OCTOBER 19TH, 2014: DAY 1 - ARRIVAL
Our trip started off pretty early. Ralph and I both got up at 5am to get ready and just spend some time with Wendy before we dropped her off at my parents' home. (Thanks, Mom, Dad, Matthew, and Fitz for looking after our Wendy Girl!) From there, we took a shuttle to LAX and waited a couple of hours to board the plane. At this point, my biggest concern was Ralph - before this trip, he had NEVER flown on a plane, so I was a bit worried how he would react. Fortunately, he did just fine and watched a movie and read his comic books on his iPad.
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| Just before take-off! And to those who are curious how the flight was because of Hurricane Ana, it was surprisingly smooth overall. A little bit of turbulence towards the end, but it definitely wasn't the most "bumpy" flight I've been on. |
After we landed, we took another shuttle to Enterprise for our rental car (we got a Chrysler 200). From there, we drove straight to Target, which is conveniently located 5 minutes from Aulani. We purchased some snacks and breakfast items (because we don't want to claim bankruptcy by the third day), then we were off to the hotel.
I'm not going to lie, I was pretty bummed during the drive...because the weather wasn't great. It was gloomy, rainy, and just downright miserable. And then we had to lug our baggage and groceries from the car to the hotel in the rain; and if you've ever been to Hawaii, you know it's humid, and rain doesn't help anything.
We checked in and got "lei"ed - womp womp wooooooomp - and we immediately took off to our room. My mood completely changed once we entered what we'd be calling "home" for the duration of our trip.
Pretty sweet, right? We were also provided with paper plates, utensils, cups, and a toaster. But the best part of this room is the view.
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| Ocean View! |
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| The water slides and Rainbow Reef. |
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| The lobby building and the Waikolohe Stream (lazy river). |
You can't tell from these pictures, but it was raining and really gloomy...but that didn't stop a bunch of other Aulani guests from ruining their fun. Once Ralph and I settled in, we decided to check out the lobby and get acquainted with the resort. We figured it'd be best to put on our swimsuits since it was raining...no point in getting our clothes wet.
We started walking around outside, and it was so warm and we were just SO excited that we just got into the lazy river without thought! And we didn't just grab a couple of floating tubes and ease our way into it - no, we took the Tubestone Curl, which is this awesome - BUT PREGNANCY-FRIENDLY/SAFE - water slide. I wiped out at the end, but whatever! It was so much fun that we didn't even notice that it was raining anymore. Ralph and I went all the way around the stream then went back to our room to dry off (we didn't want to walk around in the lobby sopping wet).
Afterwards, we just strolled around the lobby and the rest of the resort - by the way, we didn't bring our phones/camera during our little tour because we didn't want to get anything wet...so not too many pictures from Day 1! Once we were done, we went back to the hotel and just relaxed. And because of the time difference and the fact that we're old people at heart, Ralph and I were passed out by 9:00pm. Go, us!
And that was our first day in Hawaii!
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OCTOBER 20TH, 2014: DAY 2 - ANNIVERSARY
As expected, Ralph and I woke up before 6:00am - well, I actually woke up at 3:00am but forced myself to go back to sleep. And as soon as it was sunrise, Ralph and I went to the patio to check out the weather.
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| It was perfect! A little bit of clouds, but no more rain! |
We were so pumped to go outside and do everything we couldn't do the day before that we failed to realize that the pools weren't going to be open for another 2 hours. So we just ate breakfast and lounged around in our room.
While we were waiting for 8am to roll around, Ralph went to the car to grab a few things; and as soon as he left, I secretly called room service to order a surprise gift for him - chocolate-covered strawberries for our 1st Anniversary. Of course I called at 7:30am - the busiest time (everyone was ordering breakfast) - so the Cast Member on the other line said the order wouldn't be ready until 8:30am. Crap.
When Ralph got back, I told him I'd start getting ready, and we'd leave by 8:30. He didn't mind, but by 8:15, he was getting anxious. He wanted to go out SO badly. So I did everything I possibly could to stall until room service arrived - I tidied up the room, put on make-up (and really, I didn't HAVE to...we were going swimming!), went online to check e-mail/Facebook - hell, I even fussed with my hair, even though it was going to get WET!
By 8:40, I was running out of ideas; but, thankfully, there was a knock on the door!
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| Chocolate-covered strawberries - a surprise treat for Ralph! (And for me too, hehe.) |
The presentation was almost too pretty to eat...almost. We ate a couple, refrigerated the rest, then headed out - finally!
First, we went to Ko Olina Beach. It was still a little cloudy, but we figured we'd go early to avoid too much sun. Ralph enjoyed the water while I mostly just sat in the sand. To those of you who don't know me, I love the beach but hate the ocean. If I can't see my feet in the water, I'm too far in. And I recently just found out that I think I'm afraid of fish - they're fine in a tank, but I don't want to touch them or see them near me. I was knee-deep in the water when I saw a bunch of little fishies swim right at me, and I immediately turned around and ran out of the water.
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One of the many "Anniversary Selfies".
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| Ralph floating in the water. |
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| Swollen pregnancy feet! :D |
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| "1st" Anniversary. |
After the beach, I wanted to go in the Waikolohe Stream again - and yes, we took the slide AGAIN. We stayed in the stream for a bit, then we explored the other pools - the Ka Maka Infinity Pool was pretty cool, but we didn't stay too long because there were too many kids splashing around. The Waikolohe Pool was pretty nice - mellow and the water's warmer in that pool. Unfortunately for me, I'm not allowed to go into any of the whirlpool spas - it's not good for the baby (if it's too hot, my body temperature could elevate).
After swimming around for a couple of hours, Ralph and I were starving. We decided to get something quick from one of Aulani's quick-service dining places, which are conveniently located all over the place. We went to Mama's Snack Stop to get some chicken tenders and fries - definitely hit the spot!
And once again...not too many pictures from this time because I don't have a waterproof camera or waterproof phone...or a waterproof case to put all my stuff in...so I couldn't take any pictures while we were in the water, but don't worry - after we went swimming (which was well into the afternoon), we drove to a nearby ABC Store and purchased a waterproof case! So expect more pictures!
We went back to the hotel to freshen up before we headed out to eat dinner. We walked around the lobby again, and THIS TIME, I was able to take pictures. Disney never fails to impress me with what they're capable of. Absolutely gorgeous architecture.
For dinner, we ate at the Makahiki buffet, and oh my goodness...it's been about 6 hours since we've eaten dinner, and I'm STILL stuffed. Overall, the food was good, but the dessert was AMAZING.
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| All the crab legs I could eat! I tried to eat a little bit of everything, but it was just too much. |
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| DESSERT WAS AWESOME. Chocolate souffle, fresh strawberries, macadamia tart, chocolate chip cookie, chocolate mousse, S'mores pop...and no, I could not finish all of it. |
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| As if dessert weren't enough, our waitress gave us, not one, but TWO mini red velvet cakes - one for our anniversary and the other for the baby. It was so good, but I was so stuffed that I couldn't force it down. |
Needless to say, Ralph and I sat at our table as long as we could...we just could not move. Eventually, we got up and walked around. We had half an hour to kill before we headed off to Halawai Lawn to watch the Starlit Hui, which is just a little show that features hula dancers and ukele performers. So we went to the Pau Hana Room Community Hall. This place is pretty cool - it's a huge room with a bunch of activities for kids. There are board games, coloring books, and a movie is always playing in here. You can also borrow Disney movies to watch in your room!
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| We got "A Bug's Life" for whenever we have downtime, which is mostly at night when the pools are closed. |
And then it was time for the Starlit Hui. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to go because I was tired and SO full from dinner that watching "A Bug's Life" in the comfort of our room was the best-sounding idea in the world. But I powered through, and I'm so glad I did! The show was not too long/short - it was just right, and it was really entertaining (like all the shows at Disneyland). My favorite part was when two ukelele performers did their bit - they were AMAZING!
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Ralph and I just wished there was more fire dancing...
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| At the end of the show, Disney characters went on stage to dance with the kids. Not gonna lie, I got excited. |
While the kids were going crazy with the Disney characters, Ralph and I headed back for our room. I passed out on the sofa right away...and keep in mind, it was only 9:00pm. I woke up about an hour later and saw Ralph fast asleep on the bed - the jet-lag, the food coma, and waking up at 6:00am were just too much for us to handle.
To avoid waking up at 6:00am again, I figured I'd stay up a couple hours; hence...the blogging. Of course, I didn't plan on staying up THIS late, and I may just sleep until 9:00am. Let's hope - I'm on vacation, for crying out loud.
Overall, it was a great 1st Anniversary and a GREAT first full day in Hawaii. Stay tuned for Day 3!
