My 28th Birthday!

It’s silly but it’s true- I already forget how old I am- haha! Oh well, most people that don’t know me think I’m around 21 usually (I think I will appreciate that more once I am 30).  So I had to make sure, and yes, this was my 28th birthday.  I think this was my first birthday spent away from family and friends which was a little sad.  But hey, I can’t complain, Ryan did a great job of making my birthday extra special.  It started out with a very sweet handmade card that he even ‘colored’ using my nail polish selection.  Best. Card. Ever.  Although I’m sure you might agree that the picture of me with the bear is not my most flattering look...I’m pretty sure I look like a pig woman there.  Ryan assured me that I look better in real life- whew! That rendition had me sweating for a minute!

After my sweet birthday card we headed off to a swanky breakfast at the St. Regis Resort in Princeville.  I read reviews that the views of the Hanalei bay from their outdoor restaurant are unmatched- and this is true.  We opted for the ‘lite fare’ (hrmm...aka the only items on the menu unter $30 for breakfast- yikes!) which consisted of a freshly made pastry basket and local fruit.  Oh, and a special birthday latte too!  I remembered my dads wise words as I gawked at the prices- ‘remember, sometimes you are paying for more than the food, you are paying for the atmosphere’.  And atmosphere it did have! It was very nice of the unpredictable North Shore weather to cooperate so nicely for us on my birthday.  The views were quite extraordinary to say the least.

After a leisurely breakfast we walked around the quite swanky resort and Ryan scored when he found a conference room that had just had a conference and found a huge spread of the same pastries that we had just paid a pretty penny for.  At first I was quite shocked that he helped himself but then he reminded me that they would surely just throw all of this food away.  So I had him pilfer one for me!  Oh the rush of retrieving abandoned pastries at the St. Regis!

At the St. Regis they have valet parking ONLY (of course, right?).  At that time we still had Old Redd and I’m not quite sure I was up to driving it up to the front of the $600/night room (minimum) resort.  So we opted for the micro public parking lot right outside the ‘golden gates’.  I was quite bummed when we got there and all of the spots were taken.  Ryan said, ‘not a problem, I can make one’ and with those words he popped Old Redd over the curb and created a spot in the dirt.  That way after our St. Regis experience we were able to enjoy the beautiful beaches just a walk away.  Well, ‘just a walk away’ was not true for either of the two beaches we visited.  ‘Hideaways’ beach was a treacherous, billy goat climb down a sheer cliff (or so it felt).  But at least there was a railing to hold onto- or maybe not! The railing consisted of badly corroded/rusted metal railing that screamed tetanus! It was quite the thrill to make it to that beach.  But, oh, what a beach it was indeed!  A nice little outcropping of beautiful sand with water calm enough to swim in.  Then the best surprise was that the kayaking tour that pulled up on the beach had live entertainment, hawaiian singing and a ukulele.  Oh, it was like a little piece of heaven on earth!

After that beach we hopped over to the other beach nearby, right out front of the St. Regis Resort, Pu'u Poa Beach.  We enjoyed a short stint at this beach which required a lofty walk on the longest, winding stairway I have ever been on.

For dinner we went low-key and enjoyed some local grass fed hamburgers (Buttercup I’m sorry!) from good old local Bubba’s Burgers.  We decided to enjoy them down at the Hanalei Bay (Black Pot Beach) and watch the sunset.  It was quite a nice ending to a wonderful, fun-filled, sun-filled birthday!