"FRIDAY'S"
is a chain of restaurants having a nice, varied selection of modestly-priced
lunch and dinner items. Fred Caso (on left) and Joe Sharp (friends from
the Fallbrook area) joined us for a nice lunch at the Fridays located
on Carmel Mountain Road.
For
Christmas 2001 we finally decided on having brunch at the LA COSTA Resort
& Spa (located near Carlsbad) and were totally impressed with the
extensive seafood buffet that included shrimp, crab claws, caviar, salmon,
mackerel, tuna, trout, prime rib, ham, turkey...
...fresh
strawberrries/raspberries/blackberries, salads, breads, bagels/whipped
cream cheese, and an EXTENSIVE DESSERT LINE (plus complimentary champaign,
orange juice, and coffee). A band provided live background music throughout
the meal.
We
had never previously been to a buffet which featured unlimited amounts
of 3 kinds of cavair along with Alaskan King Crab and giant prawns, so
this is probably the BEST selection that Lena and I have ever seen.
While
Lena was particularly impressed with La Costa’s incredibly wonderful
shrimp, caviar, crab claws, and fresh berries, Steve was (SURPRISE!) over-whelmed
by the magnitude and quality of the DESSERT line. 
We
managed to continue eating for almost 2.5 HOURS—a record for Steve—before
we both admitted that we could not possibly consume another bite. While
the meal (including valet parking, tax, and tip) came to about $56/person,
it was well-worth every penny!
Our
previous neighbors, Steve and Mona Lucero, had moved to a newer housing
development several years ago. However, we were fortunate to have recently
had the opportunity to get together with them at OSCARS to celebrate Steve’s
birthday by sharing pizza, salad, chicken, bread sticks...and birthday
cake!
Friday,
29 March 2002, was AFTER “Women’s Day” and BEFORE Lena’s
Birthday, but it was REALLY “GOOD FRIDAY” for her! This is the
day she got her new Acura RSX— a sporty new 2-door hatchback model
introduced in 2002 (and which is an upscale version of Toyota’s “Celica
GT” model).
We got bids for the Acura via three different internet auto-buying sources
and our best offer was from Hoehn Acura in Carlsbad. Ironically, our sales
representative turned out to be “Victor Mikhailov”—who
happens to be another very nice Russian (from St. Petersburg)! In this
photo Victor is giving Lena the keys to her new toy.
Lena
was impressed with the RSX’s color and styling; Steve liked the safety
features which include front & side airbags, ABS 4-wheel disc brakes,
halogen lights, and an excellent suspension/stabilizer sytem. It also
comes with a 4-year/50,000 mile warranty PLUS a FREE 4-year road-side
assistance policy.
Lena
loved the external “Desert Silver” color that goes extremely
well with the interior “Titanium” leather package. Steve liked
the 16 inch alloy wheels and the way the RSX handles on the road (as well
as the fact it uses “regular” unleaded gas and gets 24 mpg in
the city/33 mpg on the road)!
The
GSX has a 2.0L four cylinder 160 HP engine that will provide Lena all
the power she needs. (And, as far as Lena is concerned, that is about
all she wants to know about “that thing” under the hood!) <grin>
Every
April we try to send roses from our garden to Steve's Aunt Mary and his
mother for their birthdays (which fall on April 26th and 29th respectively).
By starting to collect roses during the first week of April and keeping
them in the refrigerator, we can usually accumulate about 7-10 dozen.
In
spite of the weather being unusually cold this year (2002), we were able
to gather a nice selection of both roses and amaryllises for shipment
to them in Ohio via FedExp Overnight Air delivery. Mary was celebrating
her 94th birthday (and Steve’s mom her 88th).
To
celebrate Svete’s birthday (as well as her son, Alex’s, birthday),
we joined her and her husband (Robert) along with two other couples for
dinner at a local Hometown Buffet restaurant in Kearny Mesa.
Robert
(on the right) is obviously enjoying his meal. Svete’s daughter,
Nasty, is standing in the background. Kevin (on the left) is helping his
two young children to eat.
While
we have always enjoyed going to Hometown Buffet restaurants in Mira Mesa
and San Marcos, we had not tried this particular location in Kearny Mesa.
Both Lena and I agreed that the food at this Kearny Mesa Hometown Buffet
was not quite up to the standards that we had come to expect from eating
many times at the other two locations.
One
of the featured entrees on this evening’s menu was beef ribs, but
these were definitely not equal to the quality of ribs we had enjoyed
at the other two locations. Fortunately, Hometown Buffet restaurants have
a large selection of entrees from which to chose!
Over
the Labor Day weekend (2002), we had driven up to Dave Seyller’s
to attend one of his beach parties. En route, we stopped by John Collins’
place in Irvine to meet his Ragdoll cat, “Keisa.” He (the cat)
has fur and markings very similar to our Ragdoll...and, also, many of
the same personality traits common to the breed.
Besides
being able to see Dave, Lena (as always) really loved walking along the
ocean and watching the waves roll in toward the shore. Dave’s Newport
Beach home is located only two...very short...blocks (or about 200 yards)
from the ocean.
Having
only recently gotten our new Nikon Coolpix 5700 digital camera, we were
anxious to try it out under different conditions. For example, the previous
photo of Lena and this photo (both taken in strong sunlight) were shot
using “fill flash”...
...but,
this photo was taken without the benefit of fill flash. While the fill
flash certainly reduced the visible shadows in Lena’s facial area,
the camera’s matrix exposure system does a pretty good job properly
exposing her face even under these extreme direct lighting conditions.
All
things considered, however, we like to routinely use fill flash for most
of our close-up outdoor photos of people.
Of
course, when taking a photo of Steve on one of his ‘bad hair days,’
it really does not matter much whether or not fill flash is used! <grin>
Steve
got to attend his first *REAL* Russian dinner party when we were invited
(along with about 40 other friends, family members, and co-workers) to
Gregory Yeknilevskaya’s 65th Birthday/Retirement bash which was held
in a small Russian restaurant (The Bistro) in La Mesa.
Greg’s
wife, Manya, has been a true friend to Lena ever since she came to San
Diego and we were very glad that we could share this special evening in
their lives with Greg and Manya. Steve could not believe the extensive
selection of Russian cuisine to which he was exposed during numerous courses
of food over a four hour period.
Not
only was the food excellent, but the musicians played a wide variety of
music...most of which Steve decided to sit out and to let people (like
Greg in this photo) spin Lena around the dance floor!
Gregory
and Manya are two very special people with whom we certainly shared a
very enjoyable evening!
Lena
always likes to visit the ocean, so when Greg and Nina Wise asked us to
get together with them for lunch one Saturday in La Jolla, Lena jumped
at the opportunity to see them again and to try a new restaurant with
a view over-looking the ocean.
Greg
(who is a realtor) and Nina (who is a Russian doctor that is now completing
her final courses to become a licensed Respirational Therapist) have lived
in La Jolla for several years and are now in the process of buying a townhouse
there.
