As he was turning 9 years old, Jason heartily requested his parents, Gerry and Fiza Du, to have a beach party on his birthday. Since May 17 happened to be a Tuesday, which was a school day, Gerry and Fiza decided to have the beach party on a Saturday three days before the actual day.
Venue of the whole day affair was the Doheny State Beach, some 20-minute drive from Lake Forest. Practically, all the invited guests, children and adults numbering to almost 75 people, came to the beach driving from as far as L.A., Sun Valley, Simi Valley and other parts of California. Lunch was served at 1:00 pm as the children were enjoying every minute of it, running along the long stretch of white sand, playing volleyball and kite flying. Some of the children, especially the “whites” braved it out and hit the water although the water was very cold.
Evening came and the big guys built a bonfire while Jesse Rama volunteered to be the chef of the party heating the tortilla for the
tacos, with beef and chicken, plus a lot of Pinoy food such as budbud, empanadas, biko, hipon with green mangoes, and fresh fruits. But before dinner, Jason blew the nine magic candles on his chocolate birthday cake, lovingly baked by his Auntie Tata.
As it was time to say goodbye, the kids refused at first to budge an inch. They really had a blast and they were promised to have another gathering not too long after.