Wedding and a Road Trip...

This past weekend I had company visit from afar and long ago and we took a little road trip back home to Fort McMurray for another long-time friend's wedding.  My best friend from my high school days, Tina, flew in from Toronto and the two of us loaded up the van and heading up the highway to see our wonderful friend Tammy marry Bryce.  It was a great day for a wedding and it was a lovely casual affair filled with friendship, great food, and a sing-a-long around the fire pit.  They also had fireworks and a very cool balloon release of wishes for the couple.  The best though, was seeing Tammy so obviously happy and full of joy.

The trip to McMurray was fascinating.  It has been a few year since I have been there, I think four, and a lot has changed.  I think Tina was even more blown away as it had been much longer for her so there were many more changes to absorb.  We didn't have a lot of time to explore but Mac Island was incredible and the proliferation of new development in Timberlea and up on the top of Confederation Way was hard to wrap my head around.  We didn't really check out the areas that had been flooded as we had a lot of territory to cover to do that too, but I was really impressed with the new facilities.  I hope the people there appreciate it and use it.  There is no excuse for saying there is nothing to do there. 

Tina and I headed home on the 881 after a breakfast in Anzac (where Tammy lives) and I think this was a less stressful drive home, although I have to admit 63 wasn't too bad on the way up. We had a nice weekend catching up on things from the far past and recent events.  Stories of our kids and our work and what we still wanted to accomplish.  It was a good weekend.

Away and Back Home Again...

What a great trip!  I am home now, after a long day of travelling, but it was indeed a great first time to New York City.  The first day I was a little nervous, but after negotiating the subway and walking around Times Square and Lincoln Centre and taking cabs I felt pretty good about getting around.  My friend Julie was great to travel with as she is pretty laid back and both of us were happy just to see what we could instead of seeing everything so that made it nice.

We saw Warhorse, Nice Work if You Can Get It, and Peter and the Starcatcher.  We used the TKTS system and paid half price for all of them.  I highly recommend.  The nice thing about not having been there before is that I hadn't seen anything so it made finding shows I wanted to see pretty easy.  I went knowing that I really wanted to see Warhorse, so I did.  Julie loves Gershwin so Nice Work was her top pick, so we saw that.  Peter and the Starcatcher was on the list and available for the matinee so we grabbed that one.  All three were fabulous choices.  I think Peter and the Starcatcher was my favorite, because it caught me off guard and the ensemble was so incredibly tight and hilarious, but all of them were fabulous for different reasons.  A great weekend of theatre! 

Saturday was the wedding - the primary purpose for the trip - and it was wonderful.  I love weddings - primarily the ceremony - and even more so when I feel like the people getting married totally belong together. This was certainly the case on Saturday.  Mark and Joyce are a lovely and loving couple and the wedding was so perfectly them.  The location was this beautiful, unique art space in Brooklyn Park.  They both were so happy and joyful.  It was great.

I will no doubt write more as I reflect on it, but suffice it to say - I had a great time!

* These three shows mark 39, 40, and 41 of my 2012 Theatre Goal - Goal Achieved!  Let's see how high I can go!

Apple Picking...

I am headed off to New York City for the next little while.  Look how casual I was about saying that...  A good friend of mine is getting married on the weekend so I am heading down to celebrate with her and her fella and have stretched the trip out a bit so I can see some shows. I have never been before and since Broadway is like Mecca to theatre people (particularly those who do musicals) I am so excited!  I have a great travelling companion, also a NY Newbie and we are excited to take on the city! Anyhow, I am doubtful I will blog in my absence as I am leaving my computer behind, but I will fill you in when I get back.

Today is packing for me and also getting the boys ready for school.  I don't have much time when I get back so the plan is to have it all ready before I go so that first day is taken care of. That's the plan, anyhow. Today is buying shoes and labelling school supplies... If I am lucky I will also find a better travelling purse...

My mind is full of what I might see (the online listings for Broadway shows looks so gooooood) and my general travelling stress (I am better in familiar places), but we are going to play it by ear and I think all will be well!  I am hoping it's not a crazy time for the city so we might get some deals and see some good stuff!