Thanksgiving at the Hale Koa

Neither mrC or I have any desire to make a big Thanksgiving dinner for just the two of us. Instead we treat ourselves to the traditional turkey meal at a restaurant every year we are away from family. 

This year, the pandemic made it a little more challenging because of state guidelines for restaurants. Never one to be deterred, mrC found a way for us to enjoy a delicious dinner and staycation too!

After finishing our FASTer Way 5K walk and breaking our fast with a smoothie, we packed an overnight bag and headed into town, aka Honolulu. We were staying at the Hale Koa for the night and having dinner at Koko at Kalia, one of the hotel restaurants.

The Hale Koa is the military hotel in town. We've overnighted here for early morning flights before we officially moved to Hawaii. This is also where we came to see a luau when the girls and Sean were visiting.

They let us check in early, so we had plenty of time to put on our fancy clothes and share some wine on the lanai before we headed to our dinner reservation.

I was so happy when the hostess led us to our table and it was one with a view ---> it's hard to see in the photo, but we had view of the garden, the beach and the water. Being on the west side, we were in direct line of the sun. Fortunately it was partly cloudy because the sun warms things up quickly. In the shade and with the breeze, I would have needed the jacket hanging off the back of my chair.

Unlike like the big buffet we had at Hickam AFB last year, our dinner was a set menu. Onion soup followed by the main course and then dessert (we passed). It was SO. MUCH. food. The soup was delicious. I loved the asparagus (normally don't because it's too soggy), and the turkey and potatoes were very good. mrC had multiple helpings of the cranberry sauce and neither one of us cared for the stuffing.

After dinner we walked to the store to get some snacks -> sounds funny, I know. Our dinner was at 4PM because we wanted to be sitting on the beach for sunset. I knew I would want something crunchy later.

We sat right on the sand to watch the sunset, a few surfers and one crazy guy swimming with the sharks. mrC always reminds me that sunset is the time of day that the sharks get hungry, too. Ha! 

We spotted a heart on the high rise hotel next to us. Can you see it?

Walking back to the hotel, we got to see all the festive lights ready for the next holiday.

In the morning, I sipped my coffee and watched the sky light up from our lanai while mrC was still sleeping. 

After he woke up, we took our coffees and went to sit on the beach for a bit before heading off to our leg day at the gym.

We have learned to make the best of holidays away from family. I hope you had a wonderful holiday, too!

FASTer Way 5K 2020

 

For the second year in a row, we kicked off Thanksgiving Day with the FASTer Way 5K for a cause. Even though we are no longer runners, it just feels good to get out and move before feasting later in the day. 

All participants were provided a training plan with registration. Runners received a four week plan and walkers received three weeks. mrC and I didn't really need a training plan since we walk to the beach as often as we can.

Just like last year, the weather was absolutely perfect and there were a ton of people out walking, running, biking. We suspect they were doing the same thing as us, working up an appetite.

Instead of just turning around at the Lanikai Monument, we did what we always do and went down the hill to the water to check the turtles.

We also detoured off the walking trail in Kailua Park. First we sat on our favorite bench and just stared att he water. This is one of our favorite past-times. Then we went down to the beach and asked a friendly gentleman to take a pic - he thought we were tourists!

We don't really need an excuse to get out and walk, but it felt good doing something to give back on Thanksgiving. The event generated a donation of $50,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

How do you kick off your Thanksgiving day?

To learn more about the FASTer Way, click here.