". . . Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue . . ."

Those words from the most iconic song in the Wizard of Oz are true for many, but Seattle, where I am lucky to live, doesn't happen to be one of them. We may be the beautiful Emerald City as Seattle has had as a longtime moniker, but this time of year, something like Silver City might be a more accurate description. We lean to gray tones with rainy and cloudy days more than the sunny days others enjoy. 

So, craving sun rays we looked south and this year we headed for a couple of days in Las Vegas. 

Have you ever made the trip to Vegas? Pretty much everyone knows Las Vegas as the place to go for gambling, stage shows and its 24-hour wedding venues. But we skipped all of that. We went to watch the Wizard of Oz movie.

I admit I was skeptical of going to Vegas for a fantasy movie that I've seen, several times over the years. Even if it was being featured at the Sphere, the very unique round venue that is new to the strip. Truth be known, I might have went for the hotel pool and soaking in the sunshine as much as seeing the show. If you've ever longed for a little bit of sun during a long rainy day, you probably know what I'm talking about.

But the show was so much fun! The Sphere is huge and be warned: the steps are steep. You feel a little like it would be easy to fall forward as you walk down to your seat. But once you're seated you get a sense of the giant theater you're in. Just seeing the movie on such a large scale is a wow but the Sphere has gone way past that. It adds in special effects!

• Your seat shakes when the house lands!
• The wind blows - in the theater! - when the tornado comes. Leaves blow in the air and float down.
• Watch out during the apple tree scene because apples fall on you too!
• And you might even see some flying monkeys fly by!

The whole thing was a kick and I marveled at L. Frank Baum's creativity in writing the Wizard of Oz. It really is one of the first full-on fantasy stories and has proved to be timeless with the messages its woven in. Including several around kindness which I particularly love. He's a total inspiration for writers like me.

I'd go again! The Sphere now hosts popular entertainers and I hear the shows are equally impressive in offering the unexpected. 

And, while this version of the Wizard of Oz will be hard to top for most theatergoers, it isn't my favorite. As it happens, my niece, Savanna, my little dragon-lover that inspired much of my own writing, landed the lead in her high school version of Wizard and she knocked it out of Emerald City and clear back to Kansas in her performance! That will now always be my favorite version of the Wizard even if it was done on a dark, drizzly Pacific Northwest fall day. Afterall, there really is no place like home.

Oh Oh Oh - Jingle

P.S. That's my talented niece in the photo above!