We took a road trip over the Fourth of July Weekend up to Jackson, Wyoming and Grand Teton National Park to attend Renaissance Weekend, a weekend retreat where folks come in from across the country to share stories and develop friendships.
We started our trip at 3:31am. (Jake was so excited for the road trip that he couldn't sleep.)
We rolled into the Jackson Lake Lodge around noon, after stopping at roadside attractions along the way such as lively Dubois, Wyoming (who knew?) and this store in Jackson with "everything moose." I searched for t-shirts with 4 moose ladies on them, but alas, I couldn't find any.
The weekend was inspiring. We met a bunches of interesting people, learned more than we could have imagined, shared time and meals with good friends (hi Nelson!), and made new friends who I think we'll stay connected with for years to come.
Jake taught little kids about artificial intelligence and spoke to adults about his experience with religion, I spoke about effective marketing, and we both talked about the future of technology. We ran into former Googlers we'd lost touch with and met people from industries we didn't know existed.
On top of all that, we got to explore the breathtaking Grand Teton National Park via driving and hiking and we took a star tour where we watched the Milky Way in all its glory while hearing stories about the mythology of the stars and gasping at the sight of a shooting star every so often.
While Jake and I were enjoying the weekend, Esmeralda spent her holiday frolicking with the pollen. So I guess she had fun, too.
We were sad to miss out on sharing your birthday with you, Beth. And we were also disappointed to miss the historic Potwin Fourth of July celebrations. But considering we weren't in those places, we did have a lovely time.
Happy Birthday, Beth! and Happy Fourth of July, America!
