Weekend - June 10-12, 2005

On Friday, we decided to try out a new comedy club in Tracy - Gut Busters. The club is located in the back room of Anthony's Steak House, so we ate dinner there prior to the show. We both had the 8 oz. sirloin steak which was very tender and so flavorful that steak sauce was not necessary. The comedy show featured Xavier, Jane Barbone and Kirk McHenry. Xavier was not very funny and he seemed nervous. Jane Barbone had some good moments, but overall, she had a low energy, depressed demeanor that wasn't entertaining to watch. Kirk McHenry was hilarious. It was obvious that he was experienced and had a polished act. He had me rolling from the very beginning. The "club" was just a big room in the back of the restaurant with folding chairs and tables, but there were about 50 people there and all seemed to be having a good time. I would definitely go back for food and laughs.

On Saturday, we went to Houge park in San Jose for Halina's 2nd birthday party (Halina is the daughter of our friends from college, Tina and Ken Walters). It was also the christening of their new baby boy, Ryan. We BBQ'd hot dogs and hung out on a nice, warm day. The theme for Halina's presents seemed to be Dora the Explorer this year. It was great to see everybody including Ryan for the first time.

On Sunday, we celebrated Grandpa's birthday by taking the Sierra Railroad from Oakdale to Cooperstown (near the border between Stanislaus County and Tuolomne County). The riders were me, Shawnna, Gramps, Grandma, Dan, Liz, Andrew and Mom. They served brunch which consisted of French toast or a breakfast burrito, coffee cake and granola. The entertainment was a lady with a guitar who's forte was country music and the scenery was brown hills, farms, cows and horses. Needless to say, the highlight of the trip wasn't the food or the entertainment - it was nice to just hang out for a few hours with the family and catch up with what's been going on. Of course, we could have done that at one of our houses which is what I would recommend next time. Oh well, you have to do it once to know and it seemed like a good idea at the time...