It was stupid hot

Adam joined us in Nevada (hip hip hurray!) and the next morning we headed to St. George, UT.  In August.  It seemed a little foolhardy (even to us) but we wanted to go to Tuacahn, an outdoor theater in the red rocks that plays Broadway shows.  We wanted to see Starlight Express.  Olivia saw it (twice) in London and when Braeden was four she gave him a cassette tape (remember those?) of the soundtrack.  There's some debate--her word against mine--as to why I returned the tape.  (I'm pretty sure you'd be on my side.)  We all agree though that we loved the music.

So we were headed to St. George.

The scenery was lovely (it was Nevada, of course it was lovely) and even though it added about 8 hours to our original plan, our group is highly portable.  Our kids don't mind how long the road is as long as they are fed and watered (at hotel pools) at regular intervals.

I love St. George.  I want to be a snowbird and live in either St. George or Palm Desert for the winter.  I want a stucco house with cactus in the front yard.  And lots of sunshine.  OK, I got that off my chest.

Our first stop in the fair city was El Pollo Loco.

Thumbs up for crazy chicken.

Then Tuacahn!

At the beginning of the show it was 100 degrees.  We couldn't fault the setting though.  Gorgeous.

By the first intermission:

At the intermission, Braeden said, "It is stupid hot."  And it was.  We were sweating like pigs.  (Do pigs sweat?  I don't have much experience with pigs.  I could say we were sweating like people from Seattle where it is "hot" when the temperature reaches 80 degrees.)

But it was fabulous!  We loved every blessed sweaty minute.  Starlight Express was a delight.  The plot was predictable and it was not Andrew Lloyd Webber's best music in my opinion but the spectacle of it all, the entire thing on roller skates, the fireworks, the way I couldn't decide where to look sometimes because there was so much that was going on that was wonderful, made it completely worth it.

We left the theater happy and exuberant which is what good theater does to you.  (We were also anticipating air conditioning which has a similar effect.)

Driving out of the canyon back toward the city, this was the view:

So we decided to get a closer look:

The St. George Temple.  The building is 136 years old.  It has aged well, don't you think?

I went to sleep that night grateful for talented people whose performances knock my socks off. (Well, they would have but I was wearing sandals.  It was hot.)  I was grateful for this season of life when my children are so much fun to be around.  And I was grateful for Adam, who makes it all possible.