For our actual 3 year anniversary, while my parents were in town visiting, we all celebrated together with a totally amazing dinner at Rooney’s and the Mt. Hope Cemetery Grand Torch Light Tour (if you missed it, click here).
For our “just the two of us” 3 year anniversary celebration, we downed tacos and quesadillas at a Mexican restaurant and then went to the circus…like adults.
Obviously, it was nothing short of magical. The pictures don’t do it justice.
You know how they call themselves the “Greatest Show on Earth”? Well, they kind of are a really great show. We had a blast! Lots of great costumes, eye-catching effects, amazing acrobatics tricks, and unbelievably daring feats. And, of course, the animals are fantastic and much better at tricks than most people I know. It’s entertaining, it’s awe-inspiring, it’s exciting, it’s fun, it’s surprising, and they sell $16 snow cones, $11 cotton candy, and $8 popcorn – all made of gold!
Then you think about it and realize they have a live band accompanying every show, a cast of 100 performers (literally), a crew of probably close to the same number for all the technical stuff, animal care, and human safety, a bazillion costumes that need daily cleaning and repairing, a massive quantity of scenic, lighting, sound, and safety equipment that needs constant maintenance, what I can only assume is an utterly astronomical insurance policy, an entire privately owned railroad system to get around the country, and about 50 wild animals that need lots of meat, grooming, shelter, medicine, etc. And suddenly the $16 snow cone doesn’t seem so ludicrous. I cannot even fathom how they could break even financially each performance, even if they luck out and get a full house. Just take a minute and think about all those logistics. It’s mind-blowing.
Of course, I went wild over the elephants, horses, farm animals, and big cats. Those cats! WOW.
And can I just say that after seven years, my cat Sancho still doesn’t respond to his name or come when he’s called, and I just watched like ten lions and tigers sit patiently on little stools, jump on command, and work together to form complex shapes like synchronized swimmers. Totally astounding. Sancho, you’ve got some catching up to do, buddy.
So, really, if you get a chance, it would be well worth your while to release your inner kid and spend your next date night at the circus!
