Once again, the Horkavys declared last Saturday “Statewide Stephen Day” in honor of Stephen’s birthday. Last year they took us on a mystery drive to Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona. This year Flagstaff was our destination. We’ve been wanting to explore Flag for a while now, so this was perfect.

All seven of us piled into the Horkavy’s Flex and began our adventure! After a beautiful two hour drive, we stopped at a park for a picnic. The sun was warm, but the breeze, cool. I loved being outside without being burnt to a crisp. The kids got some of their wiggles out, and then we headed for downtown Flagstaff–right along old Route 66.

Our first stop was the train station where we found maps of historic Flag. We window shopped and visited the town square where we found a “parrot man.” Then, the rain came–an actual storm that lasted for several hours.

Ryan and Jen had picked out a unique place for dinner called Black Bart’s, named after the infamous stage coach robber. It was decorated in the Old West style with wrought iron candle chandeliers, stuffed animal heads, washboards, old signage, and post office boxes.

We were seated right near the stage which gave us a good view of the singing wait staff. The servers are all students at NAU who specialize in voice and music performance. They began the night with Prince Ali from Aladdin. Throughout the night, the servers took turns performing songs or singing in groups. The pianist was AMAZING! They performed several other numbers I recognized including a medley of songs from Mary Poppins (which was my favorite) and a medley of oldie love songs. What a fun atmosphere!

The dinner was great too! Stephen got his birthday steak, and we finished the evening with some fried ice cream. We loved getting out of the Valley and spending time with friends.