1933 buick
was my dad's birthday yesterday. he's as old as this car, but hasn't aged as well.
for whatever reason, he had his mind made up to go have dinner at red lobster. fine. but he would only go to the one in brea, though there are a couple that are closer to home.
he claims that the chef and service at that one is the best. at his age, it is hard to argue any other opinion except for his on anything.
well, like hell i ever let him drive us anywhere when i'm there, but he knows that. if i hadn't gone to their house, he would have driven my mom out to dinner. i don't even want to think of that white knuckle ride...he drives his soccer mom van like it's his old porsche.
anyway, i wasn't looking forward to more driving. i'd hoped it would be just simple dinner, cake, then sleep early...i'm so tired. after his insistence on going to brea, at near the end of rush hour, i knew it would be stop and go traffic. i was going to take the canyon, just as long, but at least i'd be moving, but he said no, he wanted to go the freeway.
so an hour and a half later, we made it to the restaurant. he orders a dozen raw oysters, followed by some shrimp dish and salad, and something else i don't remember. my mom orders shrimp linguini. i get some dungeness crab legs and a cup of clam chowder. was late, i was tired, not hungry anymore.
they were happy with their food. mine was sort of not hot, for the crab, that didn't matter so much, but the soup was only lukewarm. meh.
after the journey out there because the chef is the 'best,' my dad says the best part of the meal was the oysters. the raw, uncooked oysters. so much for the chef. shucks.
and just before they bring the check, my mom mentions that it was his birthday. that is followed by a small crew of wait staff singing the song, and a plate with a ball of ice cream for him. nice, but since they were basically trying to close and get us to leave, it was a pretty weak display. i'm sure they have to do that all day, every day, so i don't blame them for it.
back to their house, hoping the angels game hasn't let out, which it hadn't, so thank the stars for not getting stuck in that post game traffic. so tired when we got home. i guess he was happy, and who knows how many he has left, so i was glad i went, in spite of all my inner mental bitching.