Aline's Birthday Lunch

A very pleasant day.  I picked Aline up at our usual 12:30, and told her to choose the venue for her birthday lunch.  She hesitantly suggested Italian Gourmet, a little worried it was too far away, but no, a good choice, and off we went.
We both had the veal Marsala--very tasty--and I surreptitiously asked the hostess to have a cupcake with candle presented to Aline after we ate.  It turned out to be a cannoli and didn't have a candle on it, but the waitress sang "Happy Birthday" and Aline got a kick out of it.
I wanted to introduce Aline to the Barnegat waterfront--see yesterday's post--as I knew she'd love it, so we drove down there after lunch.  She was thrilled to be "on the water" and we strolled the "boardwalk," then sat under the pavilion for a good three hours, talking and laughing and enjoying the glorious Jersey sunshine.  On the way home, I stopped to treat my friend to her favorite: Jeffreeze ice cream.
I knew the musical, Jekyll and Hyde, was at Surflight and closing on Sunday, so I suggested we go if I could get the hefty $45 ticket price discounted. Aline enthusiastically agreed, as we both had seen the star, Bart Shatto, in Les Mis, and he is superb.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get the price lowered, and as neither of us were willing to pay $45,*we reluctantly scratched the idea.
My friend called and we discussed our regular picking today.  I'll go up there about 10:00.  The boys will be there from 10 to 2, so I'll be happy to see them, too.
* Highway robbery, it seems to me.  Rick Mellerup, who's in LETCO and with whom Aline and I both appeared in You Can't Take It With you, writes for The Sandpaper. He reviews a lot of local theatre and panned J. And K. for the horribly flawed sound and lighting, although he praised the performances.