happy birthday Lori

On Saturday, we celebrated a friend's birthday at the go kart race track and somehow, incredibly, we were on time and everyone else was late (it's always the other way around). They were all stuck in traffic, so we took the opportunity to eat at nearby Sonic (the only one in SoCal), which we had never done before. We got the carhop service and our waitress (?) had the roller skates on and everything. It was pretty fantastic.

So when we met up with everyone at the go kart place, we had our Sonic cups, which led someone to ask if we'd noticed the sonic boom earlier in the week. Which, we had, but didn't know that's what it was. I heard the windows and doors shaking loudly and assumed earthquake, except the ground wasn't moving. I figured it must have been a big truck going by or something and dismissed the thought. Turns out it was some mystery sonic boom that no one can explain and the sound traveled up through California and possibly even to New York before dissipating. The #1 theory (on the news sites) at the moment is aliens, but it could possibly have been a meteor. Either way, it's totally weird.

There were no meteors or aliens on the race track, but lots of stars indeed! I didn't race, since I have just recently regained the ability to turn my head (hooray for small victories!) and didn't want to fudge it up again. Turns out, I was exactly right to stay on the sidelines, being the photographer. Everyone was doing high-speed skid-outs and slamming into the walls - and each other - the whole race and Ryan came away with an aching back and bruised ribs. Go kart racing ain't for the faint of heart, honey!

The birthday girl landed second place, trailing her beau in first, so everyone came away happy. There was a medal ceremony and then Winner's Circle champagne in the parking lot. It was really fun, even from the sidelines. It's being tossed around as an idea for my brother's birthday coming up and I may have to try it -- although I'll be the slow turtle in the back of the line, avoiding bumps and skirmishes. But how can I pass up an opportunity for live Mario Kart?!