Another Reunion - Another Great Weekend

This past weekend was spent visiting with friends who were members of the original dinner club until they moved out of the area.  Al and Lynn arrived Friday afternoon, and in spite of her allergies to the kitties, we had a fun dinner with Renee, and they spent the night.  After breakfast on Saturday, we headed to Staunton with Al driving - a real treat.

We were met in Staunton by Carl and Margaret and we had lunch at the Bistro.

The weather was cool but pleasant enough for lunch outside.

The reason we met in Staunton was because of the American Shakespeare Center.  We have been several times now and have never been disappointed in the productions we have seen.  This trip we saw "All's Well That Ends Well", "Return to the Forbidden Planet" (not Shakespeare but a hilarious spoof of "The Tempest"), and Romeo and Juliet."  The actors are amazing because they not only perform in the plays, but each plays and instrument, sings and dances.  When not doing a musical such as "Return..." they provide the entertainment before the show and during intermission.  It's a small cast and you might see the same actor in different roles within the same play.  The Center also has a national touring company.

The performances are done in a replica of the Blackfriars theater in London.  The small, talented, hard working company performs year round.  

We stayed next door to the theater at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel and awoke Sunday morning to find it had turned cooler and a gentle rain was falling.  After having a sumptuous breakfast at the hotel, George and I took a leisurely stroll down Beverly Street, the main drag in downtown Stanton.  The presence of Mary Baldwin University definitely gives the town a college feel and for a small town there are many fine restaurants and shops.  Here are some of the shots taken during the walk:

This is Beverly Street and on the corner is the historic Bell Tower building that now houses a fun pub on the ground floor with apartments above.

The personal passions of the tenants seem rather obvious.

This is a fun camera store and museum.  The proprietor is not only knowledgeable about cameras, but is a personal friend or acquaintance of many well known photographers.  The museum section of the shop includes one case of spy cameras that are really interesting, especially several Russian miniature cameras disguised to look like other objects, such as ink pens, lighters, etc.  This trip we did not have time to go into the shop, but we've enjoyed visiting with the owner on previous visits.

I've always been impressed with the stainless steel base in the window of the music shop.

One of the galleries had a project making videos of people discussing what they want to do before they die.  Out front they had many brief notes left by some of the participants.

 Some of the dining options on the street.

Where we had lunch before the Sunday matinee.  Later we visited with the owner/chef while enjoying a glass of wine at the CrossKeys Winery.  The restaurant hasn't been open long and she was working on her wine list.  The restaurant has already won national recognition of have many excellent wines at affordable prices.

Lovely hanging baskets were on all of the light posts.  Staunton is a charming and fun place to go for an interesting weekend, especially when in the company of terrific friends.