Peter Pan

So tonight was the big night when we returned to Neverland. We've been looking forward to this one for quite some time, as the show looked rather unique. It doesn't hurt that we're all big Peter Pan fans, especially Madison. The other night, Daddy did another bedtime story where Madison flew through the air, out the window and off to Neverland. She was so into that!

Tonight, however, was even more magical. Madison slept on the trip down to Atlanta, so she was quite awake for the performance. This was our first time at Pemberton Place, which is right beside the Georgia Aquarium and the Coke Museum. It was nice - and it was small too. We arrived rather early, and found a pleasant place inside to sit and relax, and eat pretzels. But soon it was time for the show to begin!

Look at them fly across the sky. Madison can name each one of these characters, and in fact pulled out her program booklet as if it were field guide for identifying them. She was so very much into "Peter Pan." Madison was quite literally on the edge of her seat for most of the play, staring intently at the action on the stage - or above the stage. She laughed a lot at Tinkerbell, and a few times got other people laughing because Madison's laugh can be quite contagious! The show involved a 360 screen above all of us - and behind us too. This thing went all the way to the back of the tent and up to the middle, where a large enough hole existed in order to suspend the actors from. Take a look - everything you see colored at the top of the photo below is an animated nighttime scene from Neverland:

It was a marvelous effort, this production. All three of us enjoyed it highly. Mommy loved it, as did Daddy. The highlight could have easily been the characters flying over London on their way to Neverland, although the appearance of the pirates got everyone pretty excited.

We didn't bring a camera, so Daddy snapped this souvenir photo with the cell phone. This was taken as we were first getting seated. As you can see, Madison is holding her field guide! She sat in her own seat for most of the production. We didn't even have to bribe her with food to stay still! On the way home tonight, she stayed awake most of the journey, even though it was quite late. She was processing all she saw: the giant crocodile, mermaids, the Indians, the pirates, and the Lost Boys. It was a special night for Madison, who is hopefully now happily dreaming of flying over Neverland with Tinkerbell and Peter Pan.

Soon Daddy will be dreaming too - it's late as we type this, but the pleasant news is that we are now sleeping in our master bedroom. This morning was our first morning waking up in our master bedroom. Ah, to have a great bed again! The room is spacious and it is so comfortable. Early on, we heard the pitter patter of Madison's feet running down the hall. When she gets up, she doesn't trudge down the hall - she runs full speed. This time, she remembered what we told her: "Now Mommy and Daddy are in the big bedroom." Sure enough, she came in and found us there - and hopped into bed with us. It was so nice and cozy.

Today was a dreary, rainy day. At least it wasn't ice. That was the potential forecast early on, and we were fearful of another drive like the one we did two weeks ago on our journey to see "Beauty and the Beast." Still, it was not an overly pleasant day to be outside. In fact, you might have heard others exclaiming how perfectly dreadful it was.

Still, despite work and rain, it has been a marvelous sort of day. Even cold wind and rain couldn't erase that warm, happy feeling inside. Should we ever run across pixie dust, and ever need to think of a happy thought, I suppose the memory of today would do rather nicely.

"The guy did a Peter Pan right off of this dam, right here."

- Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard