Henry VIII - Travel Correspondent Reporting In

Well, we're here in Montgomery, Alabama. Our 7 and a half hour drive was actually about 9 and a half hours. Mom has Sirius Radio, so we jammed away listening to music from the 50s and 60s the whole time. We stopped when we needed to stretch and tried not to stress too much when it looked like we'd pull into town about 10 minutes before the opening curtain for the Shakespeare Festival.

Full disclosure here...Leslie told us time and time again to start earlier than we did but we really wanted to have breakfast with my sister in law, Marsha. Next time we'll make Marsha get up and have breakfast with us at 5am...yeah, right...that would happen, lol.

Anyway, we had a good breakfast at the Tick Tock Diner and got on the road by about 9am. Good roads, no traffic to speak of and we took turns driving. Then...we started calculating arrival time. The curtain for the play would go up at 7:30 p.m. and it was starting to look like we wouldn't get in until 7:10. Yikes and gulp. Then...a miracle occured. Did you know there was an hour's difference in time zone between FL and AL? Prayers can make a difference, lol.

So, we staggered into the Comfort Inn at about 6:40...got all dolled up - oh yeah...inhaled some cheese and crackers and then zoomed the mile and a half to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival on Woodmere Avenue, squealed into the handicapped parking space and entered the incredibly beautiful theater (more pictures later, I promise). My parents always have gotten wonderful seats and this was no exception. My mother and I were center stage, second row. Perfect...except...we left my mother's walker at the side of the theater and had to traverse several obstacles to get to the seats. Mom was a real trouper, I know those dark steps made her nervous but we made it.

The stage, the costumes, the performance was superb. There was a suspended stage with glass floor to add to the drama. The play was Henry VIII. Before the weekend is over, my mother made arrangements for us to participate in "The King's Feast" with is dinner with the cast . I can't wait to see if they speak as loudly at dinner as the do on the stage. I also wonder if the language will be contemporary or Shakespearian!