Last Sunday, we celebrated Dan’s (belated) birthday in style. I woke him up early around 7 AM with breakfast (something he’s always responsible for due to my lack of cooking skills), coffee, and a card telling him to get in the car when he was finished. I didn’t plan to tell him anything about the day. While we had missed celebrating his birthday together on August 1st, I was determined to make this day special. 

The first item on our list was skydiving at 8 AM. He had no idea that this was on the docket for the day, and I was hoping that he’d be excited (not terrified). The skydiving surprise turned out to be a success. We both jumped from 12,000 feet and lived to tell the tale!
We had much of the day open as he had just gotten in the night before. I anticipated him being tired and needing some time to decompress after an exciting morning. That said, I made it clear that we had “reservations” later that evening. I didn’t give him any other details. When the time came to head to what he presumed was dinner, I asked him to dress nicely. The outfits we’re pictured in are about as nice as you ever need to get in Hawaii, so he figured we were going to a nice restaurant.

Then, I started to drive over toward Secret Island. There were two ways I could have gone, and I decided to drive the way that I thought would confuse him most. It worked. He assumed we were heading toward Turtle Bay initially, but once we passed that, he had no idea. No other nice restaurants existed in that part of the island that he was aware of. I drove on…knowing that our friends, Mallory and Shannon, were setting up a surprise picnic dinner in a location we had discussed.

I knew Dan would be especially thrilled about their participation because they were moving off Oahu the very next day. I had been telling him for weeks that he really wouldn’t get to see them when he got back because they would be so busy with moving stuff. I knew he was sad about this, and I “reserved” them a whole month in advance to make sure we all got time and closure together. Shannon also has a film camera she regularly shoots with, and she was kind enough to offer to snap some photos of the two of us since we didn’t have many at that point.

I just had to get Dan out to Secret Island without him realizing what was happening.

Arriving at Secret Island

The “fun” thing about Secret Island is that it’s hard to find unless that someone shows you where it is. Once you’re let in on the secret (no pun intended), it feels like you’re in a little club. The driving directions are fairly simple. You enter Kuoloa Regional Park. At the roundabout, turn right near and head toward the campsite is. From there, it gets tricky. You’ll want to find a trail that’ll lead you along the shoreline.

At this point, Dan was incredibly confused. He couldn’t figure out what restaurant would be nearby nor why he was dressed nicely based on what everyone else around us was wearing. Just by looking around, it appeared that we were in a campsite. In actuality, the only reason he was dressed nicely was because I knew photos would be taken. Otherwise, this would have been a rather casual affair.

Arriving at the picnic dinner Mallory and Shannon had set up

Another shot of the setup featuring Mallory

Celebrating on Secret Island

After arriving, the surprise had been revealed, and it was really just a casual birthday picnic with pizza, beer, champagne, and cake. I’ll tell the rest of the story through pictures. It was such a dreamy evening and everything I hoped it would be. The only aspect that didn’t pan out was where we actually ate. I had hoped we’d be able to eat on the dock itself (pictured below), but because it’s such a popular photo area, it was too heavily trafficked.

A very happy birthday boy

The view from the beach we picnicked on

Opening his birthday cake that Shannon and Mallory had brought

A close-up of the cake which says “HBD Old Man”

The start of the couple photos

So much love

Dancing on the beach

One of my favorite photos from the evening

A view of the mountains from the dock

Taking a dip on the dock

A good view of the famous Secret Island dock

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for a special place on Oahu, Secret Island is one of my favorites. While the property technically belongs to Kuoloa Ranch, you can visit it in a few ways. First, you can book an expensive tour. Two, you can stick to the shoreline where we picnicked as all beaches in Hawaii are public. Or three, you can go after hours (as we did) and hit up the dock when they don’t have any tours going on. Have fun finding it!

If you enjoyed Dan’s birthday celebration, go read about mine: My 25th Birthday Trip to the Big Island.