Dinner & the Palace

 

 

 

I felt pretty good and was up by 8am. It was Saturday, which more often than not is a day free of sit-ups and push-ups. Of course I still stretched and ran, which I took care of somewhere near 9am. I ran three miles and felt good doing it. The roads and walks were extremely slick with black ice. For the first time all season, I had to alter my gate to avoid slipping.

Dad stopped over shortly after Glenn got up. I think it was around 10am. And then our kids came home around 11am. We'd have them for only about 5 hours before heading back to their dad's place. He said he needed some time to address some Xmas errands. Dad Bella had one thing on her mind, playing with her friends. She and Makayla hooked up shortly thereafter. All the kids headed out back to play in the snow with their saucer's. I headed out to get ours from the shed and ended up staying out for a while having a snow ball battle with the girls and Jacob. It was really fun.

While we played in the snow, Glenn and dad left for a get-together at brother Bob's. It was near noon when I took a shower and left to run after a few Xmas errands, including picking up more photos and alcohol for our neighbors. I asked Jacob to go with me but he declined. I drove the Pilot and made stops at Giant Eagle, the Chocolate Cafe, and Gentile's. I wasn't gone for more than 90 minutes.

Was back home around 2pm. Spent the afternoon writing in my blog. Glenn was back home around 3pm and went straight for a nap. We planned to leave for dinner and Mannheim around 530pm. Mindy and I readied around 430pm. We let Glenn sleep until darn near 5pm. Dad didn't show up until just before 530pm. I decided earlier that afternoon that we would do China Dynasty at the Shops of Lane Ave. for dinner. Mindy's been craving Chinese, and that seemed like a good geographic fit for given our concert venue of the Palace Theatre. I didn't tell the others where we were having dinner until we were in route.

I hadn't been to the Lane Avenue China Dynasty for many, many years. In fact, prior to Googling it, I wasn't sure that it was still there. It's located in the rear of the inside mall. Most, including Mindy, didn't even know that part of the mall existed. It was cold. Felt like mid 20s. Good thing the walk was short. The restaurant features a 4' Buddah at the entrance. I asked dad, Mindy & Glenn to pose next to it for a picture. Not many patrons. I'm thinking we were one of only three or four groups.

Service was attentive but slow. Given the light crowd, I was expecting them to be all over us. Dad was largely unfamiliar with the entrees and asked for guidance. He ended up going with a chicken and mushrooms dish. Mindy and I opted for War Su Gai, while Glenn went with beef and broccoli. The servings were large. Mindy easily could've shared one. We took more than half home in fish boxes. We asked for to-go sauce containers, too.

It was almost 7pm when we left for the Palace Theatre getting on 315 at Lane Avenue. Wasn't sure where to exit. Ended up getting off at Goodale Blvd. and taking he scenic way into downtown. By then it was 720pm, and there was heavy traffic around the Palace turning onto Front St from Broad St heading east. Most cars were parking in the garage just to the north. To avoid some of the traffic, we opted to skip the garage and found a nearby meter instead. That proved a wise choice, especially given that we would have a quick escape after the show's completion, not to mention it being free of charge. In exchange we had to walk an extra block and one half. No biggie. The only downside was the cold.

I passed out the tickets once inside. Dad & Glenn were sitting together next section over from the two of us and two rows back. We stopped for drinks before heading to our seats. I opted for a Jack & Coke, Mindy's treat. Mindy had wine. We found our seats right on the aisle around 740p, not long before the show's start. Our seats were ideal. In fact, the only better view would've been front row mezzanine.

This time Mannheim passed out a program that included a song list for each half of the show. I'm pretty sure that's a first. At least two of the band members were carryover from two years prior, maybe more. Mannheim has at least two iterations of itself touring at the same time. Mindy recognized the drummer, Tom Sharp, right away. In addition to a Mannheim member, Tom has a solo career as well as playing with Dennis DeYoung. I recognized the Asian solo violinist. He was awesome two years ago, and just as awesome this time around. Very much enjoyed the first half. For my money, nothing sets the mood for Xmas like Mannheim.

Mindy headed to the restroom at the intermission. I asked that she get me another Jack & Coke. She made no promises, fearing that there might be a long line. While she took a break, I walked over to chat with dad. Dad said he very much enjoyed the first half of the show.

I headed out for a pee break of my own. I spotted Mindy in the drink line and intercepted her on my way back out. We walked back to our seats together. The 2nd half the show was good, too, especially the last 20 minutes or so, including an encore. Outstanding performance of Silent Night. Show wrapped up around 10pm. Took a few minutes to filter out into the cold. Once outside we made a beeline for our parked car. We headed south on High St and then left on Main picking up 4th St and ultimately stopping at Columbus Commons to check out the park which was all decked out for Xmas.

It was cold, though. I wondered if Mindy and Dad would be up for walking around. Both were agreeable. We walked around the 1/3 mile loop taking in all the lights. Back to the car and then finally home. Dad came inside for a few minutes, but then headed on home to his place. Glenn and I enjoyed a couple beers and TV. Stayed up until almost 1am.