Happy Birthday to Her

Thursday was Helen's birthday and we celebrated by going to dinner at her favorite eatery - The Cheesecake Factory.

We got there about 5 p.m. and by 5:15 we were greeted and seated by our waiter, Shawn. After ordering drinks, we perused the menu. Helen usually gets her favorite Southwest BBQ Chicken Salad, but today she went with something different, Steak Diane. I opted for a medium-rare ribeye.

Soon after ordering, Helen started getting phone calls and texts from family. Brother Norman called from So Cal, sister Susan called from TC, grandson Stephen texted from Houston, grandson Alan texted from So Cal. It was a flurry of communications for the Birthday Girl.

After a few minutes our meals arrived. Helen's steak was a cut into beef medallions and topped with grilled mushrooms and onions that had been sautéed in a wine sauce. A generous order of mashed potatoes rounded out the hearty platter. My ribeye was done perfectly and came with another heaping order of mashed potatoes and perfectly steamed green beans.

Shawn came repeatedly to check on us and refill our drinks. I mentioned that we were celebrating Helen's Birthday, hoping we might get a free slab of cheesecake for the occasion.

After our meals, Shawn and another server brought Helen a free small-sized chocolate sundaes and serenaded her with a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday To You." She was appropriately embarrassed, but was a good sport. I know she hates that limelight, but she took it well.

We were both too full for dessert at the time, but we got two slabs of cheesecake for later.  Helen chose the Turtle cheesecake, while I went with the Red Velvet cheesecake. We got home about 6:30 and didn't feel ready to try the desserts until after 9. They were delicious, rich and filling. Neither of us could finish them!

Before leaving for dinner, I visited, and lost at, both local casinos - Rampart and Red Rock. Dropped $65 at Rampart and another $25 at Red Rock. We'll try to get that back, with interest, in the next day or two.

And so our LV adventure continues...