Sometimes adventures happen when you don’t plan for them. A couple of weeks ago we were invited to join Dillard, Laurie, Priscille, Ronnie, Joanne, and George to see Mr. Holland’s Opus at the Ogunquit Playhouse. With school just starting and our recent trip to the Cape, we weren’t eager to fill up a weekend with another adventure. But as fate would have it, Ronnie and Priscille couldn’t go, so we bought their tickets and committed to the day. Dillard and Laurie were gracious to pick us up and drive for the day. A welcome change to our adventure routine. Normally I wouldn’t write about another trip to Ogunquit, but today we did something new and different.

Stonewall Kitchen is a local specialty food brand that has its home office/factory in York right on the way. They’re known for jams, sauces, mixes and other tasty treats. Dillard and Laurie have been there many times and thought it would be a great place to stop for lunch on the way. Janet spent a great deal of time perusing all the varieties of foods offered. This is one of those stores that you kind of have to explore each area as there are hidden treasures to be found in niches throughout the space. Of course a good food store is nothing without free samples, and I enjoyed plenty. Lunch was great and we enjoyed the sunshine out on the flower adorned porch.

I’ve written about the Ogunquit Playhouse many times. Most of the time the venue features shows that had successful runs on Broadway or the West End. Like The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which we saw a few years ago, Mr. Holland’s Opus was one of those instances where a show is being worked on to see if someday it might end up on Broadway. Of the six in our group, four are teachers. And of those four, three are music teachers. To say the show resonated with us would be an understatement!! It still needs polishing before it would ever play in New York, but we enjoyed the show immensely. A unique feature to this performance was the use of subtitles on screens to the side of the stage. Because half the story is about the relationship with their hearing impaired son, it made total sense for this accommodation. I kind of wished they’d do that in more theaters.

After the show JoAnn and George suggested we eat at The York River Landing. With a beautiful view to the surrounding nature, it made a great ending to an unexpected day. We’re thankful for the friends who make our adventures even sweeter!