Mockingbird Hill Cottage

The milkweed pods are opening. I grabbed a quick picture as I was just about to get in the car to go to Rochester.

The trip? Let’s just say ‘tedious.’ The drive was long; starting off by going west through the Catskills for a few hours, then north, then west again. It was pretty and for several miles I was driving alongside the Delaware River. Shockingly low. Drought. Drove through the Finger Lakes area, past Ithaca, through Syracuse and Skaneateles Lake – lots of mountains and farms and beautiful scenery. Crossed the Erie Canal. I made it to Rochester and went directly to the theater with a half hour to spare before rehearsal was to start.

It was great seeing Elizabeth, formerly Associate Artistic Director at Hartford Stage, and the adapter of the script, as well as the director of Jane Eyre. And Fiona, who was an intern at Hartford and is now a dramaturg for Geva Theater. We spent 20 minutes or so catching up with each other while I took my covid test and sent a picture of the results to company management. Negative. Good friends and colleagues that I’m always happy to see.

The run through went quite well. I took notes and could only quickly pass them out to the actors at the end of the day because we were out of time.

And then I left and checked into the hotel, which was nice – room decorated in a symphony of browns. But it was a suite with a separate bedroom, a nice kitchenette – quite spacious!

The recurring problem with the whole trip was finding food. I was always hungry. Don made a sandwich for me before I left and I ate that in the car as I was driving. I had a box of wheat thins. And water. By the time I checked in at the hotel and looked at a list of local restaurants, I was so tired that I opted for a frozen Stouffer’s fettucine alfredo that was in the freezer in what was called The Pantry at the hotel.

It was awful. I couldn’t even finish it! Same thing the next day. I had a sort of breakfast – the kind that you often find in motels – in the morning. Grabbed a banana for the road. And then I just snacked on wheat thins on the way home. By the time I pulled in the driveway, I was starving, so I had some soup.

The rest stops had, typically, a McDonalds or something of that sort. Other than fries – there was nothing I could or would eat.

After taking a bath, I went to bed and conked out for the night. I slept well.

I should have known, knowing me, that I would have no desire to go see Lake Ontario on Sunday. I just wanted to get back home and I knew I had another long journey ahead.

It’s a lot of driving for a three hour rehearsal! I’ll have to do the same thing next Sunday/Monday. Yes, I drive home on Labor Day, a bit of information I didn’t grasp until after I committed to that date. Ah, well.

Positive things: beautiful scenery, summer (not winter!) – a nice little tour of New York state. It was much greener in Rochester and one of the actors told me it had been quite rainy there recently.

I have to figure out something better in terms of trip food before Sunday.

Don, as you know, has the farmers market on Sunday, so he couldn’t go along. But he was really helpful with trip prep, bless his heart.

It was great to see old friends, meet the cast in person, see a bit of the theater. It’s right downtown, housed in a converted arsenal. I didn’t get a photo of the exterior, but I’ll try to do that next weekend.

I have to coach Jim today, another actress in the musical tomorrow (and maybe Jim, as well.) And so it will go this week. Jim’s show starts rehearsals the day after Labor Day, so we have a lot to do before then.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.