Only in Utah could a field trip include all of these!
Monday morning we left for St. George at 9am. We checked into our room and spent a couple of hours at the pool before getting cleaned up for the evening's big event- The Little Mermaid at Tuachan!
We arrived at the red-rock ampitheater at 5 o'clock where we were wisked throughout the backstage area on a private tour. Photo ops everywhere as we saw the cast member's lounge, the costume design department, the make-up and dressing rooms, the tunnels that lead from stage left to stage right, and even got to see how they do their famous stage flooding!
Following the backstage tour we ate a dinner of pizza and Dr.Peppers at a picnic table then were entertained by a family of children violin players before finally being allowed back into the theater to take our seats for the show. We were SO excited; popcorn purchased and bundled up for the evening's chill in our jackets and blankets, the play began. We were in amazement and awe from scene one, act one until the standing ovation which met the final curtain call! The special effects were like nothing I had ever seen before, and being that I'm from Vegas and have seen more than a few shows on-strip, that is HUGE! Mine and Carson's favorite part was when prince Eric fell overboard from his ship, then sank down, down, down to the depths of the sea only to be rescued by the beautiful mermaid Ariel! Following the show were more photo-ops with key characters of the play including Sebastian, Ursula, Flounder, King Triton, and, of course, Prince Eric and Princess Ariel.
I didn't sleep hardly at all (as is usually custom for my first night in a new place) that night, so the next morning when the majority of the group set out for hiking and touring, Carson and I opted to stay behind at the hotel and do some "pool-school" along with Matt and Christine. Who does schoolwork while relaxing at the pool at a hotel!? Homeschoolers do! :)
Later that afternoon we caravaned north to Cedar City where we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant on Main Street- the BEST enchiladas verdes EVER, and don't even remind me of the stuffed churros! The only thing better than the food was the company we were in- Taylors, Morrises, Coombses, and Prescias, we love you!
Following dinner we headed to the Shakespeare Festival for the 7pm showing of A Winter's Tale. The play wasn't quite what Shakespeare wrote, but rather this director's spin on it. Although the dialog was period-correct, the costumes were not, and there was bare minimum done for stage dressing and props. This combination proved to be both confusing to me, boring to Carson, and overall disappointing to us both. I think that the next time I take him to see a Shakespearean play, he will be in middle or high school. Not everything can be perfect all the time though, right?
It was a very late night by the time we got back to St. George and got the boys in bed, and 5:30 am came early! We needed to be cleaned up, have breakfast and ready to go by 8am to make it out to the farm by 8:30. Once we arrived at Staheli Family Farm day 3 of our adventures began! Christine locked the keys in the van, we couldn't get it open (sorry to all the men who tried), and had to call the Washington Police to come open it for us. Much laughter and joking ensued, with our rescuer joining in, and once again, the Taylors, Morrises, Coombses, and Prescias proved that when we are all together there is never a dull moment! After I unsuccessfully tried to purchase the kind officer's car opening tools (for future use because this was Christine's second time in a week locking her keys in the van) we headed into town to get some lunch for our tiny farmers, all of whom were by that time, mucking stalls, riding horses, feeding the llamas and pigs, and watering chickens. When we had returned with and eaten our lunches we took a wagon ride across the street to the corn field which had been cut into an intricate maze where we turned and returned our way from beginning to end.
Christine, Matt, Carson and I returned to the hotel where we enjoyed the use of the pool for the next few hours before setting out to see the town of St. George. We wandered in the car back out toward Tuachan and into the next town, found a housing development way out in the desert with it's own fire department (where we briefly met a fireman... this makes one policeman and one fireman if you are keeping count) before navigating our way back into St. George for some Starbucks and dinner. We decided on Kneaders for our dinner, and the sandwich and soup (along with the coffee) were perfect to keep us alert for the drive back home.
What we gained: a love for musical theater and the desire to open a Kneaders here in Vegas!
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