So long, and thanks for all the fish

Today we bade farewell to Connecticut, but not before we celebrated my birthday by visiting the Mystic Aquarium.  It's not the first aquarium we've visited in the last few years (think Boston, Burlington, Philadelphia, London) and not the biggest, but it turns out to be one of the most enjoyable.

There were sharks and crabs to touch, feisty sea-lions, enormous bullfrogs and much else besides, including some beguiling beluga whales.  We had a very good visit, but since then we've had a long journey home, so I shall save more stories for tomorrow. 

Thanks, by the way, to those who sent birthday greetings - much appreciated!

Super highly calorific chocolate pancake breakfast

We ate breakfast at the flamingo-themed Coffee Break cafe in Clinton.  The Girl without hesitation ordered a short stack (2) of dinner-plate sized chocolate-chip pancakes, with syrup and a side order of home-fries.  Blimey.  After all that it was a wonder she could still walk .

Still, it kept her going for the rest of the day, which we spent at the beach.  It was back to classic summer weather: hot and very sunny.  There was sea-swimming all round, and rock-pools to explore.  The kids found lots of hermit crabs, and the Boy found a sea-horse.  They also spent a good hour extracting an old rope which was stuck round some underwater rocks (shame we can't get some money for it). I watched a cormorant catch and swallow an eel, almost as fast as the Girl had inhaled her pancakes.

The only sour note of the day was struck by some protesters we saw outside the Clinton town hall as we drove away, inviting us to "pull over and help stop Obama".  They were displaying posters of President Obama with a Hitler moustache.  Bizarre, and offensive on so many levels I don't know where to start.  I've seen such posters on TV before (coverage of Tea Party demonstrations) but never in real life and I was truly and utterly appalled.

Life's a beach

The consensus was: time for a trip to the seaside.  It's been a while since we last visited Hammonasset Beach in Connecticut, so that is where we've taken ourselves.

We didn't pick the best weather day.  It was drizzling when we reached the beach, and the drizzle rapidly turned into a downpour, soaking us all.  We took refuge in the nature centre until the rain had passed (and a rainbow had appeared), and then returned to the almost (by then) empty sands.

I didn't brave the waves, but everyone else did.  Shivering out of the water, the kids still felt the need for ice cream, and bought some out of a vending machine.  Wretched machine, it gave the Girl the wrong choice.  Misery!  She tried again, and it made up for its mistake by giving her two new ice creams.  Yay!

What was all that about?

A few Americans we've spoken to today had things to say about last night's show.  Reactions were mainly positive, if a little baffled (but I didn't get the impression that anyone really minded being baffled).  They defined it all as "very British".  There have been mixed reviews from the US media.  Some loved it, some felt it was too self-indulgent (too many in-jokes).

I've a feeling Danny Boyle didn't much care what the rest of the world made of it - so yes, I suppose "self-indulgent" is fair comment.   I think he was just trying to tell his own country - in the loudest and most exuberant way imaginable - what he loves about it: the great, the good, the gritty and the frankly bonkers.  And as a Briton (an abroad one, to boot) I found that irresistibly appealing. 

Oh, but the Team GB uniform is awful though, isn't it?  Never mind.  On with the sport...

Olympic hosts

Thank you to the Exiles for being our Olympic hosts tonight!  We watched the opening ceremony on NBC - it all kicked off on TV just as the real thing was ending in London.  A few in our party fell sleepily by the wayside, but most of us made it through to the end at midnight.

Wow!  Cracking show!  Only spoiled here by too many ad breaks (we miss you, BBC).

The Voldemort/Poppins face-off.  The tribute to "socialized medicine".  The torch zipping up the Thames.  Of course James Bond on Her Majesty's not-so-secret service.  And I genuinely enjoyed watching all the athletes march by.  Oh, and the amazing flaming cauldron...

What were your best bits?

Storm in a teacup

Storms, they said.  All day, they said.  And while we're about it, they added, risk of tornadoes.

So we decided against a trip to a water park, and the Man went to work as usual.  It rained very heavily at around 6am, then hardly a drop worth mentioning since, and not so much as a rumble of thunder all day.  Not that I'm complaining, except about the missing-out-on-the-water-park part.  Washing the kitchen floor didn't really compare.

There's still tonight, of course, when the wind might get up (but I hope that it won't).

Goat-on-a-rope

The summer holidays are still quite a fresh and new thing for most families in Britain, I know, but over here we've already reached the stage of one day rolling rather indistinguishably into another.  Which is fine: a bit of swimming; a lot of loafing around; trips to the library and the ice rink; seeing friends.  I believe it's Wednesday, but it could equally be last Thursday or next Tuesday.

We made a brief visit to Indian Ladder Farms again yesterday, for old time's sake, as the Boy was eager to check on "his" rabbit.  Binky looks fine.

Then both children had a spot of goat time.  They were allowed to put a couple of the kids on leads and drag them around for a bit.  Much bleating, little cooperation, but that didn't seem to matter.