Ant x Elaine

Another day in Oahu, another day feeding our faces. The main event was cousin/ex-GR softballer Anthony and Elaine's non-wedding reception at The Willows. It was a banquet facility with tons of our favorite relatives, excellent food, and a cool island vibe, as well as Hawaiian Christmas carols in the background. Only a jerk wouldn't appreciate something as good as this.


The vegetarian dish entailed a bunch of grilled vegetables, which were quite tasty. I liked the dessert table, too. You can't beat fresh pineapple on the fruit plate, unless it's supplemented with various cakes and pastries.


Wait, there's something even better. All of the cousins on my mom's side were together for the first time in a while--or at least the first time with Lucia--so we took a family portrait. I was bummed about leaving the GR at the office, but the Lumix's wide lens came in handy for this shot.


Afterwards, I had convinced my family to go to Waiola for some shave ice. (It was just a mile or so away.) We got some others to go as well, including the guests of honor, Ant and Elaine. Greg got the azuki bowl. Hard core! Also, check out his daughter Saoirse in the post-lunch, pre-shave ice food coma.


After that, a bunch of us went to Waikiki to rent boards and go surfing. As usual, I did a lot of paddling, kneeling, and sinking on waves that didn't quite break. But it was all worth it when I convinced our driver Carey to drop by Leonard's on the way out for malasadas.


Carey got some plains and I got a dozen filled ones. Saoirse already liked donuts, so we knew the custard-injected Portuguese pastries would be a religious experience for her.


With dessert out of the way, we got plate lunch from Gina's for dinner. The line to the counter never vanished, and most of the customers were locals who phoned in their orders. The women at the cash register knew we were rookies, but still loaded us up with food. No, there isn't that much when it comes to meatless dishes at any Korean place, but we some veggie bip bim bap and potato croquettes (in addition to the fried chicken and meat jun) which did us right.


Tomorrow, we depart Oahu. No more guest house in Kailua. No boogie boarding every morning and no more trips to Honolulu for shave ice and malasadas. It's off to Kauai--not known for food (except for maybe Hamura's saimin)... I'm not going to be picky, though. I just hope something is open so we don't starve on Christmas!