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.

Kitchener, Stratford, and Port Huron

Our trip is over and we're home sweet home. Just in time for a low grade heat wave. But here's the rest of our vacation.

After we left Niagara we headed inland to Kitchener where Jon gave a workshop to a group of piano teachers. We could have done without Kitchener. It was a little like walking into Twin Peaks. Or the Twilight Zone. Odd, odd, odd.

Calvin and I went to The Museum (really, that's its name) while Jon was lecturing, but their idea of a museum was pretty lame. Best part? Working the animatronic dinosaur parts.

We got the heck out of Kitchener as fast as we could and landed in peaceful Stratford for two days. What a totally different experience from Niagara and its neon flashing lights. In Stratford we took a pontoon boat tour, ate at the local restaurants, shopped in the quaint shoppes, and stayed in an inn above a tavern right on the main street, a block away from the theatre and the river.

Ye olde fashioned accommodations.

We ate breakfast at the local bakery across the street (chocolate croissants and fresh coffee). We talked to ducks, geese, and swans by the river. We played pianos street side. We relaxed and took it in, two days in a row.

Of course the real point of our stop there was to take in a show, and we saw Pirates of Penzance on Wednesday afternoon. It enchanted us to end. Calvin loved it. We played the CD all the way home the next day.

Following the musical we walked across the street to a small museum of the Festival's 60 years of existence. Two rooms of artifacts and we spent over an hour in them. Mockups of models from costumes and sets through the ages, and some of the actual pieces as well. The girls working the admission desk were the best part. They fell in love with Calvin and basically gave us a private tour. They even let us touch some of the carefully guarded pieces.

To break up the trip on the way home we stopped in Port Huron to visit the lighthouse, train depot, and lightship museums there. Thomas Edison I could do without, but the other two were pretty good stops.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig.