Pikake & Pearls: Helen & Randy’s Website

Greetings from Hawaii!  It’s been a week since I left Boston to join Randy and his family, and so far, everything has been so smooth and relaxing.  Highlights of the past week include the big birthday bash hosted by Aunty T and Uncle Mike where we had THREE grills cooking at the same time, meeting up with Elyse and Kevin at Koko Marina, eating at all of our “old” favorite places, and moving to Aina Haina to housesit for our relatives.

The birthday / Father’s Day gathering was really sweet.  We got Randy’s dad a Reyn Spooner newly designed aloha shirt and some goodies from Sam’s Club like superfood and a thermo tote bag.  Most of the Wongs were there and it was fun to see the younger generation, meaning us and our cousins, take over grilling and serving food.  It was a blast and everyone loved to eat.  I think the big hits were Randy’s Sicilian mint pesto marinade with steak tips and potatoes, our super-lasagna, Jamie & Keith’s bacon-wrapped scallops, and bi-colored corn!  Oh my, I’m getting hungry again just thinking about everything cooked and devoured.   Oh yeah, and for my birthday, Randy and his friends Satomi and Shinya played a jazzy birthday song to celebrate and I got to enjoy my black-bottom cupcakes that we made the night before.  What a great time!  Thank you Wongs!!

The day after we had to pack and get ready to “move” to our next destination for the next few weeks: Aina Haina.  I’m excited because we’ll have a place all to ourselves and we’ll have duties to tend to such as feeding the dog and cat (Poki and Shyann), picking up poo, taking out the trash, wash dishes, etc… things that I’m used to doing.  I don’t know about anyone else, but I feel antsy when I don’t do those things on a consistent basis, except for the poo picking part of course.  So far things are good and comfortable, except for the suffocating heat and lack of internet, but we’ll make it I’m sure.  We’ve been hanging out at coffee shops and malls to snatch some free wi-fi, which I don’t mind at all :)

Places where we’ve eaten: Goma-ichi Ramen, Curryhouse at Manoa, Bubbies at Koko Marina, Shirokiya, Dave’s ice cream, Zippy’s, Poi Bowl, Coffee or Tea, Yogurt Land, Waiola Shave Ice, Jewels or Juice

Places where we want to eat: Tsukaneya, Shochan, Okonomiyaki Chibo, other ramen places…. (give us some suggestions!)

I’ll end this post with good news that just arrived today: The Waitiki 7 albums are here!!