A Most Perfect Weekend

Rick and I are home now after enjoying a wonderful weekend in Laguna Beach. Our friends Joe and Sue were kind enough to ask us to accompany them to the Pageant of the Masters which is an incredible 90 minute art experience which is held in conjunction with the summer-long Festival of Arts. We've always wanted to go and so we were thrilled when Sue invited us, not only to the Festival and Pageant, but also to stay at her brother's incredible hillside home.








We arrived early Saturday morning and marveled at the wonderful home and its views of the Pacific Ocean. We stayed in the home's "mother-in-law" suite which consisted of a living room, dining area, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom all beautifully furnished. We even had our own little balcony with a wonderful view of the ocean.

The four of us went out for breakfast and then took a backstage tour of the Pageant. From there, we walked a few blocks to the Sawdust Festival. This arts and crafts fair is also held in Laguna Beach during the summer and provides booths for less "formal" artists and crafts people to sell their creations. We wandered around looking at all the beautiful things and Rick was sweet enough to buy me a pair of beautiful silver earrings. Although I'm still in my black walking boot, there was no way I was going to miss any of it and so I trudged along, stopping to sit when I needed a break. Thankfully, the weather was overcast so it was much cooler than in previous years (at least that's what Sue told us) and it made my life a heck of a lot easier.

After our shopping extravaganza, we headed back to the house for a little R&R. Then it was off to a local beachfront restaurant for dinner where we ate out on the patio watching the waves.


After dinner, we walked over to the Festival of Arts where artists display and sell their work. We wandered around and did find an oil painting we liked but not at the $6500 purchase price.

Then it was time for the Pageant to start so we entered the outdoor theater and took our seats to watch the show.


It's really hard to describe exactly what the Pageant is all about. It's basically 90 minutes of "living pictures" which are exact art re-creations of classical and contemporary works (paintings and sculpture) with real people posing to look exactly like their counterparts in the original pieces. It is truly amazing to watch these performers hold difficult poses for 90 seconds to 2 minutes in intricate costumes and makeup.








This morning the four of us went out for breakfast and then Rick and I bid "adieu" to our friends and got on the road and headed home. This was definitely a memory-making weekend and we're already talking about ordering tickets when they become available for next year's Pageant.