The day started with me stopping at the local Bruegger's Bagels. This has become something of a tradition since I moved here and I drive Richard to an early morning roller hockey game. I pick him up ~7 a.m. to get to an 8 a.m. game. I get him a plain bagel with a bit of butter and an apple juice box; I get a cup of coffee.
The roller hockey game was the first of the summer session. The good news was that at the end of the game, Richard was the leading scorer on his team. On the down side, his team lost 9-1.
After the game, I was looking forward to having a nice breakfast of pancakes and bacon. Unfortunately, that didn't turn out. There is really no place for us to go. Oh sure, there are two nearby places that serve breakfast but we've had poor experience with them. The local Friendly's closed not long ago. We tried going to another one this morning but Richard was in the mood for lunch and the place looked grimey. So we ended up at our local Panera Bread.
Richard had a Chicken Caesar salad and I had a coffee and bagel with walnut cream cheese. The cream cheese was something of a splurge for me. Happy Father's Day.
Richard is a big fan of Cirque du Soleil; Lynn has taken him to many of their shows when they come through the area. She bought tickets for their current production not realizing the show was on Father's Day. But she graciously offered to let me go with Richard to the show. This was something of a treat for me since I had never been to a Cirque du Soleil show and I got to see it with Richard.
The show was in our old stomping grounds at the Webster Bank Arena (Home of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers), about an hour drive from us. The show we saw was Dralion.
According to the web site:
Fusing the 3000 year-old tradition of Chinese acrobatic arts with the multidisciplinary approach of Cirque du Soleil, Dralion draws its inspiration from Eastern philosophy and its never-ending quest for harmony between humans and nature. The show's name is derived from its two emblematic creatures: the dragon, symbolizing the East, and the lion, symbolizing the West.
In Dralion, the four elements that govern the natural order take on a human form. Thus embodied, each element is represented by its own evocative colour: air is blue; water is green; fire is red; earth is ochre. In the world of Dralion, cultures blend, Man and Nature are one, and balance is achieved.
Our seats were in Section 103 near the top but we had a pretty good view. I was surprised at how many people brought small children (i.e., toddlers) especially since tickets were pretty expensive (~$50). While the show was spectacular, I had trouble keeping awake. I could not keep my eyes open during the first half. It was not the fault of the show. But once the lights went down and the hypnotic music began, my body seemed to welcome the opportunity to doze despite Richard's frequent nudgings and ongoing technical commentary. After intermission, we moved a few rows down to an empty section were I was able to stretch my feet out. I was more awake. Overall, the show was like an airplane trip: overpriced, tight seats (no leg room) surrounded by loud kids, and spectacular views. I have no idea what the plot was (if any).
On the way home, we encountered a distinct plume of black smoke at the intersection of CT8 and I84 (Waterbury). It looked like an old factory was on fire. Richard tried to take some pictures with my cell phone camera as we drove past (see above) but we were too far to get a good picture. We could see the flames but smoke quickly turned from black to gray and then white (indicating that it was being extinguished). There was nothing in the news or in the papers. After a few days, I did an internet search which turned up a small blurb that it a trash fire outside an abandoned factory which the fire department fortunately quickly put out.
On the way home, we stopped at Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen (aka Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits). It is located in a Travel Centers of America off I-84. We both had the chicken tenders combo which includes a biscuit (yum). He got Cajun fries while I got red beans and rice. With the leftovers, Richard had enough for another meal (which he wrapped up and took home).
All in all it turned out to be a nice Father's Day with my son, Richard.