Phenomenal Performance !!!!

Les Miserables (School Edition)

I know I've mentioned before that even though we love to travel, often times some of the best stuff is found right in your own 'backyard'. Such was the case last night when we traveled to Grand Forks to join good friends for dinner and a high school theater production.

Now, I'm kind of a 'theater nut' and I love to attend shows of all kinds in all places....and I've certainly had more than one 'goosebump experience', when the show captured my imagination and fueled my emotions to the point of creating a difficult to describe experience. From small dinner theaters to extravegant Broadway productions, we've enjoyed everything from 'grass roots' to highly acclaimed professional productions....

.....and last night's performance by a bunch of talented area high school students just might have topped them all !

Granted, Les Miserables is the most powerful musical theater on the planet. But this group of young people....the SPA, or Summer Performing Arts Company....took a difficult production and turned in a magical performance by any standards. They far exceeded expectations. They literally stirred the soul with their passion for what they were doing.

And voices....unbelievable ! Les Miserables is a profound musical, with wonderful, but challenging music. And......there are at least ten or twelve leads, both male and female, and several other smaller parts that also require the message to be sung. Every person on stage nailed their part....their character. All voices were good, some were great and some were fabulous !

I could go on and on...but I hope you get the point by now. Although we're planning on doing a lot of travel, hopefully with some of you, in the next few years....don't overlook the wonderful things to see and do right here in our own 'backyard'.

One final thought. There were a couple of defining moments for me at last night's production. At the dramatic conclusion of the show, I, along with everyone else in the intimate little theater in Red River High School, literally leapt to our feet, as one, to give this talented group of performers, by virtue of long and loud applause, the praise they so richly deserved.

The other defining moment. Earlier in the show, as Act 1 concluded, I almost jumped to my feet with applause...but caught myself. It was only intermission. A standing ovation at halftime ? I certainly felt like it and I could tell others did also....but in all the years I've attended theater productions....never has anyone received a standing ovation at intermission.

I should have done it.

Steve

Two Great Trips !

A Progress Report....

We are very busy finalizing plans for the two upcoming travel-ography.com trips we're going on. While most of the key items, ( ie: hotel rooms, transportation, trip highlights ) are pretty well taken care of, there are always some 'loose ends' to tie up.

While a lot of really 'excited and fun' people are signed up to go with us, there are still some spots available for both the Duluth-North Shore Drive weekend and the New York City trip.

Amazingly, we haven't advertised either trip other than by 'word of mouth' or through this website. It would be so cool if we filled both trips without even having to advertise.

By the way, since this is just the beginning of our new venture, we are limiting the number of travelers going with us to a manageable size. After all, we want everyone to have a great time so they'll want to go with us on future trips.

We'll keep you updated and informed on all our travels and travel plans through this website. If you are not already getting the free subscription, please sign up in the box on the left side on our site travel-ography.com.

With all the travel destinations we are considering for next year....a new contender emerged this past weekend. Chicago !

Linda and her two sisters and brother spent the weekend in Chicago with their parents, helping them celebrate their anniversary. They had a wonderful time and suggested it would be a great place for a travel-ography.com adventure.

My excitement this weekend was trying to keep up with my raspberry patch. I think I've picked over 40 quarts this year. Mmmmmm.

Steve

New York, New York

travel-ography.com is pleased to announce that we have set a date for our trip to New York !

We're going to 'the Big Apple' November 10-11-12 and 13 (Saturday through Tuesday). This is a limited number trip, since we are putting it together kind of quickly, so I would guess that the spots will go kind of fast.

We'd sure love to have you with us.

Cost is $1,275 plus airfare. If you need help getting a flight, we have secured some seats on Northwest out of Grand Forks for $485.

We're going to do all the cool things there are to do in New York City and have a great time. I'll publish more details this weekend, as I have a very big wedding, with special challenges, to photograph tomorrow, so I'll be out of town.

Stay tuned.

Steve

Duluth - Preliminary Itinerary

I'm a poet and don't even know it.

Preliminary Itinerary sounds like a work of literary significance....well, at least a tongue twisting rap song title. But here it is, as promised, our first look at our Duluth and North Shore Drive trip day by day.

Friday, Sept. 28, 2007

8:00 a.m. Depart from Steve Larson Studio - Grafton (Plenty of free parking in the back).
(Possible other pick up points along the way.)

Noon Stop for lunch (on your own).

3:00 p.m. Tour of Historic Glensheen Mansion in Duluth.

5:00 p.m. Hotel Check In - The Suites at Waterfront Plaza (Our home for both nights.)

6:00 p.m. Walking Tour of Canal Park

7:00 p.m. Dinner (on your own) at Grandma's Saloon and Grill (Or wherever you choose.)

Evening Free Time (Movie theater....and IMax theater both within a short walk.)


Saturday, Sept. 29, 2007

A.M. Warm Breakfast at The Suites (included).
Walking Tour of Canal Park

10:00 a.m. Board Motorcoach and Depart for North Shore Drive up to Lutsen.

Noon Ride the Summit Chalet Tram and enjoy lunch (included) at the top.
This point near Lutsen should provide a spectacular view of the lake and the
fall colors.

3:00 p.m. Split Rock Lighthouse Tour

4:00 p.m. Gooseberry Falls State Park

Dinner On your own. (Several dining options in Canal Park area.)

Evening travel-ography.com 'Ice Cream Social' (Otherwise, on your own.)


Sunday, Sept. 30, 2007

A.M. Warm Breakfast at The Suites (included).

10:00 A.M. Tour of S.S. William A. Irvin Ore Boat Museum

Noon Lunch (on your own).

1:00 P.M. Load and depart from Duluth for ride home on luxury Motorcoach.


A Couple Weeks after our trip : Receive your choice of a Coffee Table Book, a Deluxe Photo Album, or a Video DVD....all filled with images of our recently completed trip.


All this for only $299 ppd (per person based on double occupancy).

We'd love to have you and your friends and family join us. All you need is a $50 deposit to reserve your spot, with full payment due by Monday, August 27th.

Steve

Autumn in Duluth....

Plans have been finalized ! We're going to Duluth and the beautiful North Shore Drive !

We have a luxurious motorcoach bus...a top rated hotel in a great location...and three days of breathtaking beauty, as we head to Duluth and travel along the North Shore Drive.

This first travel-ography.com trip is scheduled for Friday-Saturday-Sunday, September 28-29 and 30 and we hope you'll be with us.

Cost of the trip is $299 ppd (per person based on double occupancy).

So far, almost half of the seats are spoken for. To reserve your spot, please email us at stevelarsonstudio@yahoo.com or call 701-352-1810. A $50 deposit per person will guarantee your reservation.

Departure time and location and a complete itinerary will be posted on this site soon. Everything is scheduled and confirmed but I haven't had time to write out a complete itinerary due to the fact that it's high 'berry season' in our backyard.



Please observe 'my assistant' and myself busy in our backyard raspberry patch trying to keep up with our 'bumper berry crop'.




This evening we harvested 12 quarts of delicious, fresh raspberries. That makes a total of 24 quarts since Sunday, which was the official start of this year's picking. That's a lot of berries for just a small garden. These are special imported bushes and they are very prolific. We are sharing the 'fruits of our labor' with neighbors and friends and so far everyone seems very happy...with the exception of a couple of squawking birds, who feel we've invaded 'their' berry patch. Oh well, there's certainly enough for everybody.

Steve

Wonderful Mid-week (end) !

Here's hoping everyone had a wonderful 4th of July holiday. We sure did ! Although it was mid-week, it felt like a weekend to us, as we were able to travel down to the Twin Cities and celebrate our nation's Independence with all three of our children and our daughter-in-law.

We saw two great fireworks shows....in downtown St. Paul on the 4th, with what seemed like a couple hundred thousand people....and at Canterbury Park on the 3rd, where we took in the races and, along with about 12,000 others, saw a fireworks display unfold right before our eyes. It almost seemed like our own private show and it was awesome !


My betting wasn't so awesome, however. Guess which horse I had my money on in this photo finish I shot, while perched along the rail right at the finish line....right....I had the horse with the jockey with the red cap on....who, as you can see....lost by a nose (or was it a whisker). Oh, well, lucky I'm not a very big bettor ($2) so we still had money for things like food and gas.

The Twin Cities is a great destination and travel-ography.com will be putting together a couple of trips to Minneapolis-St.Paul sometime in the future.

In keeping with the theme of this beautiful country of ours, I received an email today from one of our travel-ography.com subscribers and it's so cool I just have to share it with you. Thank you Marilyn !

Click on this

....and make sure your volume is up on your computer, have a 'little bit' of patience, and sit back and enjoy the show. You'll see that one of the featured places in this beautiful show is where we are going September 28-29-30....the Split Rock Lighthouse on the North Shore of Lake Superior. We sure hope you can join us.

Steve

Happy 4th of July !

Happy 4th of July !

The Duluth and North Shore Drive trip is set for September 28-29-30. Call us at 701-352-1810 or email us at stevelarsonstudio@yahoo.com and we'll save you a seat on the motorcoach.

Steve