Hiking, shopping, and a show

This morning we went for a hike in Hanging Rock State Park. We got there nice and early at 8am before any other hikers. This gave us the trail to ourselves. The trail itself wasn't very long (a mile or so each way) and it was rated as moderate, but the moderate parts were quite strenuous and steep. Thank goodness those parts were short. As it was, we got quite a workout :)

The view at the top of the trail was spectacular! I took a lot of pictures and I hope enough of them turn out so that you can see it, too. One of the more interesting things (to me) was the lines etched into the rocks. They were swirly and cool.

On the way down, as Ian almost stepped on a snake that reared its head up and hissed at him. He jumped back, of course, and we stood away from it. We don't really know our snakes but we do know that there are a number of poisonous snakes in this area so we videoed it and took photos of it as well. We asked the ranger later and it turns out that this snake was a copperhead (one of the poisonous ones) and a good sized one at about 2 1/2 feet long. This was pretty exciting for both of us, not to mention a little scary.

After that big walk and excitement, we had a nap and then Ian went to juggle and I went to shop. I got a great dress for only $30. I tried on more suits and stuff but since I've gained a little weight in my abdomen, my top is one size and my hips are another. Blah. So pants and skirts need to be a size larger and jackets need a bit of extra room through the hips as well. It's not like I need a suit or anything, but I wanted one just to have it. Oh well.

Tonight we watched the Cascade of Stars show. It's supposed to be the best show of the week. It was pretty good, but we didn't like all of the acts. The first act was very avant-garde and so nothing they did made any sense. The one guy yelled every time he dropped which was weird and the other guy had a fascination with body parts (as shown by the doll parts and the body painted on the cigar boxes). I really didn't get it, and I'm uncomfortable with art I don't get. Plus it was hot and dark with slow music playing so I was dozy. And they kept dropping so it wasn't like their act was at its best.

The second act was the very best I've seen in a long, long, long time. It's called Get the Shoe. I won't tell you too much about it, but if you eve see that they're in your city, go and see them. They're THAT good. They're funny and well-choreographed with an awesome routine. Their juggling was also very good. Go see them :)

I also liked the Aurelia Cats - she's a contortionist and a trapeze person. Her act was very good and well put together. She also wasn't a childlike contortionist but a real woman with real curves. I liked that.

The only other act I liked was Victor Kee, who did a routine from Cirque Du Soleil. He was some kind of animal who discovered the juggling balls and then did contact juggling and "proper" juggling with them. The juggling was good but what amazed me was how inhuman he looked; none of his mannerisms or movements looked human or natural. They were more birdlike or lizardlike. It was very interesting to watch because it was like watching something that doesn't come from this world. Obviously Cirque Du Soleil train their people very well :)