Amber and the Giant Peach

Scenes from a Saturday afternoon...

Amber poses with a couple of cast members from the Imagination Stage production of Roald Dahl's classic children's tale James and the Giant Peach, staged at the Lerner Family Theatre in suburban Bethesda, Maryland (the same venue where my daughter and I caught of performance of Anime Momotaro a couple of months ago). Having recently had the story read to her first-grade class by her teacher, Amber was really into today's show. The same couldn't be said of her mother, whose Taiwanese upbringing has made her unknowing of the magic of Dahl's stories.

After the show, Amber enjoys a Häagen-Dazs chocolate ice cream cone, while listening to a jazz quintet performing in the background. Our visit to Bethesda today coincided with city's annual Fine Arts Festival.

Yours truly knocks back a bottle...of old-style cream soda. The harder stuff came later

The street near the Lerner Family Theatre was lined with stalls selling paintings and various arts and crafts. I didn't see anything that piqued my interest, but the area around Norfolk Avenue didn't lack for places to eat. 

Amber and I tried not to disturb this bird attempting to take a nap

Bethesda is one of the nation's most affluent and well-educated cities, but not necessarily one of its most attractive.

Later in the afternoon, we returned to Falls Church. After doing some shopping at The Local Market, we walked over to the local Applebee's (my wife's choice) for an early Mother's Day dinner.

Following our evening repast, we strolled over to another local establishment I like to patronize, Red White & Bleu, where I stocked up on vital supplies for the next few days. These study aids are helpful as I prepare for my final Mandarin Chinese 汉语(中文) exam later this month. Assuming I pass (a big "If") and we leave for Shanghai 上海, I'm going to miss the stores in this area.