Hawaii 2019 Day 13: Kamehameha Schools Alumni Luau

In the morning we walked around Waikiki. I said hello to Duke, like I always do when in Waikiki. We also later said hi to Don Ho at International Marketplace, which is now SUPER fancy. It used to be all temporary looking stands and a few fast restaurants and now it’s a very high-end mall. Dallas really wanted to go to Quiksilver to get a new aloha shirt for the luau that night. While there, I also got a Hydro Flask water bottle and a Pura Vida wave ring. We stopped for coffee at Big Wave Dave, where we also started to look around for somewhere to eat lunch.

We ended up going to Tim Ho Wan at the Royal Hawaiian for dim sum, which was perfect. Just after we were seated and ordered, the 103rd Annual King Kamehameha Celebration Floral Parade began and went right past the windows where we were seated. What a treat for everyone at the restaurant! We could not have planned it better.

The dim sum at Tim Ho Wan was great. The bao was very interesting. It had like a flaky dough instead of the steamed white dough we’re used to.

Back at the hotel we showered and got ready for the luau, except for getting dressed. We brought our clothes along, so they wouldn’t get all sweaty! First we went to Vivian’s house in Moanalua to get Makai. We visited a bit and Vivian’s in-laws came over. They’re Japanese (Vivian is Korean – Kathy’s cousin’s daughter) and had just been to a Japanese market. They shared some treats with us. They said that they knew Dallas’s dad when he was young, like a kid!

Next we went to visit family very closeby in Moanalua Valley. Kiki and Duke have a house there and somewhat recently Quincy had an addition built on to make it a duplex. Actually the whole family was still helping with the renovations. Oddly, Dallas had not seen Kiki in so many years that I’d never even met her before, even though we stay in contact on Facebook. It was great to see Aunty Helen, Uncle Bob, Kiki, Duke, Quincy and Kala and catch up. Quincy was excited about his new place and has a great job with the government. Kala has a film degree and has been working on Hawaii Five O for years. We also got the update on Jessica, who moved from Brooklyn to Kansas City (I think!). Quincy also gave us two Hawaiian flags that he made out of wood (we gave one to Caroline later on). We could only stay for a while before we had to get ready and go to the luau!

We headed to the luau and first thing, Dallas had to go meet up to get his class photo taken. Above is how the photo turned out.

While Dallas was off getting his class photo taken, Makai and I came into the luau. We were immediately handed some fans (it was hot out!). We shopped around the marketplace a little bit. I bought a bangle with a Tahitian black pearl on it. I’ve always wanted one! Makai was hungry so I told him we could got to the pupu line and get some snacks. They literally put a fish cut in half on our plate, along with some other Hawaiian pupus like edamame, ahi poke, tako poke, smoked meat and a salad! Makai was SO mad and habut. I got him a Brudda Pop popsicle and also bought two packages of haole brownies (I shared with the family on Kauai later on!). He was still mad. I think very tired from his sleepover. I also got a bag of boiled peanuts for the table, since it would be a while til we got our dinner.

It was so great to see so many friends in our Kamehameha family (and it truly does feel like a family). Some I’ve known for many years, more than a decade now, and a couple I just met. Even when you just meet, there’s an immediate connection. It’s a great community and I’m so glad that Makai gets to spend time with them.

For dinner we had rice, kalua pig, chicken long rice, lomi salmon, squid luau, poi and poke. Makai loved the chicken long rice, the pork and the rice. For dessert there was pineapple, haole brownies, kulolo (made of taro, almost made Makai barf!), and haupia.

During dinner there was some talking on the stage. I honestly don’t remember what it was about. But then they announced the band was Mana’o Company and I could not believe it. They’re one of my favorite Hawaiian bands! And they were fantastic! Everyone knew all their songs.

Also after dinner, the pupu area turned into the dessert area, which Makai was much more interested in. I went to go to the bathroom and Dallas took Makai. They were serving haole brownies a la mode. Makai only wanted the ice cream, so he had two ice creams and Dallas had two brownies! When I got out of the bathroom, Makai wanted me to go back and get another ice cream for him!

Also, while I was in the building with the bathroom, I passed by the silent auction. It was in the final minutes so I took a look around and bid on a few items. I ended up winning a bracelet with a tahitian pearl! So I always wanted one, and now I had two!

At the end of the night, as is customary, the boarders took photos together on the same bench as always! Also, at the end of the night, someone told me I won another auction item. I had no idea! I went back in and I won a box of golf balls and a Kamehameha Schools dry fit Nike golf shirt!

On our way out of the luau, we got these pineapple gummies with such a sweet message on them.

On the Eve of Our Wedding

So, the day before the wedding. I don’t know what people were expecting of me, but relaxed and calm wasn’t it! I spent the day lounging around the pool, while people asked me a thousand times “Aren’t you getting excited!?” and “Shouldn’t you be doing something!?” Luckily I had everything worked out with Marlene, our planner before we left Chicago and she was taking care of all the work. Pretty much all we had to do was show up. This is why we paid for a wedding planner!

The only 3 things I needed to do were 1) Get my nails done. 2) Bring the wine to the venue. 3) Attend family dinner.

I woke up early in the morning to head to a local nail salon in Kalaheo. I’d considered getting a manicure and pedicure at one of the local resort spas, but when I saw that the combo starts at about $150 and goes up at some of these places, I decideded to get a recommendation from our wedding planner. She suggested Healani’s Nails.

Healani is the woman who runs Healani’s Nails. It was a nice, quaint locals kind of place. Healani, herself, did my nails. She told me she used to work at the Hyatt spa that charges those rediculous prices, so I felt good knowing I was probably getting about the same treatment but for about a third of the price!

After my appointment I stopped in at the Hawaiian Trading Post, at the corner of Koloa Road and Kaumu’alii Hwy. I’d passed by this place a million times and never stopped. They have an amazing selection of Tahitian black pearls and Niihau shell leis. They also have a ton of really affordable jewelry and other unique souvineers. I got at least 3 necklaces and a few pairs of earrings, I think.

After going back to the house and laying by the pool for a while. All the guys got back from golfing and Limey made this moving toast one day early.

Jess B and I got lunch at Kalapaki Joe’s and I was talking about our wedding planner and how she had everything taken care of and how she made this awesome event plan for us. I opened the plan to show it to Jess and realized that there was a task assigned to us for the day that we overlooked: Bringing the wine to the venue. No problem. After lunch Jess and I brought it over there… nice thing about staying less than a mile from the venue!