Celebrating Alex's 19th Birthday

I can't believe that it's Alex's 19th Birthday!

Inna and I made some preparations to celebrate this wonderful occasion.

Inna and I purchased fresh pastries at Le Marais Bakery for Alex's birthday breakfast. After waiting in a long line for 15 minutes, we selected the following pastries:

• Chocolate Croissant
• Peach Scone
• Kouign-Amann
• Pain Au Raisin

We prepared the following presents for Alex's 19th Birthday:

• 2021 Apple 11-inch iPad  Pro (Wi-Fi, 128GB)
  
• Logitech Folio Touch iPad Keyboard Case with Trackpad for iPad Pro 11-inch 
• Boat Surfing Session with Rob Case (surfpaddling.com) for Saturday, August 7 (11:15 - 4:45)

Before lunch, we decided to stroll to Crissy Field and Equator Coffees. At Crissy, it was quiet and foggy. We continued along Marine Boulevard. We thought about riding the Spin scooters, but they were not working. 

 

 

At Equator Coffees, Inna ordered a mocha for me and a matcha latte for herself. We returned home and continued working.

 

We ate late for lunch at Cote Ouest Bistro, our favorite local French restaurant near our Airbnb home. After sitting down outside, we ordered the following items:

• Alex: Burger (organic beef served on a brioche bun with sauteed onions, aioli, and raclette cheese)
• Boris: Salmon Quiche du Jour (with green salad)
• Inna: Burger (organic beef served on a brioche bun with sauteed onions, aioli, and raclette cheese)
• Dessert: Creme Brulee

My Quiche was exquisite, as usual, and both Inna and Alex loved their burgers.

After I finished my work, I drove Alex to Crissy Field to teach him some wind-foiling techniques. I rigged an Exocet RF81 with an Ezzy Elite 4.0m sail so Alex could practice uphauling and controlling the sail on land.

 

At 18:30, we returned home and rushed to Ghirardelli Square for dinner at Palette Tea House. Alex and Inna managed to unlock the Spin scooter and got there much earlier. I ended up walking all the way there, arriving at about 19:20. 

 

 

After looking at the extensive menu, we ordered the following dishes:

• Palette Soup Dumpling "XLB" Sampler (5)
• Lobster Ha Gow with Butter Sauce (3)
• Jumbo Scallop Siu Mai (3)
• Wonton Dumpling Noodle Soup
• Lotus Wrap Abalone Sticky Rice
• Jade Jasmine Pearl Tea (3)
• Drunken Boba
• HK Milk Tea

We really liked the Palette Soup Dumplings - they were exquisite! Although the Wonton Soup was delicious, the noodles seemed overly bland and lacked flavor. 

After dinner, we stopped by Ghirardelli Chocolate Marketplace to sample some delicious ice cream sundaes. Alex selected the World Famous Hot Fudge Sundae, while Inna and I shared the Muir Woods Sundae. The chocolate part of the sundaes was overly delicious, but the ice cream was not outstanding. Since it was very crowded inside, we decided to eat our sundaes outdoors, where it was less crowded but also a bit chilly and windy.

 

On the way back to our Airbnb home, we stopped by Safeway/Amazon Locker so that I could pick up my bicycle lock. We noticed a lot of skaters with lights and loud music flying by. This must be the Friday Night Skate.