***Your dad was very happy***

Friday night we drove out to Las Vegas to spend the weekend with my parents. You see, Friday was my dad's b-day.

We almost didn't make the trip. A mild rain pelted SoCal off and on all day. The Spouse does not like driving for four to five hours in the rain and with good reasons: Californians are notorious for ignoring the slick roads and lack of visibility conditions. (We, of course, are the exceptions.)

But we made it to the parental figures residence with little trouble, both weather and man-made, in the wee hours of Saturday. My sibling and her family had already arrived and we spent some time chatting before falling into exhausted sleep.

Saturday we ate a hearty late breakfast of fried rice, bacon, and sausage. The Spouse and I spent the afternoon checking out the local new homes for decorating ideas. (Sigh. I think I know what's going to be one of our monthly activities in the future.) That evening we celebrated dad's b-day in one of the local casino restaurants. He wanted to dine at the Cheesecake Factory but not wait for an hour to do so.

Sunday morn we continued the festivities with lots of Filipino foods. I hadn't eaten that much non-soy protein in years. Lots of beef, fish, chicken, more bacon, and pork with nary a vegetable in sight. Wonderful. We sang the b-day song and gave dad his gifts. We left Las Vegas around 1300 and returned to the OC around 1700, having only witnessed one accident this time. (Note to self: Give more than ten feet between you and the car in front of you when driving at 80 miles per hour.)

I notified my parents when we arrived safely home around 2200. Mom's first words were, "your dad was so happy you came over."