Thursday, February 27, 2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Wicked
I love live entertainment. Concerts, plays, operas, musicals, any of it. There's just something exhilerating about having incredible talent literally in the same room with you! At the beginning of the year, my mom decided we needed to take a girls' trip. (Sorry, Rilo.) She found out that Wicked was playing in Memphis at the Orpheum, and she snatched up the last available three consecutive seats in the theatre for February 8th.
This was my first experience with this musical, though I have heard wonderful things about it. Actually, it was only my second live musical experience ever! On our choir trip to New York my senior year of high school, we went to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, which was seriously my dream come true. Wicked was a wonderful experience, even following Broadway! The Orpheum, decorated in deep reds and gold, was as beautiful as the theatre on Broadway in my opinion. And the talent displayed on the stage... Wow. One probably couldn't even calculate how many hours of preparation a show like this requires. The training of the singers' voices, the hours of rehearsal, the costume and set design and creation. It all came together perfectly to entertain a theatre full of enthusiastic fans!
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| We took a quick walk down Beale Street. |
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Walter Mitty
If you haven't seen The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, please do! I think most people can feel a little like Mitty at times- being dragged down by the mundane routine of life. Without giving too much of the film away, I will admit that it pushed Caleb and me towards a little spontaneity. We decided to go on a trip. A one night's stay in a hotel and a few tanks of gas in my Fiesta were in the budget, so we went for it.
After settling on driving north to Arkansas, Caleb and I got on Google Earth and searched for a pretty place to go. By the way, the new Google Earth allows users to upload photographs and will display them as other users are browsing Google Earth. We were looking at the photographs, and found one of Hemmed-In-Hollow, near the Buffalo River. The photograph we saw displayed a 204 foot tall waterfall, and that settled it. We reserved a hotel in Harrison, AR, and planned to hike the trail that leads to the waterfall.
Monday, December 30th, we set off for Arkansas, planning to take our time and make plenty of stops along the way. If you are used to driving the same stretch of highway over and over again (for us, it's I-20 going east and west from Ruston), it is so refreshing to drive a different direction and see new scenery along the drive. Time passes so much faster!
In northern Louisiana, we passed an abandoned school and decided to take a few pictures. Even in the middle of the day, it was a bit creepy. We found a basketball roster from 2003, so it had been uninhabited for about 10 years.
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On scenic byway 7, there were places to pull over and enjoy the beautiful mountain landscape. We arrived at one of those pull offs at sunset.
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The next morning, we began our hike. The trail takes you down the mountain, and you can either go to the waterfall or the Buffalo River. We ended up doing both. Both places were absolutely stunning. Take a look!
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From what we read online, we learned that the river is at its bluest in the wintertime. I have never seen a river that blue! Of course, I'm used to the muddy Mississippi. ;)
The hike back up to the top kicked our behinds. A Wendy's hamburger and Frosty never tasted so good! We drove more than five hours back home that evening, arriving at about 11:30. We could barely keep our eyes open to wish each other a happy New Year at midnight.
After Caleb and I described our trip to my aunt and uncle, Uncle Steve said, "Jana, we should plan to do something spontaneous sometime, too." While I know it is unrealistic for everyone to pack their bags and leave the next day on a trip because we do, in fact, have responsibilities. (While Caleb is on break from college, and I am working at a school and get very nice breaks, we were fortunate enough to have a few days to get away.) But in all seriousness, if you have one day free, you can get up early and make a three hour trip somewhere and back easily. Maybe you want to plan by Google Earth, or maybe you'd rather pick a road and see where it takes you. Take time to make memories with someone you love and appreciate the scenery that God himself painted.
After settling on driving north to Arkansas, Caleb and I got on Google Earth and searched for a pretty place to go. By the way, the new Google Earth allows users to upload photographs and will display them as other users are browsing Google Earth. We were looking at the photographs, and found one of Hemmed-In-Hollow, near the Buffalo River. The photograph we saw displayed a 204 foot tall waterfall, and that settled it. We reserved a hotel in Harrison, AR, and planned to hike the trail that leads to the waterfall.
Monday, December 30th, we set off for Arkansas, planning to take our time and make plenty of stops along the way. If you are used to driving the same stretch of highway over and over again (for us, it's I-20 going east and west from Ruston), it is so refreshing to drive a different direction and see new scenery along the drive. Time passes so much faster!
In northern Louisiana, we passed an abandoned school and decided to take a few pictures. Even in the middle of the day, it was a bit creepy. We found a basketball roster from 2003, so it had been uninhabited for about 10 years.
On scenic byway 7, there were places to pull over and enjoy the beautiful mountain landscape. We arrived at one of those pull offs at sunset.
The next morning, we began our hike. The trail takes you down the mountain, and you can either go to the waterfall or the Buffalo River. We ended up doing both. Both places were absolutely stunning. Take a look!
From what we read online, we learned that the river is at its bluest in the wintertime. I have never seen a river that blue! Of course, I'm used to the muddy Mississippi. ;)
The hike back up to the top kicked our behinds. A Wendy's hamburger and Frosty never tasted so good! We drove more than five hours back home that evening, arriving at about 11:30. We could barely keep our eyes open to wish each other a happy New Year at midnight.
After Caleb and I described our trip to my aunt and uncle, Uncle Steve said, "Jana, we should plan to do something spontaneous sometime, too." While I know it is unrealistic for everyone to pack their bags and leave the next day on a trip because we do, in fact, have responsibilities. (While Caleb is on break from college, and I am working at a school and get very nice breaks, we were fortunate enough to have a few days to get away.) But in all seriousness, if you have one day free, you can get up early and make a three hour trip somewhere and back easily. Maybe you want to plan by Google Earth, or maybe you'd rather pick a road and see where it takes you. Take time to make memories with someone you love and appreciate the scenery that God himself painted.
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