Opera Adventures

The summer is winding down and another of our traditions is to attend the family matinee performance at the opera. Marina and I were especially excited this year because the opera being performed was The Magic Flute, one we both love. I signed us up for the Opera Adventures before the opera. So we left this morning for the drive to the mountains. It was a beautiful day and the drive through the mountains was gorgeous.

When we arrived, we were greeted by the staff, who recognized us from the previous three years. The first part of the day was a trip to a history museum. We had gone there three years ago for our first time in Central City and it was interesting to go again. We looked over the displays of life in Central City in the 1800’s. After we went through the museum, Marina tried panning for gold outside. She even helped some younger kids find gold as well,

We went to the opera patio for lunch as we always do. Marina ate a bit of everything. At the end of our lunch, another family joined us and we talked with them for a while until it was time to rejoin the group for afternoon activities.

We met everyone in the stables where there were some activities for kids. When they handed out plastic flutes, Marina didn’t get one. Apparently, she’s no longer a kid! She didn’t seem to mind. Then we heard from an actor who plays Sorastro in the regular production of the opera. He sang for us as well.

We all went outside in time to hear the Usher Song. This year we were even supplied with the sheet music! Then we went inside to watch the show. This performance had a bit of a 1920’s circus theme and three boys in a bit of a narrator role. As always, our favorite parts were the arias by The Queen of the Night.

After the performance, the performers playing Tamino, Pamina, the Queen of the Night, Papageno and Sarastro came out in their costumes. Marina happily had her picture taken with each one before we headed home.

A Festival of Friends

It’s been a crazy summer and we hadn’t been to the Renaissance Festival yet this year. One of Marina's friends has wanted to go with us for years. So yesterday at her party we decided that she and her father would join us this year.
She dressed as Belle today. Marina had planned to dress as a fairy but it was foggy and cool this morning, so she changed into her Ariel costume instead.

Traffic wasn’t too bad and we arrived shortly after the festival opened. We saw Juniper the Fairy in front. Marina was happy to introduce her. We also saw our friend Princess Elizabeth on top of the gate. Except this year she is Queen Anne!

We started toward the jousting grounds so we could be there for the first round. On the way we saw the unicorn and the Owlmancer. Along the way the girls were happy to shop the jewelry and clothing stores.

For the first joust of the day we were in Sir Duncan’s section. Sir William was acting as Master of Ceremonies again this year. But we were able to talk to him briefly after the match was over.
We headed to the food court and the girls shopped more along the way. Marina and I shared our traditional turkey leg. While we ate we watched part of the Exotic Cat show. We stopped to see our favorite face painter where both girls picked a design to go with their costumes. Then we wandered the shops a while longer until it was time for the second joust.
 
For the second joust, both Marina and Ainsley bought favors for their favorite knight. Marina chose Sancho and her friend picked Duncan. Then after the joust was over, we took photos with both of them as well as Sir William.

We went to Juniper’s booth where Marina gave her a book with photos from last year. She was thrilled with it! Next we went for the Knighting ceremony where the Queen Mother and King of Ireland were presiding.

We stopped for snacks and went to the jousting ground for Princess Erin’s tea party. She had asked Marina t help out which she was more than happy to do. After everyone gathered, Queen Anne joined us for the party. After chatting about the festival, Princess Erin told a story with the Lord Chamberlain, the flag bearer, one of her ladies and Marina acting it out. Marina was a lady knight. She clearly enjoyed the role.

After the party we gave Queen Anne photos from last year when she was Princess Elizabeth. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the book we gave her years ago and immediately added the photos! We took a few more with her and Princess Erin.

After the tea party, the girls wanted to go to the petting zoo to see the baby goats. Of course they squealed over them. They look a look at the rest of the animals before we left to watch the final joust. We got popcorn and found seats to watch it. The good knights triumphed over the bad guys.

We look our time going out. The girls rode a pirate swing and shopped some more. On the way out we said goodbye to Juniper and the jousters. Queen Anne was outside with King Henry, so we said goodbye to them as well. We watched the rest of the cast sing and dance for a few minutes before going back to the car. The girls were already making plans to go together next year on the way back.

A Night of Baseball and Star Wars

This evening was Star Wars Night at the Rockies game. Marina originally wanted to dress as Princess Leia, but at the last minute she changed her mind and decided to wear her Rey costume instead.

We arrived at the stadium early, so we went around the concourse to find as many cosplayers as we could and took pictures with them. When we finally made it to our seats we learned there was a weather delay. We sat and waited for a bit until it started to rain fairly hard. So we decided to pick up our Star Wars t-shirts. By the time we made it back to our seats, the game had finally started.

After the first inning, we headed toward Dinger’s photo spot for a picture. The line had already started to form. Fortunately it moved quickly when Dinger arrived. He was wearing his Jedi robe and had two stormtroopers with him.

On the way back to our seats, we stopped for snacks. Then we settled into our seats for the rest of the game. It was a fun one to watch and the Rockies won 4-1.

Les Miserables

Les Miserables is my favorite musical. I decided that this time it came through town I wanted to take Marina to see it. I took the day off since we had tickets for today’s matinee. Marina slept late this morning.

The show has a lot of characters and a complicated plot. So as we sat in the theatre waiting for the performance to start I tried to explain it to her. Marina paid attention throughout the entire show, however she did fidget quite a lot. The storyline seemed to bore her a bit. When I asked her what her favorite part was, she said, “The music.”

Newsies

Marina and I were both happy to have tickets to see Newsies this evening at one of our favorite theaters. We left the house early because we knew we would run into rush hour traffic. Today was worse than usual. Fortunately we left a bit early and we arrived with plenty of time to have dinner.

One of our servers played Katherine in the show. Marina ordered the fried cod for dinner. She really liked it, but she seemed to enjoy the roasted potatoes even more. She surprised me by ordering apple pie for dessert. Usually she orders something chocolate.

We both really enjoyed the show. We had heard the song “Seize the Day” at the Broadway Showcase performance in May. Other than that, we didn’t know much about it. The best part was all the dancing throughout.

After the performance was over we spent a few minutes talking with some of our friends from the cast – and taking pictures, of course. Marina liked the show so well she wanted one of the hats that were for sale. I got her one and then she had her photo taken with most of the cast. We’d had so much fun we didn’t even mind the long drive home.

Irish Tales Along the Trails

We go on a theatre hike with every summer. This year they did two different plays. In July they are presenting Irish Tales Along the Trails. So, we went to see that one today.

The July hikes start an hour earlier than the ones in June. So we had to leave the house pretty early. We arrived and saw we knew our hike leader. He recognized us right away.

Today was a hot day. Even with the earlier start it was tougher to do the hike. Fortunately most of the scenes were played in shady areas. But Marina and I were wiped out by this one. The play was a collection of funny Irish stories. We enjoyed them. Afterwards Marina got a photo with the cast.

We had heard there was good ice cream at the General Store at the park, so we stopped by there after the hike while we rested a bit. Then we took the shuttle to our car. Then we headed home and chilled out for the rest of the day.

Football and Film

Marina used to be a member of the Broncos Bunch. Unfortunately, she got too old for the club last year. Since then they made some changes and now anyone can buy tickets. This evening they had movie night with the film Coco. We decided to go. Marina dressed in her black lace dress that she wore to the Day of the Dead celebration last year.

We arrived early to make sure we got a good spot on the field. That worked out well because there weren’t lines for many of the activities. We got a photo with Miles on the way in and a couple of cheerleaders as well. There wasn’t a line for face painting, so Marina got a rose on her cheek.

We found a great spot on the field to set up. However, it was a long wait for the movie start. Marina wasn’t interested in any of the crafts, so she played on her phone and ate popcorn until it finally started.

The people around us were pretty noisy, but overall we enjoyed the movie. And fortunately it wasn’t too late when we left.

Cyrano de Bergerac

When Michelle is in town, we like to see at least one show with her. This year we decided on Cyrano de Bergerac at the Shakespeare Festival. A friend’s husband was in the cast which made it even more fun. We made arrangements to meet him after the show.

The drive took longer than expected, but we made it there with plenty of time before the show started. We found our seats and looked over the program until the show started.

Cyrano de Bergerac was funny and fast paced. Marina picked up on most of the humor and she didn’t seem to have any issue following along with the story. At intermission I picked up snacks for the girls and was all stood for a while.

After the show was over, we waited by the stage for our friend. He gave each of us a warm hug and Marina gave him the flowers we brought for him. He visited with us for a while. The theatre was nearly empty as we walked out. As we went to leave, we saw the actor who had played Cyrano there. We stopped to talk with him and got a photo before finally heading toward the car.

It was after midnight when we finally got home. We were really tired by then.

Patriotic Parade

Marina and I slept in this morning after a late night last night. Our plans were to go to a July 4 parade, just like last year. We left the house early and set up on the same corner. As we waited for the parade to start, a woman and her daughter arrived. We watched the parade with them last year and we were all happy to do it again.

While they waiting, the girls entertained each other. Once the parade started, they moved closer to the street. During the parade the both managed to get some candy, but Marina really got interested when the character performers came by. First she saw Belle and gave her a hug. We also saw Ariel, Tinkerbell and Marina high fived Captain America.

Once the parade was over, we went over to the shop in order to say hello to our friends. Unfortunately, they were not outside as they were last year. So we looked around at some of the other festivities before deciding to get out of the sun and go home.

Fireworks Fun

Marina and I decided to kick off the July 4 holiday a bit early by attending the “Red, White and You” event tonight. We took a picnic with us and left this afternoon.

It turns out that this is a very popular event. Parking was difficult to come by but we did manage to get a spot near a high school. We had a bit of a walk to get to the stage area where people were gathering. We found a spot and settled in. While we waited, we met a woman and her five year old son who were sitting nearby. He and Marina had fun playing together as we waited for the entertainment to start.

At seven o’clock a band took the stage. They sang a collection of fun songs. We danced and sang along with them. As it got dark, we were definitely ready for the fireworks by the time they started.
As it turned out, we had a fantastic view of the fireworks and we were able to hear the music they were synchronized with. It was an amazing display!

Once they were over, we said goodbye to our new friends and walked back to the car. It was a bit more challenging in the dark but we managed to get there. Fortunately by then traffic wasn’t too heavy and we were able to get home quickly.

Fairytales and Fondue

Last year we went to a Fondue Fairytale. We had a fun time, so we decided to go to one this year as well. Marina had a tough time picking out her outfit. She was planning to wear her Elsa coronation dress. But when I mentioned that we would be eating chocolate fondue, which Anna sings about in her coronation dress, she changed her mind. I put her hair in a bun and we added a green tiara. She looked very pretty.

We arrived at the restaurant right on time. We met two of our friends there. The two year old was dressed up as Tinkerbell. We were all really hungry, but it took a while for them to get our first course of cheese fondue took a while. Once it was ready we all dug in.

While we ate, we listened to a few songs sung by the characters. They had Ariel, Rapunzel, Aurora and Prince Charming. I took pictures of Marina with all of them. I even managed to get a group photo. One girl even asked Marina for her autograph. She signed it “Anna.”

 

We all enjoyed our food even if it was served slowly. We talked with them for a while before leaving the restaurant.