week.

It wasn’t all stressful…we had a LOT of fun, too!

We kicked off the week with Sunday dinner with Joe and Jen Bland and their three kids with a cookout. Joe owns Raleigh Coffee Company and ships coffee nationwide. Go place an order today!

My favorite picture from the week has a backstory. We just happened to be on a trip to Raleigh in 2009 the night Jen went into labor with their oldest, Izzy. By the next day Izzy was here! Since it was so close to Christmas, Joe asked me to come to the hospital dressed as Santa.

Izzy and I have always had this special connection and even as a teenager she smiles every year when her dad shows her this picture on her birthday. So, it was an awesome moment when she asked to hold Mills.

That was just night ONE! We were off to the races after that.

On Monday night our dear friends, Anthony and Kristy Yousefnejad invited us and the Blands over for a pizza party at their amazing condo Downtown.

The first part of the night I forgot my phone in the car, so have this single picture from the night. But the entire night was just as beautiful as the view at sunset.

And that’s when the festival kicked off in earnest.

I got another chance to practice my concert photography and made some new friends in Nevercomedown an awesome band from Portland, OR.

After another awesome adventure, it was time to head home.

What a whirlwind of a week! We got home from Raleigh on Saturday afternoon with just enough time to wash clothes and pack for the next trip.

Until our next Adventure,

Austin, Courtney, Mills, and Willow

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