Thoughts on Stratford 2005
We slept in until about 8:00 am, but had some chores to address before we could abandon the house for a few days. We eventually hit the road about 11:30 am or so, but since the Friday night play was not until 8:00 pm, we had plenty of time to make our way there. And it's a good thing as I was not expecting the ridiculous amount of road construction on every major highway in Michigan. I only have myself to blame for this, I should have checked the MDOT web site for current road construction areas, I should have double-checked my maps.google.com directions and mapquest or some other service, I should have partially sedated myself, the list goes on. In my own defense, I was really not expecting to have several major on-ramps to I-94 closed for construction. We did get a nice detour through the ghetto, saw several hookers and gangsta looking folk, and after about 45 minutes, found an entrance ramp to I-94 that wasn't closed.
The rest of the drive was uneventful, we crossed into Canada at Port Huron and got the usual grilling from the Canadian border officers, but no cavity searches, so that was good. I am always surprised how much the Canadian countryside (at least Ontario) resembles Ohio...flat with lots of farm fields and cows. We finally got to Stratford about 4:30 pm or so and check into the Festival Inn. It's a nice hotel which we've stayed at several times before, but a few minutes away from downtown. I think the next time we go I'll have to investigate some of the downtown hotels. It would be nice to park the car for the weekend, yet still be in walking distance to all the shops and theaters.
After a quick rest, we cleaned up from the road trip and decided to find a restaurant before the 8:00 pm show. One of the nicer, yet not too expensive, restaurants Stratford has to offer is The Annex Room. They serve a variety of cuisine with a nice selection of seafood. The portions are also human-sized versus, oh say, velociraptor size you get in most restaurants in the States. I recommend the salmon as well as the chocolate mousse for dessert...very decadent...
The play for Friday night was Shakespeare's The Tempest in the Festival Theater. We always try to pick at least one Shakespeare production each time we go, as well as at least one play in the Festival Theater. The theater itself is a thing of beauty, as well as the gardens and the view of the river. The play was spectacular. The part of Prospero was played by veteran actor William Hutt who did a wonderful job of bringing the character to life. The actress who played Miranda also did a great job, bringing a noteworthy amount of humor as a love-stricken teen-age girl seeing other men for the first time. The whole play was well done and the costume designs were spectacular. As an added bonus, while leaving the theater we got additional laughs walking behind the most cantankerous curmudgeon who complained about the whole production and how Shakespeare should have never written such tripe. As we thoroughly enjoyed the production, it gave us both a good laugh hearing him complain...he must have been disturbed by the skimpy outfits of the dancers playing the nymphes...
The evening was rounded out by a glass of wine from the hotel bar/pub while we recalled our favorites scenes and discussed our plans for Saturday.
Saturday: places to see in Stratford.
The hotel restaurant had a rather nice selection for a breakfast buffet, so we took advantage of that before heading into downtown Stratford for a day of shopping before our next play at 8:00 pm. There are lots of little specialty shops in the downtown area, and you could easily spend a day browsing the stores and art galleries. We purchased some souvenirs and other trinkets. Jen bought me a sundial, what I'll actually call a stardial, as it's designed to tell time at night by lining up Polaris with Dubhe (the north most star of Ursa Major). It's a necklace pendant with constellations engraved in the back. It is a very attractive piece that is uber-geeky. Jen picked up a sundial ring for herself, so we should be covered for telling time except if it's cloudy or twilight...
Lunch was had at Molly Bloom's Irish Pub. Fish & Chips and a Guinness was the order of the day, although Jen had a chicken wrap as Haddock will kill her. We hit up a few more stores after, had some ice cream down by the river, then proceeded back to the hotel to relax/nap before the 8:00 pm play. We found a great little restaurant called Garlic's, right across from the Avon Theater, while exploring the area. Though we didn't have reservations, they were able to get us in. Not being particularly famished, we split an Alaskan crab pizza, some wine, and a brandied peach and gingerbread dessert that broke the sink...
The Saturday play was Fallen Angels at the Avon Theater. This was a comedy from the mid-1920s dealing with two female friends who have settled into a comfortable life of marriage only to find a mutual romantic man from their past comes to visit. It was a delightful production with costume and set design from the period it was written. The second scene was especially funny and we found ourselves anxiously checking our watches during the second intermission so we could see how it ended. A very funny production I would pay to see again if it were done locally. Being wiped out from a day of shopping, laughing, and fine dining, we headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep...
Sunday: Homeward bound, Michigan road work strikes back
After a great time, it was time to head home. The trip was wonderful, the weather was great, but it was time to get home and tend to the bunnies. All went well until we exited I-94 to I-75 South. We saw several signs indicating I-75 was down to one lane between Dixie Hwy and Toledo. That's 40 miles of stop and go traffic and that would not due. We managed to get to and exit and on to US-24 for a somewhat longer ride home, but finally escaping the evil clutches of the Michigan highway system.