A Couple Perfect Days

My annual trip to the SoCal competition in San Diego is over, and what a dynamite trip it was.  There are so many reasons, so many memories and so much to mull over from these couple perfect days that I had to "feel a blogpost comin' on"!

It all started with a flight to the west coast and an evening with Brett Carroll's Burbank kids.  Some really great rehearsal time with In Sync, then back to Brett's for a yummy home-cooked dinner on the back porch, and an introduction to Sancho, his puggle.  A good night's sleep, then off to Carlsbad, for some Pannikin Inn iced cinnamon mocha, a jog on the beach, and some one-on-one time with my wonderful Carlsbad groups and Christy Owen.

Thursday night brought me to the Sheraton Harbor Island in San Diego, where I met up with Morgan for a much anticipated daddy-daughter visit.  A late night bite at the sports bar, and off to slumber with our balcony door WIDE open to embrace the cool San Diego breezes as we slept.

Friday was busy, busy, busy,.....but also awesome, awesome, awesome!!  After grabbing some Starbucks, we headed 2 hours back to California Baptist for Morgan to perform in an opera recital for her 84-year old voice instructor, Betty Olsen.  Der Fleidermaus is a famous comedic opera where Morgan shined with both her voice and comedic timing, as she interracted with her partner Trent, in a "scandalous" opera piece about their extra-marital tryst!

Even more spectacular, though, was her duet with Even Lo, her small group leader.  a GORGEOUS and explosive love duet about 2 people who long to be together.  Morgan was hitting high B's in a way that seemed virtually effortless (she now has a high D in her repetoire!!!!!), and their chemistry was palpable.  Overall, so many of the singers performed with glorious professionalism and made this opera hater love every last moment of the recital!!

After meeting Betty, taking pictures, and grabbing a 5-minute visit with Dr. Bonner (who called Morgan a "star"!), we had lunch at Cal Baptist, where I got to meet Morgan's beautiful new roomies for next year.  We had a bit of time to kill, so we took a side trip to San Juan Capistrano to sightsee and visit Hidden House, home of the best iced and spiced chai teas in the world!

We visited garden shops, boutiques, and a wonderful antique mall before climbing back in the car and heading to day one of SoCal at Chula Vista High School.  My Carlsbad girls won first place and Burbank OOTB got second in a close battle with Burroughs, then we grabbed some Shakey's pizza and headed back to the hotel.

Saturday morning couldn't have been any better.  It started with morning coffee and a tremendous breakfast buffet at the hotel (which featured starfruit, an oatmeal bar, a million different pastries, egg white casseroles, and extra crispy bacon,...my fave!!).  After that, we headed to play some ping-pong, where I promptly schooled my first-born before stepping on and crushing the only ball available.

Walking along the harbor island waterfront trail, we caught an unexpected and cool surprise.  As we walked along chatting and watching pelicans dive bomb for fish, Morgan exclaimed, "Daddy, look over there!"  We were blessed to see 2 dolphins from a distance of maybe 30 feet away, followed by a lone harbor seal swimming lazily around the bay.  Once back at the hotel, it was an hour of sunbathing by the pool before Morgan had to pack her bags and head back to the reality of concert schedules and homework.

I grabbed a 6-mile waterfront run (which was much needed due to my food intake on the trip), and then caught a taxi over to Golden Hall for the SoCal Finals.  Carlsbad's "Atlantis" show scored the highest in their division, but got beaten on rankings, while Burbank's "Prodigal" scored 2 points behind Burroughs, but was victorious on rankings!  I also choreographed the men's champion and ladies runner-up, and got both a temporary face tattoo and a green painted-on mohawk to support my two schools.

Overall, just a simply fantastic weekend that I'll always remember.  Next week, the process of selection of our new home in Colorado begins, when I travel to judge the Colorado State Music Championships in Colorado Springs.  I'm meeting for an afternoon with Mary Fontana, a real estate agent, to get a lay of the land in the Springs housing market.  In October, Tina and I are flying out for a week, looking at Fort Collins and the Springs, talking to loads of folks, and then getting about the business of prioritizing where we want our new home to be starting in July of 2013,.....whew.

New York 2012

Another trip to the Big Apple is in the rearview mirror, and I have to say it was a pretty darn good one. Here are my top memories from yet another memorable trip to Manhattan:

-Ghost the Musical took my breath away with its technology, music and story-telling!

-Newsies and Leap Of Faith both delivered great music and staging, even if the storylines and "dot connecting" weren't always the most realistic!

-Matthew Broderick (who I walked past and nearly bumped into) looks WAY older in person!!!

-Dinner at Thalia's with Megan Reinking was a true highlight, although an 11 p.m. dinner and my stomach aren't always in perfect harmony. However, note to self: Apricot nectar and mandarin vodka are an A+ martini combination!

-3 seven-mile jogs in Central Park on breezy, sunny days make anyone's life a little bit better. The elm trees just get prettier every stinkin' year!

-Brooklyn Diner a'int what it used to be.

-Hip-hop dance class + almost 47-year-old man = OUCH!!

-Bis Co. Latte is just a really neat place for biscotti and lattes.

-Times Square never gets old.

-Hearing somebody playing bagpipes while you jog creates a sense of inner peace,...who'd have thunk it?

-Three days is about my limit in NYC before I want to SCREAM!!!

I won't be returning to the city in 2013 because of family budgeting and such, but I anxiously will anticipate a 2014 reunion. Who knows, maybe a plain hot dog will be FOUR dollars by then!!