Christmas Ice Show

We went on another date this afternoon.  This time it was to the Center Ice Rink at the Delaware State Fair grounds in Harrington, DE to see the 2009 Christmas Ice Show.

The main entrance brings you into this area which includes a store and snack bar

It is a full-size rink that is also used for ice hockey

Just a few of the people who were there.  Margaret is seated in the middle front behind the man with the yellow sleeve jacket.  We were only about 10 ft from the edge of the rink.

Santa riding on the Zamboni.  During the show’s intermission he was rink-side giving candy canes to the kids.

Sitting in a room with a lot of ice means it is COLD.

Margaret also brought two throws to fold up and make seat cushions for us

The show was based on Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.  This is a brief clip of the scene with Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim

Before the intermission there were performances by singles and pairs skaters who had competed at the national and international level.  Shown here is an excerpt of Cassandra Jeandell and Damian Dodge. They are alternates to the 2010 US Nationals competition.

Margaret loves figure skating and we go to events whenever we can.  Both of us enjoy watching the youngsters in these local shows.  The little ones are so precious!  There are also two rinks in Newark, DE plus another in Wilmington, DE.  Now that we are retired we can attend more of the shows.

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Christmas at Macy’s in Philadelphia

This morning Margaret and I left early on a date.  We drove to Newark, DE and boarded a train to downtown Philadelphia to visit Macy’s store and see their Christmas displays.

Riding the train to/from is so much nicer than driving and paying to park.  We did not have to change trains and there is a train station only a block from the store.

We first checked out some of the window displays

This large display was just inside one of the store entrances

This picture is for our daughter Sheri, who loves all things purple

There is a light show every hour followed by a selection played on their pipe organ.  This is a brief excerpt.

One of the nicest Christmas displays was a tour of “Dickens’ London”, a series of animated figures and recordings in various scenes from the story A Christmas Carol.  This is the first scene which depicts Dickens introducing the tour.  Below are pictures of just a few of the scenes.

The young girl on the right was one of the visitors taking the tour.  These were large displays, not small dioramas.

The poulterer’s shop.

Tiny Tim

Margaret checking out Scrooge’s office

Marley’s ghost visiting Scrooge. Other ghosts and chains are suspended from the ceiling above where I am standing.

The entrance to Fezziwig’s. Note Mr. Fezziwig on the right ringing the bell to begin the festivities.

Young Scrooge and Belle

Dinner at the Cratchit home

Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas future.

We had a great date.  It was nice to relax riding the train home, especially when it began to rain during the ride.