Philadelphia 2018

Greetings from the City of Brotherly Love! Brenda, Rowan, and I arrived in Philadelphia on Sunday after a fun, albeit busy, last week in Santa Fe. As I mentioned previously, we had the pleasure of having Brenda’s parents in town, and they spent a lot of quality time with Rowan, which allowed Brenda and me to go on a couple dates to the opera. Brenda’s last performance of Candide went well other than her falling early in the performance. She landed on her back, which has been sore ever since, but she also managed to hurt her right knee and left elbow in the process. Apparently there was a collective gasp from the audience when she fell, but she got right back up and the show continued. 

 Jim, Joanne, and I took Rowan to Fort Marcy Park one afternoon last week.

This picture was taken during Brenda’s recent photo shoot. It’s not one of the official photographs, but it gives you an idea of what some of the shots will look like.

Brenda’s last show in Santa Fe was Saturday night, we flew Sunday, and she went to work at Opera Philadelphia Monday morning. She’ll continue to be quite busy until the show opens on September 21. (It turns out that when you sing a title role you usually have to rehearse a lot.) Rowan and I walked down to where she rehearses today to have lunch with her. It was a very hot and humid day with a high around 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius). I was dripping sweat on the walk home, but luckily for us our apartment is air conditioned. 

I’m still deciding what Rowan and I are going to do the rest of the week, but it shouldn’t be hard to find somethhing since Philadelphia seems to have so much to offer. I’ll let you know what we end up doing next time. Until then, have a great week!

Last few weeks in Santa Fe

Hello all! We’ve had a nice couple weeks since I wrote to you last. Brenda’s parents arrived a few days ago and will be staying with us until we hit the road this weekend. We all went for a nature walk today (Rowan included) at the Audubon Center in Santa Fe, and this evening Brenda’s parents are seeing the penultimate Candide performance. Brenda’s aunt Marilyn and uncle Ron (and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg) were in town a little over a week ago to see the show, and we had fun spending time with them. Rowan especially enjoyed having Ron and Marilyn ride on his pretend bus, which is made up of several pillows lined up in a row.

On Sunday I went for a hike with two of Brenda’s cast mates, Alek and Kevin. We hiked on the Dale Ball trails up to Picacho Peak and then to the top of Antalya Mountain. It was a fun day. My only concern as we hiked was that we didn’t bring enough water. It wouldn’t hve been good if two of the stars of Candide were hospitalized for dehydration, but fortunately we all were in good shape after our almost five hour hike.

We did a lot of laughing on that hike.

Yesterday Jim and Joanne helped me face my fears by taking Rowan and me to the bug museum in Santa Fe. If you’re into creepy crawly critters, this is the place for you. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed seeing all the different bugs and lizards, but I was not about to hold a tarantula in my hand like Jim did.

Yikes.

While we were learning to love bugs yesterday, Brenda was at a photo shoot. She felt it was time to get some new publicity shots, so she made arrangements to work with a photographer in Santa Fe. I haven’t had a chance to see any of the pictures yet, but Brenda thinks they got some really good ones. We’ll post some pictures here as soon as they’re available.

On Sunday we fly to Philadelphia for Brenda’s next gig. It’s been a really nice summer in Santa Fe, but I’m ready to move on to the next thing. Rowan is quite a bit older than he was when we were in Philadelphia last, and I’m expecting that we’ll get to explore a bit more of the city this time. It should be a lot of fun.

Until next time, have a great week!

a month on the move

Hi all! It seems our blog entries have inadvertently slowed to once per month. I'm going to work on posting more frequently, but until then here's a run down on what we've been up to over the past month.

Brenda and I went on two big hikes while Rowan had his last week of day care in early July. Once Monsoon Season began, the powers that be determined the fire risk around Santa Fe was low enough to reopen the hiking trails. Our first big hike took Brenda and me up to the top of Atalaya Mountain, which overlooks Santa Fe.

Brenda at the top of Atalaya Mountain.

Our next hike took us to Tesuque Peak, which, at 12,040 feet, is one of the highest peaks near Santa Fe.

 Walking up the steep trail felt like walking up rocky stairs for ninety minutes, but the amazing views were worth the effort.

Brenda at the top of Tesuque Peak with Santa Fe Lake in the background.

In mid July we flew back to the midwest for two weeks, and after a short stay at our house in Minneapolis, we drove to Madison where Brenda made her debut with Madison Opera as a part of their annual Opera in the Park concert. We then visited Brenda's parents in Appleton, and they graciously agreed to look after Rowan for two days while Brenda and I stayed at our favorite B&B in Door County. It was his first time away from both of us at the same time, and by all accounts, he did great (and so did Oma and Opa!). After that we went back to Minneapolis for a few nights and then flew to Santa Fe. 

Fried cheese curds. A necessary part of any trip to Wisconsin.

 Rowan had a wonderful time with his grandparents.

 Breakfast on our balcony at the B&B.

 Al Johnson's. A necessary part of any trip to Door County.

 Happy vacationers.

Four days after getting back to Santa Fe, Brenda flew to Santa Barbara to sing at the Music Academy of the West's annual gala.

My parents have been in town visiting for the past week, which has been wonderful as always. We took Rowan on a hike on the Dorothy Stewart Trail, and my dad looked after him one evening while my mom and I went to L'Italiana in Algieri at the Santa Fe Opera.

Brenda has four more performances of Candide in the coming weeks, and other than that she'll probably continue to work on her repertoire for the upcoming season, which is actually not too far off. We fly to Philadelphia in less than three weeks for Brenda's next role, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor. Until then, we'll enjoy as much of Santa Fe as we can (meaning I'll be eating tons of red and green chile).

Until next time, have a great week!