The highlights

- ice cold Yuengling!
- Seeing Betsy, Griff & the kids and Kim (see where they rank? right after the beer!!!)
- Walking around Highland Park with Betsy, enjoying the scent of the lilacs (the park looked remarkably like our Arnold Arboretum; and in fact was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who technically only advised Charles Sargent Sprague with the Arboretum's design, but still, you could see similarities)
- the bus ride to Toronto (the Tour Director asked if there was anyone on the bus who knew the LOTR story well enough to explain it...HAHAHA! Betsy and I ended up going up front and giving a synopsis and took a few questions. No, I didn't show off the ring and hopefully, none of them noticed us getting into my car after we got back...the GOLLUM license plate would've been a bit embarrassing!)
- yummy chopped liver sandwich with chopped eggs & onions at a deli in Toronto!
- playing with the girls
- watching late night tv with Kim (she has the BEST laugh!) and enjoying a couple ice cold Yuenglings with hothot wasabi peas
- Popeye's chicken!
- Getting a case of Yuengling from Betsy in return for taking pictures of her girls

The lowlights

- Mo forgetting about the plans and having to cancel cause she was dog sitting :-(
- giving Kim the "read between the lines" gesture in front of the assistant pastor on the bus (the bus trip to see the play was arranged by the church Betsy attends...or used to attend LOL! Betsy thinks the assistant pastor didn't understand the gesture, one can only hope! I don't need any more black marks, thank you very much)
- having to listen to Honky Tonk Badonk (or some such weird title) on Kim's iPod...my ears are still bleeding!
- the price of gas! It was $3.07 at one place, the most I've ever paid for gas in my life (not counting Japan)
- Kim: "Snape? You think SNAPE is HOT??? You're joking, right?" No, Kim, I'm DEADLY serious ;-) (Betsy: "Who's Snape?" I see I'm going to have to expose her to all things HP, just as I did with all things LOTR. I see another addiction in the making.)

The weekend was built around about going to see the play, The Lord of the Rings, at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto on Saturday.

What a production! The stage design was spectacular; unfortunately no pictures were allowed and I didn't want to attempt it, lest my camera get confiscated. There were branches extending out from the stage all the way to the top balcony and before the play began, various "hobbits" were trying to catch "fireflies" that flitted here and there among the branches. The hobbits came down into the audience, climbing over vacant seats and the like...it ws funny! The costumes were fantastic, too, except for the orcs...not going into THAT!

Bearing in mind the length of the trilogy, and the fact that there were 3 movies made, at about 4 hours each (the extended version), creating a 3 hour play was not an easy thing. All in all, they did a great job. Eomer was cut, as was Faramir & Grima Wormtongue. All the hobbits were there, and Gollum (who got a standing ovation and most definitely deserved it), Gandalf (didn't care for the actor's portrayal at all, much too soft spoken and he spoke too fast, so he was very hard to understand), Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli (the lone American actor; had a great Scottish accent!), Elrond, Arwyn, Eowyn, Theoden, Sauruman, Sauron, the orcs, the Ents (including Treebeard and to hear him speak Entish was hysterical!) and the nazgul (on horseback!).

The songs weren't nearly as good as the score composed for the movies by Howard Shore, but again, they did a decently job with what they had.

For a dedicated LOTR fan, it was well worth the trip! Combined with the chance to take some photographs at Highland Park, seeing Betsy & Kim, playing with the girls and Yuengling!, it was a fantastic weekend.

little pink tree

pansy butterfly

one of these is not like the other!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

I am so glad you had fun! I wish I could have gone so badly!!!

Things I noticed, you sure mentioned Yuengling a few times, a great desire I see...

The Gollum plates, he, he, he... Did you go on to explain of the Legolas poster figure you have? That you had talked about elf surgery? That you have seen the movies more than the average bear? That you can quote almost the whole movie, if not all of it... I think I would have burst out laughing if they had asked it...

Even this country girl doesn't like Honky Tonk Badonk Adonk. Blah, I feel for you there!

Getting caught flipping off Kim, PRICELESS...

And you love HP's Snape? I am still trying to figure that one out...

I wish I could have gone... Instead over the course of 72 hours I worked 50 and slept a total of 13. Yup, 13 hours in 3 days. LOTR would have been so much better.

And of course I love the pictures... :)

Azzy, I wish you could've gone, too! You would've loved it, and fit right in with Betsy & Kim.

Yuengling is my favorite beer, and it's not available in MA!

No, no, no and no! But I did find out the pastor's wife was the driving force behind the tour; apparently, she has a little thing for Legolas--she even has a poster of him in the house! She likes him cause he's so clean looking LOL!

I'm trying to figure out my love of Snape, too!

Dude, you never sleep much anyway!

Lovely pics, Janet.

Michele sent me today!

Sounds like you had fun. But you had to go with a church group? So not your scene, I should think.

I think I have to watch LOTR just to know what the hell you are talking about!
However, I do know Yuengling well!

Glad you had a great weekend......awesome pics as always!

Oooh those flower pictures are soo pretty! I am especially fond of the tree.

Be glad you aren't here...gas is $3.38 for the cheap stuff! Urg.

Dude, the phrase "yummy chopped liver" kinda makes me gag a little.

I'm glad you had fun!

Oh my God, those are such great shots! I liked the ones this morning too! But then when you HAD to mention "yummy chopped liver sandwich with chopped eggs & onions" I died. That is so unfair to talk about that infront of a dieting cousin!
As for those poor people in the bus who were a captive audiance, I can only say, there have been reports of several people arriving in Toronto stark raving mad! Hmmmm! Know anything about that!

Love the pictures and your weekend sounds like a lot of fun! No thanks on the chopped liver though. It's one of the only things I dislike to eat. LOL

I Love Betsy "(Betsy: "Who's Snape?") LOL. Even I know who Snape is but ask me anything LOTR and I am LOST.

The set sounded amazing too - glad you had a nice get away!

One of these days I'm gonna read the trilogy. L*U*C*K*Y!!! Yuengling is sooo good! The picture with the pansies reminds me of the Van Gogh painting - I forgot the name of the painting... lucky lucky lucky!!! :)

Ha. It's Honkey Tonk Badonkadonk. :) (Perhaps with another spelling.) My favorite line (though I could do without the song, personally) is "ooh wee shut my mouth. slap my grandma."

Glad you had fun.

Glad you had a good time this weekend and am glad to hear the show was to your liking. You're a brave woman. Don't know if I could've brought myself to see a musical version of LOTR due simply to my love of the films. Happy that it met your expectations. And you shouldn't be embarrassed about your LOTR geekiness...embrace it! ;)

A church arranged the trip? Cool church!

pwetty flowers!
eww to the liver!
i know that song, lol.