Birthday Lunch at Del Mar Rendezvous 3x, return to the Torrey Pines Glider Port and cupcakes from Sprinkles

I was liking this concept...being "off" on my birthday. It was like, as my friend TORC said, "playing hookie".

(photo from my "Return to Del Mar Rendezvous" post, April 2014)

Even though I felt a tiny twinge of guilt, I thought about it and thought, "You know, FK it! Work will be there tomorrow. I need to to do this EVERY year, %$#@"!

I suppose my  many years spent in my particular career have taught me obligation but sometimes you have to take time for yourself and what better day than your own birthday. I hardly ever take days off for anything unless I am sick as a dog so yeah, I did it and it was extra nice since my husband took the day off to be with me.

Using my birthday meal freebie, we returned to Del Mar Rendezvous, an upscale Chinese restaurant in (duh) Del Mar.

We got the Seafood Hot Pot, which Astroboi and I had last year (link posted at the end) and the Black Pepper Filet Mignon with brown rice.  Dessert was free was well; it was the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake with raspberry sauce. We ended up taking it home (we had our cooler; prepared yes!) for TC since I was already sugared out from earlier today.

The beef dish was so delicious - tender beef and flavorful sauce. The chili oil sauce had a good kick to it as well.

I remember Astroboi and I liked this so much last year that I wanted it again so Bert could try it. They were generous with the seafood in here. The scallops and shrimps were a good size. We wanted to savor the sauce later with rice.


Heading south along the coast, we passed by Torrey Pines State Beach to get to the Glider Port near UCSD.


Bert hadn't been here before while I'd been twice two years ago (first with Cathy; second with TC and her friend)...


Bert remembers parking near here years ago when he was still an undergrad at UCSD. This was back when there was still a Third College, which is now Thurgood Marshall College, named after the first African American Supreme Court Justice as well as the lawyer for the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case, Brown vs. Board of Education (Incidentally, his 2nd wife, Cecilia Suyat was Filipina). It was called Third College since it originally emphasized community involvement and multiculturalism especially with its Ethnic Studies programs.

As you can see, it was a pretty clear and sunny day. Very good weather as well. Warm but not overly hot. Lots of folks were out today hang gliding, taking lessons and such.






Bert and I had fun watching the gliders sail effortlessly through the air. Personally I wouldn't do it; I am such a wimp, but Bert would probably be up for this kind of thrill seeking activity.

We still needed to pick up TC from school and track practice and wanted to avoid the traffic so we left before the rush. Our last stop before getting her was at this shopping center in La Jolla. I had a coupon for a free birthday cupcake from Sprinkles (where you actually have to get it on your actual birthday). Luckily, there was also another special going on because Sprinkles was celebrating 10 years of existence so there was also another separate coupon of getting a free cupcake because of this.


There was a long ass line with people waiting to get their free cupcake. I would be getting two free cupcakes (which I was glad they let me combine it) while Bert got a free one as well.


Praline for Bert (the nut covered one), red velvet for TC and Banana for me.


Enjoyed the next day but plated just for the photo shoot.

Later that evening, my parents dropped off a special birthday dinner for us, homeade pancit bihon, adobo (made dry and with fresh ginger and annato powder which is my mom's special touch) and macaroni salad. That was so nice of my mom to do this. She felt she needed to make me a noodle dish because noodles are traditional to eat on a birthday for "long life".

Instead of a birthday cake, we sampled the birthday donuts bought earlier that morning from Nomad (post linked at the end). I remember that mine was blueberry cream cheese. The others wer pomegranate acai and a chocolate glazed.

In all, a very fun birthday spent with Bert in the day and with our daughter in the evening!

Previous visit to Del Mar Rendezvous:
April 2014 with Astroboi

Previous visit to the Torrey Pines Glider Port:
June 2013 with TC and Sherlock

Previous visit to Sprinkles:
April 2013 my solo visit

My Birthday food crawl with Bert:
"Birthday Highlights 2015"
"Donuts 'n Coffee Deja Vu Birthday Edition - Nomad & Calabria"
"Street Art in North Park"
"Balboa Park"