Troy’s Big Birthday Bender

hau’oli la hanau = Happy Birthday!

Troy’s big 6-0 arrived on a sunny, warm weekend in October, not that there was anything special about it being warm or sunny. In fact, the only way we know the seasons are changing is from the carving pumpkins and Halloween decorations at Costco.

Dinner at the Original Roy’s (Hawai’i Kai)

Troy chose Roy’s for the first of the celebrations. Marielle and River joined us for ribeyes and butterfish and other yummy eats and drinks. This was our second time having the misoyaki butterfish, and it did not disappoint. Roy’s marinates theirs for 24 hours in a shiro miso paste and serves it with “forbidden” black rice and a sweet ginger wasabi sauce, making it melt in your mouth with big-time umami. It’s a splurge, but for a special occasion, we highly recommend it!

Duke’s + Anela Kai Catamaran Sunset Cruise

For Party #2, Troy chose a sunset catamaran cruise in Waikiki. He picked Anela Kai, which leaves from the beach right in front of Duke’s, which just happens to have live music on Sundays. Henry Kapono was not in residence that afternoon, but it didn’t stop us from pre-gaming there ahead of time with a few Mai Tais and Troy’s current beer of choice, Kona Brewery’s Big Swell.

The cruise itself was super fun. We met a couple of guys from LA and Washington who were visiting on their own and had a great time chatting with them about the charms of O’ahu; we enjoyed the magnificent offshore scenery, glimpsing Diamond Head, Waikiki, and Koko Crater from new perspectives; and we absolutely got our money’s worth by double-fisting drinks from the open bar.

After we were back at Waikiki, we decided to do some post-gaming back at Duke’s, where a few more Mai Tais and Big Swells were imbibed. Not that you can tell from our faces.

As luck would have it, River blew out a tire on his car while we were out celebrating, so he couldn’t chauffeur us home. We had to call a Lyft and Troy had to take a bus back to the parked car the next morning.

Mimosa Brunch and Steak Dinner

We had a couple smaller family gatherings to also mark this momentous occasion. River grilled steaks on the deck one night, and we had a mimosa brunch on the deck another morning. I regret not better documenting those.

So to leave you on a high note rather than with a whimper, here’s the birthday boy talking about his special day: