Ozarks and Beyond

Ready to go home.

moore9503 — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 07:08:00 GMT

Well, here I am sitting in bed with the bags packed ready to get a little sleep before getting up at 4:00am tomorrow morning.

The kids have performed their last scene and spent their last pound and pence.

Today was a beautiful day to end our trip on. The weather was picture perfect. After 9 days of pretty continuous rain, it was sunny and around 65 degrees today. It was so clear that anywhere from the Royal Mile, below the castle, you could see all the way down to the bay.

Edinburgh has been a great city and the Fringe Festival has been fantastic. We've seen professional shows and amateur shows, dramas and comedies, good shows and a few stinkers but all in all the kids have brought back a wealth of knowledge about what it is they do and how to do it better than ever.

To top this little epic off has been the kids themselves. One usually expects to have at least one who tries everybody's patience and causes the rest to grumble and wish they weren't there. Not so with this group! To a person, they acted professionally when the time called for it and respectfully all the time. It doesn't hurt that they were one of the funnest group of high-school kids I've ever had the pleasure to work with. And for that I thank them and their parents.

Well we start loading buses at 5:30am so I better let you go and try to get a little sleep. If you've been following along I want to thank you as well. It's nice to know that someone back home was keeping an eye on us and out for us if even at a distance.

Good night and we'll see you at home.

Randy

Still Workin'

moore9503 — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 08:12:00 GMT

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It's hard to believe it's Friday already. These two weeks have been just flying by although I think we've all begun to miss a few of the comforts of home. I know I heard one of the girls mention yesterday that she's started dreaming of her mom's fried chicken. While the food here has been pretty good, a mom's fried chicken would be hard to argue with.

Today the rain slacked off a bit and the temperatures came back up. We actually got out of the fifties today. This morning Tracy Roberts (Cassie and Ben's Mom) took the kids hiking up to the top of Holyrood mountain. There were a few slips on the way back down but the weather held and the kids had a great time seeing all of Edinburgh laid out below them. After they got back from the hike they took a in play/puppet show about Tim Burton. Now I have to admit that Denise and I slacked off and went shopping instead. It's not that I don't like puppets, it's just that I loathe them. Sorry.

This afternoon was the kid's third performance of "The Illiad the Odyssey and all of Greek mythology in 99 minutes or less." They've had very good reviews from both audience members and one published review. Attendance continues to do pretty well which is a great encouragement to the group as I think their energy levels are beginning to wain just a tad and some of the other high school groups are getting just the minimum attendance.

Tonight we took in a play called "Hamlet in 3D". It was a very well performed show by a group out of New York. They were able to put Hamlet (in it's original old-English) to a modern cast with some creative multimedia that included a cameo by Alec Baldwin. Keep in mind that I'm not the biggest Shakespeare fan but I found this play very well done and enjoyable pretty much all the way through.

Tomorrow is the kid's last production and then we have to go see another high school perform "Seussical Junior." Since Central just got done doing a nice job of Seussical it would have been nice to see something else.

Well, it's late again and we did a lot of walking again so I'll let you go and try to get some rest.

Thanks for keeping up.

Randy

p.s. I uploaded some shots from the "Military Tattoo" the other night.

The Rain Stopped!

moore9503 — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:55:00 GMT

Sorry, but there aren't any new photos today. The last couple of days have been busy with the kids performing and attending other shows. Last night we went to a show called "Potted Potter" that left us crying with laughter. It was a two man show that more irreverently than accurately summed up all 7 Harry Potter books in about an hour. With a minimal stage set and plenty of audience participation (including myself, Taylor and Ben) these two guys had everyone's attention from the start.

At the kids late night performance last night they had reviewers in attendance. One of the reviews from an audience member said: "Absolutely amazing! So much energy that never drops for a second, also some brilliant audience interaction. Well worth the 30 minute walk (each way) =]." I really think the kids should be proud to see their hard work paying off.

Tonight we went to the Military Tattoo. In fact we just got back to the dorms about 10 minutes ago. The Tattoo is like a military band festival featuring Scottish and English military bands from all over the world. It was truly amazing. At one point they had 400 musicians including 60 bagpipers on the esplanade playing at one time. The whole thing takes place in front of Edinburgh castle after dark so they can use the castle as a backdrop for projections and fireworks. Did I mention how truly amazing this was? To start the evening they flew over a british royal airforce jet at low altitude. Did I mention how amazing this was?

I took a fair number of pictures tonight so I'll try to have some of them uploaded tomorrow. Oh, and by the way, it finally stopped raining about an hour before the show started tonight. It was blustery and cold but at least it was dry. We've had about 6 inches of rain in the last 4 days and we're starting to get a little moldy behind the ears.

Tomorrow is performing and attending a show and maybe a little shopping. I think everyone is starting to miss home a little now and starting to wear out a little. I'll try to update you tomorrow with pics and information so you might check back.

See ya soon,

Randy

Time to Perform

moore9503 — Tue, 9 Aug 2011 05:33:00 GMT

Today started as well as one could possible hoped. The kids had their first performance this morning up at Pilrig Studio and the attendance was fantastic. We had been warned that an early morning performance, on it's first day, may not do too well audience wise on their first time out. However, our concerns were completely unfounded. I'm guessing the studio holds around 150 people and the kids filled it two thirds to three quarters full. Fantastic.

Following the performance we dashed back to the dorms and grabbed a quick lunch after which the kids headed back down to the Royal Mile to do a "street" performance. In spite of standing on a little stage on a street filled with thousands of people the gang performed without flaw. You should have seen the looks on their faces knowing that they had done well at the premier performing arts festival in the world. Congrats to all the kids.

After they finished their street performance, we celebrated by grabbing a bite at the "Elephant House." Now I know we've talked about this before but the Elephant House is where J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter novel. To top off what started as a nearly perfect day we sat in the back of the cafe where J.K. sat and looked out at the same view. You'd have thought we had just visited Santa's workshop and I have to say I'm included in the wonder-struck in the group.

This evening the group is attending a couple of performances by other high school groups to get a feel for what others are doing and how they compare. Denise and I had to leave a little early to bring Taylor back to the dorms. It looks like she may have a little food poisoning. Fortunately, the kids don't perform again until late tomorrow evening so she will have a little time to recover and get some rest.

In case you've been watching the rioting in England I would like to inform you that we are doing fine and do not feel unsafe at all. Scotland is a world away from middle and southern England and it doesn't have near the social problems that the south has.

Well, it's time to go and hit the sheets. My prediction yesterday that it would get busy from here on in was right on the nose, so....

Good luck and we'll talk later.

Randy

Trip to the Scottish Highlands.

moore9503 — Mon, 8 Aug 2011 05:32:00 GMT

What a beautiful day! We spent the day on a tour of Sterling castle and then drove up through the region known as the Trossacs. The Trossacs are basically the foothills of the Scottish highlands.

It's still humbling to visit and stand in places where the history you've studied all your life actually occurred. Sterling castle was the home to several kings and queens of Scotland, most notably Mary Queen of Scots. Even though quite a bit of the castle no longer exist, the part that is still here is just downright humbling.

We drove though the valley where William Wallace (aka. Braveheart, aka. Mel Gibson) fought for his countrymen and then stopped in the area where Rob Roy rustled cattle and extorted farmers. Let's face it, there's a whole lot more history here than any one place I've ever been.

I think the pace of the trip is starting to show on several of us. Whenever the scenery began to mellow out today you would begin to see heads falling forward and eyes dropping shut. I'm pretty sure I succumbed to sleep for a few minutes a couple of times.

From here on out the trip is pretty much concentrated on performing and watching others perform. The kids are down rehearsing right now and they rehearsed for several hours yesterday. All-in-all I think they're ready.

I posted several new photos today you may want to look at. If I miss you for a few days I apologize in advance since we will be pretty busy.

Be careful,

Randy

Surprise - It's Raining!

moore9503 — Sat, 6 Aug 2011 08:30:00 GMT

Our first full day in Edinburgh and it has rained all day. While this may seem like a fairly formidable inconvenience a person has to admit that the result of all this rain is impressive. I generally consider Hawaii the greenest place I've ever been but I'm beginning to feel like Scotland may be giving it a run for it's money. I don't know that I've ever seen such beautiful flowers and lawns.

The picture I'm attaching today will either need no explanation or you will have absolutely no idea what this place is. It's the "Elephant House" coffee shop. Still don't know? Well, the Elephant House is where J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter novel. See, you either get it or you don't.

We took a very nice walking tour of the old-town of Edinburgh this morning and thoroughly enjoyed a partly sunny 62 degree day. It actually didn't start raining until after we came out after lunch around 1:30pm. After we returned back to our dorms the kids rehearsed their show while the rest of us napped. Yeah, I know but I'm not exactly 21 anymore. This evening we took in a musical called "Shhhh....". I thought is was pretty good but the kids spent the whole way back (1.1miles in the rain!) critiquing the show by which time I realized I only thought I enjoyed the show but instead found the staging weak and the character development lacking. Which goes to show you that physicist shouldn't moonlight as theatre reviewers.

Tomorrow the kids have tech rehearsal after lunch so I think I'll try to drop in on the National Museum of Scotland. Good luck and I'll try to talk to you tomorrow. Randy

Photos: Edinburgh

moore9503 — Sat, 6 Aug 2011 07:48:00 GMT

Trip to Edinburgh for Fringe Festival

Edinburgh

moore9503 — Fri, 5 Aug 2011 05:51:00 GMT

Well, we finally arrived in Edinburgh today. I apologize for not writing earlier but free wi-fi is not available around here.

London was beautiful but a little warm and we've walked more in the last three days than I've walked in years.

Now as a true anglophile, when it comes to mystery novels, I've seen more locations and settings for murders and mayhem than I could have dreamt about in a year. From the Tower Bridge to the Tower of London to the Queen's Steps, I felt like you might see Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers sitting over to one side working on their next plot.

The kids in Taylor's drama team are a true pleasure to hang around with. They're funny, sharp and "reasonably" well behaved. I'm going to post a photo of the gang today since I don't have the photos from my good camera. In the next couple of days I'll try to start putting up more shots from all around London and in Edinburgh. Just check the photo gallery for the new shots.

Have a nice one.

Still Prepping

moore9503 — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 01:04:00 GMT

Anticipation continues to grow.

I finished purchasing travel insurance this morning (WorldNomads or course)in spite of hoping I'll never need it. I've only bothered with travel insurance once before, when we traveled to the Mediteranean, but since this trip was pretty intensive and I wasn't the one making the arrangement I felt like it was a good idea.

This trip will be a new experience for Denise, Taylor and me. I usually spend a lot of time and effort on preparing for our trips as far as transportation and lodging are concerned and then simply letting the trip itself evolve as to what we see and do. This time there is an itinerary for almost every moment of every day. Even our free time is scheduled. And to make matters worse, I have had no involvement whatsoever in the planning of this trip. My controlling nature is about to melt down in frustration.

However, I have vowed that this trip will be an adventure that we'll never forget. Just the thought of visiting places that were considered historical landmarks even before our country saw visitors that were not native Americans, is a little daunting. The idea of seeing Taylor perform on stage with her friends with an international audience (however small and/or intimate the setting) is a little exciting as well.

I'll try to keep up with this journal. Internet access may define that effort. Plus, I've limited myself to my Nook Color so I won't be taking a laptop. To some extent, unplugging is fairly important when I travel for leisure so I'm going to try to stick with that policy.

Thanks, and I'll try to check back once we're on the Road.

Randy