Double B-Days

My parents both have January birthdays so as a family, we tend to celebrate them together. Last Friday, my Brother and I treated our parents to dinner at The Five Crowns in Corona del Mar. My Dad wanted to go some place fancy, and this was his pick. (As he told me later, it's a great restaurant that you go to maybe once every five years.)

Clutching a corner on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), the restaurant's exterior resembled a English cottage with clinging vines hiding the whitewashed facade. Inside continued the old English feel with dark woods and dim lights. Once I arrived -- last, as usual -- the hostess showed us to our table near the back of the restaurant beside the fireplace. My Dad immediately opened his menu and stated that he was ordering the most expensive thing on the menu since my Brother and I were paying. He laughed, we laughed, and he proceeded to order a prime rib of beef with lobster tail.

Once we all ordered, we managed to keep a lively conversation, hearing about friends of the family, cousins in Washington state, even my Dad's time in the military when he served as part of the Old Guard under Eisenhower. That was the only time we all quieted down and listened to his tales of standing in for Chief Justice Warren at practice ceremonies, seeing but not meeting Queen Elizabeth II, and much more.

And after two hours and an English trifle drowing in rum for my Dad, we hugged each other good night and sped North and South along PCH toward home.