A midsummer dream

When I said we were on the few days between travels, I really wasn't kidding. Back from Chicago on Sunday, headed to Stratford on Friday. Calvin asked for tickets to see A Midsummer Night's Dream and Alice Through the Looking Glass for Christmas, and thanks to his grandparents we all got to go. This was our second summer trip to Stratford, and we hope to make it an annual tradition, especially now that we've found the perfect place to stay, and the perfect place to stop for ice cream.

The shows were both completely wonderful, of course. I think my favorite part was watching Calvin totally eat up A Midsummer Night's Dream. When we walked into the theater and took our seats next to two gentlemen, I think they were a little surprised, possibly even a little concerned, to see Calvin seated there. I can imagine they were concerned about wiggling and attention spans. I noted that all through the show, the man sitting next to me kept looking over him, perhaps surprised at his delight, because I have never seen Calvin quite so into a show. He loved it.

Alice Through the Looking Glass was also done very well, but it was a little more abstract or eccentric than I think I had expected. Fascinating, though. As a special treat we made reservations to have lunch with the characters before the show. Stratford, it seems, is taking notes from Disney. The lunch itself was a little on the weak side, but Calvin had a great time playing croquet, competing in knight races, laughing with the characters, and, most of all by far, trying on the costumes from previous plays in previous years. We had a hard time getting him out of the costume trying area even to eat lunch.

We couldn't have asked for a more wonderful weekend.