“Everybody loves Bluegrass. Many just don’t realize it yet.”
Our daughter Michelle and husband Kyle invited us to attend PUB In the PARK event at Red Morton Community Park in Redwood City. Cecile, her sister Sherry visiting from South Carolina, our son Jason and I met up with Kim and AL Chien, Kyle’s brother Chip Lewis visiting from NYC and their father Ed.
We spent a leisurely end-of-summer afternoon sipping cold beers on tap from local breweries poured and served in a larger than life inflatable British-Style pub. We sat on blankets and lawn chairs while listening to live Americana and Bluegrass music and eating delicious tacos, quesadillas, and tortas from Los Tolucas Mexican Food Truck. We had to show ID before we could enter the whimsical pub. The attendant at the entrance made us wear a wrist band. He said just think of it as TSA at the airport. Mine read OVER 21-AGE VERIFIED. How politically correct, I thought:-)
With its large laid-back open spaces, complete with shady trees and grassy lawns Red Morton Community Park was the perfect venue to hang out with family and friends, enjoying each other’s company.
We were entertained by the Stoney Mountain Ramblers who are influenced by the traditions of Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, and the Grateful Dead. "The Ramblers got the crowd hootin’ and hollerin’ with their hot picking, high-lonesome harmonies, barn-burning dance tunes" that had some adults and young kids alike on their feet. The Ramblers have performed in a variety of historic Bay Area bluegrass venues including the Pioneer Saloon, the Brookdale Lodge, and the Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival in Hollister, CA.
As the last call for beer was made, the last set by the band announced and the security guards leaving the premises, we thought it an apt time to make our exit. After a half-hour stopover at Kyle and Michelle’s, enjoying a margarita and saying our goodbyes we returned home.
Postscript: Cecile’s sister Sherry returned to Charleston, South Carolina today and we’re all grateful her home was spared from any damage from hurricane Dorian.
