Day 12: Aulani Feast

Derrick, Janine, and I at Makahiki Restaurant (Aulani Resort)

I had delicious moments of perspective Saturday night as I drifted to sleep to the sound of rain with a gentle breeze lifting the heat of the night and bringing with it the pleasant scent of plumeria and hibiscus trees. I am very lucky to be here. What's more, I am so incredibly fortunate to have wonderful friends who not only house me, but ensure that my time here in Hawai'i is enjoyable and will be memorable after I leave. As things slow down and I begin to settle into my new schedule, I can feel myself unwinding and am beginning to see just how necessary this trip is to my well-being.

As Derrick deploys on Tuesday, we went out to an extra special dinner Sunday night to one of his favorite places on O'ahu, Aulani Resort & Spa. Aulani is a Disney Resort in Ko Olina. Compared to Disneyworld in Florida, this resort was quietly-Disney. When we pulled up I'd been expecting giant cartoon characters and Mickey-themed roads, but instead was greeted by towering delicate architecture and art that celebrated Hawaiian culture. Derrick's restaurant of choice within the resort was Makahiki Restaurant, which featured an extensive dinner buffet that included, among the items listed below, unlimited amounts of crab legs, oysters, sashimi, lomilomi salmon, and, yes, more poke.

The chef came out to walk me through the buffet and tell me which items had gluten in them and which did not, then offered to prepare me a special gluten free portion of those items that I wanted to eat on the buffet, which was amazing. I don't think I've eaten at a place that caters to food allergies like this before. While I waited for my gluten free portion of poke I went straight for the sushi, crab legs, shrimp, and oysters and got busy making a spectacle of myself in a nice restaurant by cracking legs and pulling apart tendons to get at the sweet crab meat inside. Our concerned waitress came over, smile on her face, to offer me an entire bowl of wet towels because it "looked like I'd be needing them". I was not fazed and the crab was delicious so I went back for seconds.

Janine tried her first oyster and just about all of the desserts on the buffet while Derrick started out fast and strong with a full plate then took a mid-dinner walk to prepare for seconds. Perhaps because of the amount of time and effort it takes to consume even the smallest morsel of crab meat, I took the slow-and-steady buffet approach, keeping my plates small and my portions smaller. In the end, strategies aside, we were all stuffed. We delicately sipped coffee and tea then dragged Derrick on a digestive walk around the resort and down to the beach. The skies were clear and the stars were visible, as was Saturn, which we looked at through a high powered telescope that we came across on our walk down to the beach. Derrick hopes to spend some time relaxing at the resort after his six month deployment. I think that Disney-themed places will always have a special place for him and for Janine as they got engaged at Disney World in Florida (I was there for that, too!) three years ago.