rafting the rogue

have you ever been white water rafting? before today my answer to that question would have had to be "no." but now? now i can say that i have roughed the rapids of the rogue river and had an amazing time doing it. my brother and his wife (wow, it's weird to say that) met up with my dad and me in southern oregon and together we set off for the river, decked out in water shoes (that's right. water shoes) and life vests, ready for the adventure ahead. spending the afternoon floating down a gorge, we were surrounded by walls of pine trees with the brilliantly blue skies above us reflected in the water below. some herrins and turtles joined us intermittanly along the way. and every once in a while we'd come up on a rapid, hold on tight, paddle, paddle, paddle, and come out the other side soaking wet. it was the perfect combination of relaxation and exhilaration.

so, what about you? have you ever been white water rafting? because i have. ...oh wait, did i mention that already? woops...

three plays, two days, one shakespeare festival

earlier this summer i took a trip to europe. on that trip i saw two productions shakespeare plays: romeo & juliet at stratford-upon-avon and macbeth at the globe. i, of course, blogged about them, and how much i loved them, how enthralled i was with the language, and how i so enjoyed watching the books i've read come to life. the minute my dad read about all this, he was stoked and wasted no time booking us a trip to the oregon shakespeare festival in ashland. see, my dad fell in love with shakespeare when he was in college, and what father doesn't love to see their child follow in their footsteps? he used to go to the festival and see plays when he was my age, and now he got to take me. we've spent the past two days strolling around the quaint little town of ashland and taking in the wonders of the stage.

the first production we saw was of hamlet. and it was incredible. the best shakespeare production of the four that i have now seen. the dialogue was all as written, but the staging and wardrobe and whatnot were all set in the modern era. let me just say that there was rapping involved. for-rizzle. it was awesome.

the opening stage for hamlet

later that day we saw not a shakespeare play, but my all time favorite story portrayed on stage: pride and prejudice. unfortunately, elizabeth bennet, mr. darcy, and the rest of the gang didn't really strike my fancy this time. that is to say, i didn't like the actors. the girl that played elizabeth scowled the whole time and the man that was mr. darcy smiled the whole time. if you know anything about either of those character, you know that they got it all wrong. i will say, though, that seeing what a failure it was on stage (okay, that might be a bit harsh, but still) made me appreciate it as a novel even more.

the opening stage for pride and prejudice

we spent the following afternoon shopping and eating yummy sandwiches and hanging out at starbucks. i found a used book store (my idea of bliss materialized) and browsed about the shelves. eventually, i walked up to the cash register with ten books bundled in my arms, but fighting the overwhelming urge to buy them all, i honed my self control and narrowed it down to two (wuthering heights and random harvest) before checking out.
that evening we went to a preliminary session on twelfth night, the play we were seeing later that night. they talked about the plot and themes and costumes and staging and whatnot. it was actually really interesting, and a helpful refresher before seeing the outlandishly bemusing shakesperian comedy. the play itself was well done, and though i didn't enjoy it as much as hamlet i still appreciated the time and talent that went into it and the wild imagination of good old will.

if you like shakespeare, strange street musicians (there were lots of those), and used book stores this festival is definitely for you. it was definitely for me, and i'm sure i'll be back again someday.

ore egg in. or again. oregon!

i'm packing my bags for the second time this summer. this time i'm off to oregon. over the next two weeks (maybe more) i'll be going from ashland to mitchell, antelope to madras, and back again. you can expect blogs about rafting down the rogue; an adventure at the antone; frolicking, fishing, and having fun at the big muddy; and celebrating a second reception at the riffle. now, you're probably thinking to yourself, huh? the antone? what's the big muddy? the riffle? don't worry, i promise to explain over the next couple of weeks and fill you in on all the fun stuff oregon has in store. beaver state, here i come!

i want to swim with an elephant.

happy fathers' day!

how awesome are we?

thanks for being the best dad ever!

my brother got married!

my brother tied the knot yesterday with the amazing megan zimmer (well, i suppose now she's megan reinhardt)! it was the cutest little backyard wedding, right on big bear lake. we walked down the aisle, taffy performed his first wedding ever (way to go, taff), and they said their vows and became "man and wife." pictures were taken, bocce ball and horseshoes and croquet were played, and s'mores were made. we ate some delectible roast beef dinner and delicious cake and candy and cookies, cried with laughter at the best best-man speech ever given (props to david hughes), and danced the night away until the happy couple drove off down the mountain...

i couldn't be happier for mark and megan. and i hear they're settled in, soaking up some hawaiian sun and honeymooning their little hearts out. congratulations guys & i love you both!

i am a hero

because today i saved ten little baby quails from being eaten up by a big mean hawk. there i was, just reading some harry potter and soaking up some sun in the park, when a mommy quail came out of the bushes, and then out popped ten little baby quails following behind her like a little swarm of adorable bumble bees. they were just frolicking about pecking at little bugs or seeds or whatever it is they eat, when all of the sudden this giant hawk comes and tries to grab one! they all race back into the bushes and the hawk follows them. now all i can see is the bush shaking and little baby birds chirping panicked chirps and squealing pitiful little squeals. it was heart breaking. they might as well have been shouting, "help us, alli!" and so, i did. i ran over there shouting and waving my arms and yes, at this point i realize i look like a complete freak. luckily no one else was there, and even more luckily, it worked! the hawk flew away and all the little birdies were saved. i've never felt so foolish and so heroic at the same time. you're quite welcome, baby quails. as a thank you, feel free to fly to my doorstep and be my pets.

“sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.” -a.a. milne, winnie the pooh

nants ingonyama bagithi baba!

if that doesn't sound familiar, maybe this will: naaaaaa sayvenya babaditsi baba! ...no? that's what i always thought it was, at least. and by "it" i mean the opening of "the circle of life." no matter how you sing the intro, though, does not matter. what matters is that you just can't help but love the lion king. and last night, i took my mom to see the broadway production at the orange county performing arts center. if you haven't seen this award winning musical, you need to. even if you don't like musicals. because, like i said, who doesn't like the lion king? trust me, no matter how old you are or whoever you are, you will thoroughly enjoy it. my mom and i definitely did. what's not to love about people in giant elephant costumes trapsing down the aisles? seriously, though. the costumes are incredible. in-cred-ible. the whole thing was, really. so next time it comes to town, go. don't think, just get tickets. you won't regret it. oh, and try and sit on the aisle...

where in the world?

i realize that some of you might be wondering where in the world i have been these past three weeks, and why haven't a posted and post? well, i mentioned it before, but you might have forgotten. i've been studying abroad in the british isles! and, alas, i have been posting many posts. just not on this blog. but rather, on this blog. you can read all about my trip there, if--for whatever reason--you haven't been keeping up already. and now that i'm back home, i'll be back to this blog. let the heart to hardt recommence!