A very grey and foggy day yesterday...at about 11:45 Tom asked, "Want to go to Sai Kung?" I thought about it for a second and then said, "Yeah, why not?" Tom needed a hair cut and asked if there was anywhere in Sai Kung. I gave him my mobile and told him to call Tala's. (Claire used to LOVE going there to get her hair cut. Don't know why. It never was convenient for me, but we used to do it anyway.) He rang and made three appointments (for himself and both kids) for 2:00.
Claire and James were all excited to be going somewhere. Other than going to the beach, outside in the marina to play or up to the Club to eat outside at Oasis, they've been boat bound ever since school was canceled. Both kids REALLY wanted to go eat at Jaspas. We used to go there about once a week, typically on a Wednesday evening, when Cathy was in high school. Tom was usually traveling and we head down to Sai Kung. The children's pizza was always a hit and Cathy and I would usually order fajitas. She'd always ask for cheese and the man would bring out some shredded mozzarella which they use to make pizza. Then we'd always order dessert. Oh, YUM! There was an banana split with incredible ice cream which Claire loved. But Cathy and I would always want the Banoffee cake. It was always awesome.
We arrived in Sai Kung around 1:20. Tom asked if the kids were going to be able to hold out for lunch until after hair cuts. I said I didn't know. We decided to go early to Tala's and see if we could get the hair cutting started ASAP. This worked quite well. James decided he didn't WANT to have his hair cut (not an option---it was starting to look shaggy) but in the end settled down and did a good job. The owner brought over a ceramic chick and told James he could have one if he was good. She gave that chick to Claire who was thrilled. Claire was next and the stylist did a nice job. (The last time they both got their hair cut at MegaBox. James' stylist was quite good and quick. Claire's was not. He left the back of her hair very uneven---one side was nearly an inch longer than the other and then spend A LOT of time blowing her hair straight. She was crying because he was burning her head! I said that enough was enough and got us the hell out of there. I didn't even worry about the uneveness...it wasn't as noticeable as it would have been if she had straight here.) Claire got quite a bit cut of the back. I also had him angle the front a bit (her hair really didn't have any shape) and he also thinned out her fringe a little. I'm not 100% sure that Claire was thrilled with the end result but I think she will be in the next couple of days. It always takes a few days for your hair to settle down after a cut. James was able to pick out his chick from the multitude that were lining the stairs up to the second floor. Claire decided to switch hers out for a different one. Everyone was happy but the kids needed food.
When we left it started to get a bit wet. Fortunately I had brought umbrellas. (When we left the boat I was being a bit anal and went back for them as well as light jackets for the kids. The latter sat in the car the entire time.) We walked past Anthony's Ranch which Darry (who works at the golf club and is a generally great guy---also a fellow American---not many here in Clearwater Bay) mentioned to Tom. Tom thought it looked interesting and said it came highly recommended. It was a no go with the kids, though. We then trudged through the rain to Jaspas which was packed. After much whinging, the kids agreed to go back to Anthony's Ranch. Later on Claire would say, "Maybe there was a reason why we couldn't get into the other place." It was awesome. It felt like we were back in the US except for the fact that the food was GREAT! It wasn't pre-manufactured somewhere and then re-heated in the restaurant. I hate that about the US. Anthony Sweet, the owner, was a cool guy. He grew up in Connecticut and New Hampshire and later graduated from the Culinary Institute of New York. He's been in Hong Kong for about the same amount of time as Tom (15+ years) and his other restaurant Anthony's Catch is also in Sai Kung. It's been there for over 10 years but we've never gone for some unknown reason. Tom and I will, though, I'm sure. Sometime in the relative near future. Claire had an incredible cheeseburger (they grind the meat on site), James had chicken fingers which also looked great except that Tom managed to dump most of them on the floor (James didn't care about that---he was still ticked that he wasn't having pizza at the other restaurant). Tom loved his steak and my ribs were to die for. We ended up sharing a lot of the good. Claire loved the ribs...James ate hamburger for the first time EVER and really enjoyed it. The kids were also thrilled with their beverages: a very delicious looking vanilla milkshake and a Sprite float. (Anthony and Matt, two Americans that work for us, will loved this place. Anthony has a thing about Dr Pepper and it's there!) Anthony also had the kids go upstairs and took their photos on a saddle while holding a "Wild West" gun. The photos are really cute---once they're scanned at the office, I'll include them here.
It absolutely CHUCKED down while we had lunch. It hasn't rained in awhile so it was a good thing. However we got pretty wet walking around later on. We bought a few odds and end and I remembered the white vinegar for the Easter egg dye. (We did that last night and the kids really had fun. James dropped an egg and I asked them if they wanted to eat it. Neither kid has ever eaten a hard boiled egg and they thought it was FANTASTIC. Weird. They both wanted to eat another egg each which they did. Claire volunteered two of her eggs, both dyed pink, to be sacrificed.)
Both kids CAN'T wait for Easter morning. Fortunately they are still asleep since it's only 5:30 am.
Not going to church today due to the flu. The last few weeks we went people were hacking all over Tom and me. I was cringing. Will be going to MegaIce later for an exhibition game. Shan-La has organized a women's team to play a bunch of 14-year-old boys. Hopefully we will win since both of my regular teams (D3 and D4) lost the first games of the playoffs. Sigh.
Happy Easter Everyone!
Just a few...Claire and James LOVED dying eggs the night before Easter. And they actually ate a couple of hard boiled eggs. I don't think either of them has ever eaten one before.
James woke up smiling at 5 am for the Tokyo trip. Claire was a bit harder to rouse but she was also in good spirits. They both had fun in Japan although Wednesday was a holiday (which we didn't know about) and Disneyland was absolutely chock-a-block. We made a fast get-away back to Ikspiari for lunch and shopping before heading back to the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay.
