happy five-oh

Wanted to do something special for Darrell's 50th birthday so decided to throw him a surprise party.  Invited his parents and sisters and their families, three came from Molokai to join in on the surprise.  I was sure that he knew but just wasn't letting on, but it was a total surprise.

But just to throw him off, I told him Ryan and I were taking him to Hy's Steakhouse on his actual birthday.  We went once, a very long time ago, B.R. ("before-Ryan") because I had won a gift certificate.  I still remember my mom saying when we ordered a $9 dessert that she could buy a whole pie for that price!  But of course, it's much more expensive now!

And oh-so-good!  We started off with caesars salad done tableside and I had the best onion soup I've ever had.  The entrees were awesome too~Darrell had the king crab legs, Ryan had prime rib, and I had a filet with peppercorn sauce.  For dessert, we ordered what we had before, the "Chocolate Lovers," where the chocolate sauce was prepared tableside and flambeed (if that's a word).  Ernie, our waiter, put on a show and even waited to light the flame until I had my camera ready. Service and food were excellent and I hope to go there again one day, once we've saved some money!  But since it was a special occasion, it was totally worth it.

The surprise party was at Kai Market at the Sheraton Waikiki.  Almost everyone was able to get there before us because the traffic into Waikiki was so bad.  We walked into the restaurant, into a private area in the back, and it took Darrell a while to realize that the people at the tables were his family!  Yay for it being a surprise after all!  He said he called his parents for two days and was wondering why they weren't answering; they were already on Oahu for the party!

So nice to have him surrounded by people who love him for this special birthday!