Monday night Anne and I went to see the Muny’s production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.  The temperature had moderated to the point that it was quite a nice night out.  I don’t know it the actor that plays the beast had to wear ice packs to keep cool or not. This is a new production for the Muny, so it got the premier spot in this summer’s Muny line up of shows.  It was the first show of the season and it got a two-week run, as opposed to the normal one-week.

Beauty and the Beast was also the Muny’s children show.  Every season one show is the children’s show.  In these shows the Muny’s big dance numbers are made even bigger by the addition to the normal sized cast of dozens of Muny Kids.  The Muny Kids are brought out to sing and dance and helps make the Muny’s production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast truly special.

The combination of Disney, the Muny kids show and Beauty and the Beast brought the little princesses out in force.  Anne and I were surrounded by little girls all in pretty dresses, many of them princess dresses.  A picture of them watching the show in rapt fascination would have made for great blog fodder, but I think me taking it would have wierded out their moms.

The above two pictures were taken at Point Lobos.  The wind swept trees brilliantly frame the craggy coastline there.  Located just south of Carmel by the Sea, on Highway One, Point Lobos is a spectacular park.

Look at those long red legs – the Black-necked stilt is built for wading.  As this bird strides out across the mud, it may keep walking and picking insects until it is feeding in water up to its belly.  This picture was taken last week at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.