My husband and I actually got the chance to (gasp!) go out and see a movie and have dinner while our son spent a boy’s day out with Grandpa. At first, we dithered like we always do. What to do? Where to go? How not to waste the precious eight hours of child-free time?

Since The Departed is no longer playing anywhere, we decided to see “The Queen” at Fashion Island. That Edwards must be one of the last in Orange County that hasn’t converted over to stadium seating. But, I was lucky to get to sit behind a fairly short person in what was a fairly crowded theater, so it was all good. I recommend “The Queen.” Even though there is absolutely no action and it is of course, dialogue-heavy, I never once thought that the pacing was too slow. Helen Mirren, as always, is a sight to behold portraying the stiff-upper lip leader of the English monarchy.

Then, on to some interesting political discussion and some shopping. It was the last sale day for Bath and Body Works, so I was very excited to stock up. It was very windy and very cold, thus making Fashion Island atypically deserted for a weekend.

For dinner, we decided to dine at The Daily Grill. People, run, don’t walk to get over there. The service is excellent, and the food divine. Our server, Joaquin, was a gem of a waiter who offered wonderful suggestions to make our meal perfect. The prices are a bit on the high side, but the meal I had there was better than the one I had at Club 33 in Disneyland, for half the price.

More on that next time…