Ashland, part dos (coincidentally, that is the number of glasses of wine I have just consumed)

Let it be known that I am really glad that I let Sherry cajole me into accompanying her to the festival. As someone who does not particularly enjoy that Shakespeare man, I surprisingly had a great time. The performance of Merry Wives of Windsor was incredible - the costumes were a comically obnoxious mix of Dr. Suess meets Moulin Rouge (with Jetsonesque wigs). I haven’t laughed so hard in a very long time. Because I’ve never seen a traditional performance of the play, I have no idea how many liberties the director took – but I imagine there were many. The black lights and fluorescent paint were glorious. I must admit, however, that there is nothing so panicking (and stream-stopping) as hearing, while one is using the restroom, “Four minutes until intermission is over, ladies! There will be NO late admissions!” I actually heard a mother say to her child, “Go! Don’t worry about me!”, as though we were all in a life or death situation that required the noblest of parental sacrifices. That was a bit too much for me. I raced out of the bathroom and up the stairs, making it to my seat just in time. Thank goodness!

For those who have read Sherry’s blog, it is true that I dropped my toffee on the ground the day after Sherry dropped hers. I’m not sure what it is about the streets of Ashland and suicidal toffees, but I will assure you that my treat did not go to waste. I picked it up, and, after much deliberation (and yelling loudly, “Why God, why?!?”, peeled off the chocolate that touched the ground and proceeded to devour my candy. And I felt no shame.

I decided on this trip that I would love to live in Ashland. I loved wandering the streets, stopping in the unique little boutiques, and interacting with the locals (many of whom, it seems, have been hitting the peace pipe for FAR too long). I liked the fact that one minute the sun would be shining on us brightly and the next we were being pelted with rain drops. I loved the trees, I loved Lithia park, and I loved being in a place that is so obviously in love with the arts. It was fan-fucking-tastic.