Fun, Diversión, Family, Familia (1)

And we're back with yet another series of photos designed to keep you warm through these cold December/January days, for that's how long this particular series will last. The first part of the series will concentrate on fun, with the second part concentrating on family.

The first batch of photos were taken during Newington's July 4th (held on July 19th) Extravaganza, so of course we start off with a shot of the old red, white and blue. On this day, where this flag was hanging, this was the only naturally cool spot that my weary bones actually enjoyed. Why?

Well...if you click on the photo to enlarge, you will see that the lunchtime temperature starts with the number 9. Did I mention that there was absolutely no breeze that day? Did I also mention that they were no clouds in the sky to speak of? Did I mention that the air was just a tad moist? Finally, did I mention that it got hotter and the temperature briefly started with the number 1? Factoid: The bank sign that you see stands for the Connecticut Bank & Trust, of which back when I was a child was a well respected bank. However, corruption back then caused the bank to become seized by the FDIC and thus was merged out of its 100+ year existence by Connecticut National Bank, which was eventually merged into Fleet Bank, which merged with BankBoston, which finally merged into Skank of America.

Anyways, every year its held in Mill Pond Park, but this year was the first time that in addition to the arts & crafts, assorted vendors, beer garden and sound stage, a carnival and a petting zoo were added to the mix. This shot was taken from across the public library which even though people were partaking of the Extravaganza, was used as a temporary cooling off place by the various visitors of the Extravaganza (like myself).

I took this shot because I wanted to give everyone a basic idea of how many visitors we had to the Extravaganza that day, as well as what kind of rides there were. Not much really to add other than you can see just how cloudless it was that day. I'm telling you, it was extremely hot, and fortunately for me, I didn't shave my head that day, so I wasn't forced to choose between razor burn and sunburn.

This wasn't really one of my best crowd shots, but to the right was one of those vendors that you usually see wandering about during parades. The yellow tent is where people sat to eat, rest and/or watch the various performers on the concert stage.