Celebrating our anniversary with a Day of No Cooking is one of the best ideas we’ve come up with. We have a lot of fun planning what and where to eat, and it keeps the celebration going all day as well. Plus, there are zero to minimal dishes or kitchen clean-up to do for a whole day.
We had a wonderful day this year for our 43rd anniversary in spite of having to adapt our original plans twice and on the fly. When Brett went to check out Kountry Kitchen’s menu Wednesday morning he discovered the restaurant was closed for the day! Oh no! We immediately contacted our friends who were joining us for breakfast, and met instead at the Tip Top Cafe. While I wasn’t able to enjoy Eggs Benedict as hoped, I had no complaints about my giant banana-macadamia nut pancake, nor did Brett with his two giant regular pancakes. We had a good catch-up with Alan and Cheryl – we hadn’t seen each other in ages.
After breakfast Brett and went for a hike along Nawilili and Ninini Harbors on the east side. The scenery was beautiful, but the walking somewhat difficult because it was on very rough and haphazard rocks much of the way. After we finished our hike we headed to Konohiki Seafood in Hanamaulu for some takeout: ginger fried chicken, pork wontons, and inari sushi. The selection of delights at this little market was amazing, and everything was very affordable. We also made a quick stop at Times Market and picked up a container of namasu for the side and then headed home to eat an easy but delicious lunch.
We enjoyed a fabulous evening at the Beach House restaurant, complete with beautiful sunset and ocean views. I enjoyed a beautifully prepared vegan platter of locally grown vegetables, Brett had seared ahi with garlic potatoes and broccoli, and we each had a glass of wine.
Our first-choice restaurant for dinner turned out to be unavailable (long story), so Brett and I looked for another restaurant in the area but not one seemed to have any open spots for dinner, anywhere. In desperation I finally checked the Beach House restaurant in Poipu, a lovely but very expensive restaurant, and to our surprise they had an opening. We enjoyed a fabulous dinner and experience there, totally worth the extra expense. We kept costs down by having a cocktail at home before we left, skipping an appetizer, and coming home to enjoy the last giant red velvet cupcake and decaf coffee versus ordering dessert at the restaurant. We still ended up going over our original budget for the day but with no regrets – dinner was very special and a lovely way to begin our farewells to Kaua’i.
Although we ended up with a few dishes to wash this year, we once again enjoyed a perfectly delicious, day-long anniversary celebration, and we’re looking forward to another special day next year in Nashville!
The Occasional Nomads 
Happy 43rd anniversary! I hope you have a wonderful April in Kaua’i.
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Not sure how wonderful our April is going to be but we going to make the most of it, no matter what! Looking forward to meeting you in Toronto!
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Happy Anniversary! Ours will be #52 this year. I like the no-cook idea for the day and just eating out. The dinner looked delicious.
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Congrats on reaching your 52nd! We’ve decided for our 50th we’ll come back to Kaua’i, with family, and renew our vows. The Beach House does weddings on their lawn, overlooking the ocean, and a simple one there would be doable and affordable (and of course wonderful). Our dinner there the other night was worth the splurge.
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Happy anniversary! And your Nashville news is very exciting!
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It is exciting! We still have lots to do to get ready, but we’re looking forward to the move and getting to know Nashville.
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Sounds like a great day! And that sunset view at dinner…wow! Happy Anniversary and wishing you many more!
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The Beach House is famous for their location and sunsets. Brett wants to go back but just order a couple of appetizers and a cocktail and sit out on the lawn and watch the sun go down. Maybe we should do it for our last night on the south shore?
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Happy Anniversary!
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Thanks! I was honestly told not to marry Brett (a sailor), that it would never last. Best thing I ever did in my life was marry him.
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Looks wonderful! I always used to enjoy our anniversaries after we figured out that it was way more fun to have some adventures-for-two and meals out instead of giving each other material stuff, or having a party with others. Many wishes for continued happiness! Wherever you nomads are!
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We never were big on giving each other gifts or having parties, but we did enjoy going out to dinner for our anniversaries (if Brett was home, that is – during our navy years he was home just once for our anniversary). Planning a whole day of eating out the game and is so much more fun than just dinner out. I’m already excited about next year in Nashville!
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Happy anniversary! I remember when we were first married (almost 45 years ago) and we bought each other gifts every year. I remember thinking this was important and we’d never stop giving each other gifts for special occasions. Silly me! Somewhere along the line, we realized the greatest gift is our time together. You two seem to have also figured that out. Sounds like a wonderful day!
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Out of our first 14 years of being married we spent exactly two anniversaries together: our first and our fifth. For all the others, Brett was deployed. We used to joke that the first thing he had to do whenever he checked in at a new duty station was give them a calendar with our all important family dates – birthday, anniversaries, etc. – so they could make sure he would be gone for them. Anyway, we never got in the habit of giving each other gifts, but learned to enjoy and appreciate spending time together and making memories. We do exchange gifts on our birthdays, and occasionally at Christmas, but otherwise we just like to spend time together.
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Happy Anniversary! I wasn’t aware of the Beach House so I will have to check that out next time I’m in Kauai, whenever that will be. The food looks great and of course the scenery can’t be beat.
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The Beach House is just down Lawai Beach Road from the traffic circle at Kukuiolono. They’ve been around for a while and are famous for their views and their food. There’s a big lawn outside where weddings are often held. Anyway, if you get a chance to go . . . go! You won’t regret it. They are pretty speedy though.
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A belated Happy Anniversary and congratulations on 43 years! I like your idea of eating out all day – maybe I will suggest that for our next anniversary, our 48th!
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The Day of No Cooking has been very, very fun these past two years, both the planning and execution. We don’t go out to eat very often so it’s a real treat for us.
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