Epic Adventure 2013 Days 2 and 3

Epic adventure day 2 (Aug. 7)

strangely I awoke today feeling refreshed and well rested, which is unusual for me. I still had things to worry about -- you know, stuff like paying the rents and bills. and the snafu with the medication. but I had this feeling that all would be well with the world no matter what.

Also the air quality was really bad due to forest fires -- worse than it ever had been apparently in the area -- a gray haze hung over the town and the mountains. Some people wore masks because of it, including Joan who was with us because she has asthma. She had given me one of her coveted Singulair pills the night before and I was so grateful for it. Downtown Ashland still held that same charm that it always had every time I visited. Sister and I rode into town from the motel together. This year we weren't right in the downtown area -- we were at the Windsor Inn about three miles away, but that wasn't so bad. The rooms were nice -- and I dug that Shakespeare-ish decor of the buildings to the glorified Best Western as we drove in. The rooms were nice and the breakfast was fabulous.

I saw these at a toy store and fell in love.

I asked if they had more than these four cars..

and bought the whole fleet!

I'm not really a "hat" person but this one called to me! it'll be cool as a sun hat and a rain hat...
something cool about this crazy hat!!! :)

I went to Cripple Creek Music and tried out a bunch of ukuleles and a couple of guitars. they have never heard of PHD or Wurz ukulele strings, but I love the people and the store...and of course they tried to sell me a ukulele! had dinner with Sister and others..then we found out that the play we were supposed to see, Cymbelline, was cancelled because of bad air quality. The actors offered a free performance over at the local high school where they'd act out their parts "improv" style. Many of us went over to the high school and it was FABULOUS! better than anyone would've imagined even without the costumes.

A few of us gathered at a small bar by our motel -- for good conversation..

Day three (Aug. 8) -- I dashed over to Chase Bank to pay the rent. Yes, I still had to take care of business on my way to meet Vince and eight others from our group for the backstage tour of the theaters and the Shakespeare Festival. Hearing the stories of what goes on behind the scenes for the actors is incredible and amazing...and even how the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland is year round now with 11 shows happening at the same time. What I loved was how the first actor talked about how he started as an usher and a volunteer for the theater, worked himself into his first role in Hamlet where he spoke ONE line. Off stage...and now he's got bigger roles...it's all about not giving up, to keep following your dream no matter what. Our tour guide was also an actor who told us funny stories about mishaps that happen on stage during performances and how they must improvise. Like when Robin Hood in one performance couldn't pull his sword out and had to pretend he was fighting without one.. all kinds of cool things.

King Lear was wonderfully tragic...surprise surprise. good performance...great acting. Then we gathered for our final dinner and meeting (well my final meeting because I was leaving very early the next morning on a mission to see Paul McCartney!)

me and our very awesome tour guide for the backstage tour!!!

the Elizabethan theatre (the outdoor theatre)

our Merry Backstage tour gang!!!

we ate a lovely dinner and I gave Joey (Vince and Jenny's son) one of my fleet of VW love bug cars for his very own... 

what an awesome group we were!!!

the whole gang at our Thursday evening dinner! I had so much fun!!

after dinner, we all went our separate ways pretty much. I dashed down to Lithia Park for a quick walk before watching the movie, "20 Feet From Stardom." 

Two others from our group ended up going.it was a super good movie. others went to either Streetcar Named Desire or Robin Hood... my intention was to get back to the motel early to pack and prepare for the trek to San Francisco! of course I didn't get to bed that early. I never do. No matter what. I was sad to hear that Sister probably won't go back to this Shakespeare Festival trip next year since she just retired from working in the Alumni Department. so that made me really glad I went this year..sharing a room with her and traveling with her was all the more special... 'twas a fabulous and inspirational journey...