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| Dinner at La Rioja in Island Park... |
| It was close to Long Beach and a few of us lived nearby, so it seemed like a good choice. Our not too distant recollections were that the food was decent. Reservations were made a few nights before, and the place seemed to be OK. But in the light of day, as we drove up, it looked a little on the seedy side... better put, it looked like a dump! And more than one person expressed reservations about even going inside. But we were adventurous, and headed right for the bar. After a couple of drinks, the place looked GREAT on the inside, and the food smelled pretty good too. |
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| Barbara ordered a pitcher of White Sangria, and one by one new faces arrived. Lee Antoville, Jamie Bodner and Roberta Haskel joined us and within minutes it seemed like they had been with us all day. After about an hour of cocktails and conversation we sat down to order. When the food arrived, we were pleasantly surprised at how good it was. You'd never know by the way it looked from the outside. |
| Norma, Jamie Bodner, Susan, Lee Antoville, Barbara & Perri |
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| Roberta Haskel & Rick Blumenthal |
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| Norma, Jamie Bodner, Susan & Roberta |
| We talked and we ate and we talked some more. It was good to get a chance to engage in conversation, without being on a tour and being interrupted. As dinner was ending, Ellen Koenig came in to join us. A great surprise! We watched a "slide show" of elementary school photos (from the Forest Road contingent) and had fun guessing everyone's name. By midnight, coffee and conversation were still flowing. It was a great way to end a wonderful day. |
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