No, the Rum is Not Gone

Saturday was entirely wonderful.

We began the celebration of my birthday at Angel Fish Japanese Restaurant in/on Alameda. We had seven of us at the time, and I was told later by people who had their backs to the wall that we had a variable staff between 2 and 4 who were constantly waiting to help us.

The fish was wonderful. Truly some of the most tender ahi, I have ever had. And the typical sushi was only the tip of what was available. One person had a gorgeous ahi salad that was a pile of various green leaves, with chucks of raw ahi, and liberally sprinkled with flying fish roe. Jennifer and I will definitely go back when we're out that end of the bay.

Then we migrated to Forbidden Island. There I was tenderly cared for by my friends. We began with a Virgin Sacrifice, a multi-serving bowl that was prepared by pouring the rum into it, and lighting it and the volcano at the center on fire. Then it was sprinkled with spices (mostly cinnamon) which sparked and flared, then it was topped off with more rum, mango juice and ice. I was in heaven. And despite what some people might say, it did not have too much cinnamon. Following the Virgin Sacrifice, I was given a Scorpion Bowl which is my favorite rum drink. This one is similar to the Virgin Sacrifice, but centers on citrus and pineapple.

An added bonus was the discovery that Forbidden Island had St. George's Spirits whiskey on hand. It's a pretty good whiskey that they age in recycled bourbon barrels. It was our first taste (because we did not get to taste it at our tour two years ago), and it's really a fun whiskey. It was fun listening to different people describe the flavors they got out of it. I just enjoyed it.

Sunday, Jennifer enjoyed in our own way, and I shed my minimal hangover headache. I've actually had worse headaches from caffeine withdrawal, so I wasn't in too bad of shape.