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Bill's Birthday
First, dim sum at Seaworld Seafood in Rosemead the day before (Sunday), then shopping at 99 Ranch.
Dim sum was just as cheap as Sam Woo in San Gabriel, although parking felt only marginally better. *grins* Grace and Carley arrived first, then myself, then the sleepyheads Sophia and Justin arrived with Bill in tow. Food was very tasty, although strangely lacking in the variety of shu mai that I'm used to.
Shopping was, well, shopping. Always amusing to go with friends, though: instead of a trip for necessity, it turns into one of adventure. Particularly when people tend to buy different things than what you normally buy. And all the tempting things there. So many tempting things!
Bill's birthday was that weekend, but we were busy at Stoney Point the day of his actual birthday. Per Sophia, we celebrated at C&O Trattoria in Venice on Monday night. Lately we've been avoiding the more-crowded C&O Trattoria and going to C&O Cucina instead, but this visit reminded me that C&O Trattoria has a much more inviting atmosphere for a nice dinner party.
Lots of people from the lab that Bill, Sophia, and Jianhui work at were there, plus some of the climbers-- namely Carley and myself.
The trademark gargantuan portions at C&O, combined with a $10/person minimum charge and the endless free garlic rolls, were dealt with in the usual way: order one gargantuan order for each three people, then rely on alcohol to fill up the rest of the bill. Two magnums of the house wine did a good job of that. *grins* The tiramisu was delicious, too!
One C&O trademark is paper tablecloths and crayons. All but one person at the table is or was a chemistry/biochemistry/lab dork, so... errr. Yes. That explains some of the pictures all by itself!