Amaluna

Tonight we returned to Cirque du Soleil's big top to see their show, "Amaluna."  For Daddy, this lady above was the highlight - something different and very unusual.  Each one of those 'branches' you see in the picture above is balanced upon the other, placed one at a time upon each other, balanced carefully and slowly.  The music was gone, and the audience was completely focused - of course, not as focused as this talented lady was.  In the end, she balances it on that vertical one you see, and walks away from it.  And just to show how delicate the balance of it all is, at the end, she removes a tiny piece at the one end, and it all falls down.

Madison had a great time tonight.  To make the deal even better, we had a package where each of us got a free box of popcorn, a free drink, and a free package of candy.  We even got a couple free CDs tonight, although not of the soundtrack of the event:  it was a "Greatest Hits" of Cirque du Soleil's music, which is something Daddy doesn't have.

It's great to be under the big top.  We prefer that over the performances in the arenas, as the atmosphere is a bit more intimate.  As an added bonus, we were able to move back a row and add a comfortable booster seat for Madison, so she could see better.  This is her third trip to Cirque du Soleil, the first show she saw was "Ovo," and last time there was "Totem."  Of course, Mommy and Daddy have been going for years.  We've seen every show under the tent since 1994 or 1996.  I can't remember.  The one in 1998 was a big one for us:  it was "Quidam," which remains my favorite.  Daddy had two tickets, and didn't even know Mommy yet.  The event was in November, and Daddy already had the tickets - so he asked Mommy to go with him, and of course she was all excited about it.  This was just one of the many things we had in common, and later that year we went together, along with the rest of Daddy's family.  It was a wonderful memory!

Tonight's show was not our favorite.  It was fun and enjoyable, but both Mommy and Daddy felt it was on the lower tier of the touring shows we've seen.  Which isn't saying it was bad.  It's just that we've seen so many shows, and just loved some others more.  The clowns were our least favorite, although Madison probably came away remembering that the most.  One thing Mommy and Daddy noted was the appearance of Prince:

Okay, not Prince.  But purple guitar and long cloak thing are covered.  All that's missing is a pencil-thin mustache.

This was an earlier appearance for Cirque du Soleil, seasonally.  Typically, it is here in November and December, but this time the weather was not cold as we shivered our way through the crowds to get indside the big top.  Instead, it was downright balmy, a theme of the week.

In fact, the weather played an interesting hand just before we left.

This was the biggest hail storm I can remember.  The weather looked dark and brooding, but nothing prepares you for a deluge of hail like this - it was quite a surprise!  Usually, there is a bit of hal, and we're good.  But this went on and on and on.  The ground outside was covered with white balls of ice, each about the diameter of a dime.  No, nothing the size of a softball.  But as long as this went on, it could easily be seen how scary hail that size could be.  All the cars were in the garage, and we were inside, but the neighborhood took a beating, that's for sure!

The rest of the day was not quite as interesting.  Daddy went to work and did some writing, and Mommy was working on LEGO people costumes for a while.  Madison was back at school, where she is excelling.  Seriously.  Her spelling words this week have taken a huge leap forward - words like photograph, exchange, graphics, and thankfulness.  She nails them all!

Traffic today.  What can yous say, other than be prepared to leave two hours early just to get to Atlanta anymore.  You never know what it is going to be like on the way down - or back.  Bumper to bumper.  No rain or anything - this was just standard rush hour.  Fortunately, we left pretty early.  And tonight, on the way home, we sat in traffic on 400 once more, just sitting there waiting, extending our journey home by a half hour or so.  It wears you down.  And so, we're all off to bed - it's a late night, and we're exhausted.  But it was a memorable day for sure!