My friend and I are the same age and our birthdays are only 8 days apart - mine on June 13 and his on June 21 - So the neighbor couple who comes over to watch anime in my theater took us both out for dinner today for our 61st birthdays. We did up a full Japanese-themed day - They took us to Issei Noodle in Lancaster (Pennsylvania, USA), about 10 miles from where we live, and I had my first true, authentic Ramen bowl, and oh my it was so good! Even better, I had Takoyaki (octopus balls) as an appetizer, and that was totally to die for!! We also ordered two small bottles of "Demon Slayer" sake with our meal.
Now I'll be able to better appreciate an appetizing bowl of ramen whenever I see it being served in an anime!
Issei Noodle entrance:
Ramen selection:
"Demon Slayer" sake
Takoyaki:
Black Garlic Ramen:
Ramen!! (I'm the ugly one in the back flailing the chopsticks!)
Open Wide and Say "Aaah..."
The neighbors also ordered a half-dozen mochi donuts to take home with us. On the way home, the neighbor girl played some songs from a Japanese pop singer that she had downloaded to her phone, and when we got home, we went out on my back deck and had ourselves some "birthday" mochi donuts and listened to some Shingo Nakamura (Japanese Progressive House/Trance DJ) on my all-in-one computer.
Birthday mochi donuts!
Chilling on the deck to Shingo Nakamura
Texting each other the photos we took at the noodle shop (Lol!)
, On Friday I just picked up a dozen Chesapeake Bay Steamed Crabs, smothered in Old Bay seasoning, from a crab shack I found located less than two miles from my work office in York. These are their small-sized crabs, couldn't afford the large ones - a dozen small are $40, and a dozen large are $70. The crab population in the bay area is slowly dwindling down, so the prices just keep going up and up, and steamed crabs are becoming more of a rare treat anymore. 
