It has been a really long time since we had been to Ashland. We went when the boys were really young and Bill had taken his dad there several years before he died. So that gives you a little bit of an idea of how long it has been. I knew that they obviously did Shakespeare at the Elizabethan outdoor theater as well as the indoor theaters and I have been to a more modern (17th or 18th century) play. But I had no idea that they did musicals there so I was pleasantly surprised.
Bill loves Shakespeare so he bought tickets to see "Antony and Cleopatra" on Saturday night. It was in the outdoor theater and from past experience, we knew that it would be cold so we came prepared with winter coats and blankets. As with most Shakespeare plays staged these days, the costuming was fairly modern. The Egyptian costuming was probably the closest to ancient Egyptian but the Romans had a kind of science fiction like costume design (no togas) and the soldiers had modern fatigues and rifles. They certainly didn't look much like Roman soldiers. The production was top notch as one would expect from the Ashland Shakespeare Festival. We went to "Guys and Dolls" on Sunday afternoon and that was so much fun!
Ashland is definitely a tourist town. It is very easy to spend a lot of money there. We did it as cost effectively as we could. We stayed in an old 1930 era motel which was fairly inexpensive. I had read some reviews on the internet so I didn't have any high expectations--and no surprises from some of the less than satisfactory parts about staying there. We found some relatively reasonable restaurants to eat at amongst the really expensive eateries. They weren't out of this world wonderful but they were adequate. Going to the play and musical were our splurges.
I always tend to celebrate over a number of days. Thursday I went to the hospital to see my friend, Denise, since were didn't do our usual celebration of our birthdays together by going out to dinner before going to the September AORN meeting. We had lunch together in the cafeteria instead. On Friday--I spent the afternoon with my friend, Colleen, going out to lunch, shopping and to see "A Walk in the Woods" starring Nick Nolte and Robert Redford. It was an okay movie and had its funny moments. Then while we were in Ashland, the Packers were playing the Seahawks so I insisted on watching the game for my birthday. The TV in our room wasn't very good so we went out to a sports bar to watch the game and cheer the Packers onto victory.
All in all it was a great birthday festival. I got to spend time with some friends. I got to go on a flying adventure with my sweetheart and be entertained by some first class entertainers. What more could a woman ask for!
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