Aloha! Stop or We'll Shoot - An Oahu and Aulani Trip Report: Updated 4/27

[Witherbark]

Hawaii Day 11: Resort Day 2

Another resort day – all of this relaxing is exhausting! I had breakfast as usual on the lanai, and then we headed down to the adult pool a little after 8 AM. I had planned a day of lazy river and snorkeling, but it was a bit overcast and slightly cool. So we did none of that, actually. I read the new book I bought at Target after going through the 4 I brought with me. DH had an early lunch at around 11:30, and then a little after noon I went upstairs and had lunch and showered and changed. I spent the afternoon walking around taking pictures.

I ended up getting pictures with Stitch and Aulani Minnie and Mickey. I saw the 2 bedroom DVC villa – very nice – and was going to pick up tickets for the evening member mingle but didn’t. I did, however, pick up a movie at the Community Room and I ran into DH getting out of the hot tub. He went to the gym, and then we regrouped for an early dinner at Monkeypods.

We had no trouble getting a table without a reservation at a little after 4 PM. I had a specialty drink and a spinach pizza and DH had a bourbon drink and a sausage pizza. The pizza was great, the drinks were okay (probably just my taste preference, not a bad bartender). We switched to Kona beer and were both happier with that. Good food, friendly service, and decent happy hour pricing. That’s a win in my book.

After dinner we checked out the cove past the luau. I had heard that there were sometimes seals down there, but not tonight. We did both get thorns through our sandals for our trouble. Ah well.

I stopped for Mickey ice cream bars at the shop while DH got the extra water out of the car. It wasn’t until we were both in bed watching the movie that I remembered we were supposed to go to the Starlit Hui tonight! D’oh. I literally forgot/didn’t do anything I had set out for today. But it was still a pretty nice day in Hawaii. A very early night, because tomorrow was our Hickam Tour day.

 

[Witherbark]

Hawaii Day 12: Hickam Tour

Today we were up early for our tour of Hickam, where my grandfather was stationed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Our tour was at 9 AM, but I had heard horror stories of the Honolulu traffic. So we were out the door by 7:45 AM. And we arrived at Joint Base PHH at 8:15 AM. So probably didn’t need to rush.

It was easy to get on base with military ID, and we had a map to help us find the ITT office. There was a shopette right next door, so we went over there for some coffee and fruit. Then we hung out in front of the ITT office. At about 8:45 others started to arrive.

After bathroom breaks, we boarded the mini bus. There were about 15 people on the tour, and our tour guide was Jessie Higa. She is a fascinating woman full of stories and history and a real passion for sharing. She was amazing, and if you are lucky enough to take a tour with her, you should jump at the chance.

We started by going past the hangars that were hit first on December 7th and the crows nest where officer saw the attack. We went to the 15th Air Wing building for a few cases of materials and learned about the man Hickam, for whom the base was named and saw artifacts from him and the chapel destroyed during the Pearl Harbor attack.

From there we went to the flag pole and the plaques there. I asked Jessie if this was the only flag pole on Hickam, and she confirmed that it was and that it was sort of an odd question. I said it was because my grandfather had been shot that day by the flag pole, so I wanted to make sure. She was delighted that there was a family member of a survivor there, and we had a chance to chat during lunch.

After the flag pole stop we visited a beach, which Jessie said was most likely where my grandfather was sent after the attacks to look for submarines (he just knew it was a beach, not which one). We saw some gorgeous old homes that were used for base housing. One was recently restored for a movie.

We had lunch and were lucky enough to watch a submarine pull out while we were there. Then we went to the old Officer’s Club. We saw a platter from the wedding of one of the Army nurses – the one whose memoir was the basis for the movie Pearl Harbor. We heard about the nurses giving fatal doses of morphine as needed, and lining up the dead. And the spouses who tore up curtains and bedsheets to use for bandages. And those wives who took their husband’s hand guns and their children and sat in a circle in one of the hangars, waiting for the Japanese land invasion.

We saw the coaling station, the Utah memorial, and Hospital Point. Eventually, our last stop was the original barracks, still bearing pockmarks from the Zeros. We saw the eternal flame there and the original flag that flew on December 7th.

It was a very moving tour, and Jessie is a national treasure.

After the tour it was about 1PM. We stopped at the PX for gift boxes of macadamia nuts, some snacks for the plane, and a bathroom break. Our next stop was the National Cemetery of the Pacific. We meant to do this on our original Pearl Harbor day but forgot.

It is way up in the hills, but gorgeous. It had started raining on and off and the lower entrance to the memorial was blocked off. So it was a frustrating start, but we got a map and made our way to Ernie Pyle’s grave. Then we went up to the monument and took our time reading the murals and visiting the courts of the missing. We hear all the time about the missing from Vietnam, but they listed around 18,000 missing from WWII.

After the cemetery we finally found the Honolulu traffic everyone had been mentioning. I was able to use the HOV lanes, which weren’t as bad. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t too terrible. We stopped at Exit 7 for hot malasadas – amazing!

We were back at Aulani by 5PM. DH changed and headed out for Crossfit. He was supposed to meet up with a friend who had moved out to Hawaii, but she ended up not being able to make it. That was sort of nice, since instead of driving back into Honolulu he was able to drop by a box in Kapiolani.

I finally got a coconut shrimp basket from Mama’s Snack Shack. I should have gone to the member mingle, but I hadn’t gotten tickets and then I forgot about it. It looked nice, though. I enjoyed dinner and a custard malasada. Then I took a walk down to the other lagoons and was enjoying a glass of wine on the lanai when DH returned. Finally, tonight we did make it down to the fire pit and saw the story by Uncle. It was very fun! I’m glad we made time to do it.

After that we crawled into bed and watched another movie from Community Hall (Lincoln, eh, I thought it was super talky and the better ending would have been Lincoln just leaving for the theater).

 

[Witherbark]

Hawaii Day 13: PCC

Only two more full days in Hawaii! We were loving everything and it had been an amazing time, but we weren’t sad to be leaving. Two weeks is about what we can take before we start missing our furry kids and want to get back to our house and even our jobs. Stay away too long and they’ll realize they can do without you.

We spent the morning at the adult pull and the lazy river. It was a great morning, but somehow time slipped away from us. I wanted to be on the road at about 10:30-11, but it was already 10:30 before we made it back to the room. We rushed around and were out the door just a little after 11 AM.

Up to the Dole Plantation, with the irritating weekend traffic. It was packed, but we snagged a parking space. I took a few pictures of the sign and pineapples, saw a few minutes of a pineapple cutting demonstration, and hit the bathrooms. About 20 minutes later we were back in the car. It also rained again for about 7 minutes.

Next we went to Ted’s Bakery for lunch. I thought the 20 minute wait was a little much (DH grabbed a table and was happy as a clam with his phone). But the garlic shrimp plate, haupia pie (free with the shrimp) and grilled cheese sandwich were all really good and lived up to the hype. We fed the little cats in the eating area and cleaned up!

Next, we finally made it to the Polynesian Cultural Center a full hour later than I had intended. We had no trouble finding parking (so glad they no longer charge for parking – that’s nuts). We picked up our ticket with our voucher from the ITT and found that we were luckily just in time for the 2:30 PM water pageant.

We started our walk around, looking in at the mission houses and chapel and watching the wedding in Tahiti. We did the spear throwing, where DH ran into one of his soldiers from Korea. So strange. We tried to do the canoe paddling, but the line was very long. Looks like I was never going to get on a traditional canoe this trip. We walked through other areas and looked in on houses, poi making, and traditional carving. We stopped in Aotearoa for their presentation, then saw part of the Samoan coconut presentation.

At this point it was after 5PM and the park was closed. We had the package that came with the buffet dinner. It was fine for what it was, especially with the military discount we got on our tickets. The purple rolls were really good, and I had a nice salad and some rice. DH had some chicken I think? The room was really lovely, with nice murals on the wall. After dinner we had just enough time to catch the last showing of the Hawaii Journey movie (like a poor man’s Soarin, but nice and worth seeing). I did some shopping and then it was time to go into the theater for Ha: Breath of Life. This is a fantastic show, lots of singing and dancing and fire dancing. Pretty much everything you could want from a Hawaiian show.

After the show the stores in the new shopping complex were still open, but we skipped them. There also appeared to be a restaurant and some food stalls, if you wanted to skip the dinner portion of the evening and eat outside before the Ha show.

It was a long and very, very dark trip back to Aulani. I can see why people would prefer to take a bus tour and not worry about the driving. This was by far our latest night – we made it home and collapsed into bed.

 

[Witherbark]

Hawaii Day 14: Last Day

Our last full day in Hawaii! I had breakfast on the lanai and we were down at the adult pool by 8:30 AM. We grabbed breakfast at the Ulu Café. They are not prepared for the huge morning rush (you should have seen the line by 9 AM!). The food was fine, although no mickey waffles and it was expensive. I had planned the Makahiki buffet for this morning, but cancelled it. I didn’t want to spend such a long time at breakfast and it was fairly expensive. Next time.

We ate overlooking the adult pool, then went back to our lounge chairs for reading and swimming. I hit the pool a bit and finished reading my 6th book, one I had to steal from DH. He went to the gym and then for a run along the beaches and lagoons. Eventually he rejoined me and we went down to the lagoon. I swam and he did some snorkeling. I wish I had done more swimming in the lagoon, it was very nice and not that cold. After the lagoon we went to the adult infinity hot tub to warm up for a while.

Eventually we decided that we had to move. We cleaned up and went across the street to the ABC Island Market for takeout sandwiches. Then, finally, we made it down to the Starlit Hui. This was a super cute show and really isn’t to be missed.

 

[Witherbark]

Hawaii Day 15: On Our Way

Our last day! As amazing as the vacation had been, we both felt it was time to go home. I was up early and went down to the lagoon to drop my lei flowers (not the string, don’t worry) into the lagoon. It is bad luck to throw them away, so I returned them to nature. I also took a load down to the car.

After that, I finished off my final yogurt on the lanai and we finished packing. It was amazing how much I managed to buy while convincing myself I wasn’t buying much at all.

We dropped our luggage off at bell services and headed to the spa. I had booked both of us hot stone massages. Soon we were called back and both picked our stones that we were to meditate on while at the spa. I picked happiness and DH picked listen. Hmmm….

We cast our stones back into the water and then we got separate tours of our respective changing areas. The women’s area had a waiting room, showers, locker room, sauna, and eucalyptus room. Then we went out the back door to the water garden. I picked out my salt scrub, and toured the cool pool, warm pool, 6 showers (1 wasn’t working), hot tub, and cold plunge pool. There were lounge chairs scattered about. Also in this area is the co-ed waiting room.

DH and I enjoyed all of the tubs out back, but our favorite was the hot tub followed by the cold plunge pool – it made your whole body tingle. We also enjoyed the different showers. At about 10 minutes until your appointment time, someone comes to get you. I went back inside and changed into a robe, then had just enough time to go to the co-ed waiting room and have a macaroon. I didn’t see DH, so I assume someone had gone to get him.

My hot stone massage was heavenly and just the right amount of time. Afterward, you get a glass of water and some guava jelly to restore your balance. I returned to the women’s area and grabbed my swimsuit. I tried out the sauna and the eucalyptus room and both were fantastic! Then I went back outside to the water garden again. DH was already there, and we stayed in the hot tub for a while and did the plunge pool. We even convinced everyone in the hot tub to give the plunge pool a try. It was fabulous, but eventually hunger got the best of us.

We returned to our respective areas to shower and change. The women’s room has everything you could want to shower and get ready for the day. I put my swimsuit back on because we were headed to the pool. DH and I met in the lobby and we assessed the damage. It was under $400 (with tax and tip). Worth it? Considering just a massage in our area is around $125, heck yes! We spent over 3 hours there and enjoyed most of the amenities. If you didn’t have time for more than your treatment, I’d say it’s not worth it. We also received four little tubs of the salt scrub and bath salts that correspond to the stone we picked at the beginning.

We went back toward the adult pool and ate at the Ulu Café. For lunch, it was expensive and not that good. I got the kid’s catch of the day and would definitely not get that again. We stayed by the pool for several hours, dipping in to cool off. A little after 3 we decided to go get cleaned up. The lounge room is nicely done, although there are no computers for checking in as I think I had read somewhere? There are also only 2 showers in the women’s area. I was lucky to snag one right away and just rinsed off from the chlorine and got dressed.

DH was already done when I got back, and we went back upstairs for our luggage. I had already checked out and paid, so DH waited with the luggage while I went to get the car. We packed up and headed to – you guessed it – Aloha Salad for our last meal. We ate at a table outside (so I could see the car packed with our worldly goods). It was a quick meal, and then we were on our way to the airport. Turning in the car was painless and we waited about 15 minutes for a shuttle to come take us to the airport (one had left just as we arrived, so we had about the maximum wait).

Once at the airport we went through agriculture inspection and DH had to give up the banana he had from the spa. We checked in with Delta and sent our luggage on its way and spent about 5 minutes getting through security. I told DH to dump the bottle of water he had, and he said he had taken it through BWI security in the outer holder on his backpack (he forgot about it) with no trouble. Crack security.

I stopped at the bookshop to get something to read on the plane and was lucky to end up with the excellent Honolulu, which I really enjoyed. Now we had almost two hours to hang out in the terminal. I bought water, a magazine, and candy. DH did something on his computer. The had an offer for two people to switch to exit row seats, but I was too slow. Our flight was full, but I was lucky that I was in the middle but there was a very slim girl next to me who immediately fell asleep. So I had a fairly comfortable flight to Seattle, and with the seatback entertainment system I was able to watch 22 Jump Street.

We had very tight connections on the way back. From Seattle to Salt Lake City we had only about 30 minutes and we were a little bit behind. So we power walked to (of course) the furthest terminal and made it as one of the last people on board. Then in Salt Lake City we had slightly longer and we were able to use the bathrooms and even walk around for about 15 minutes before boarding.

Despite such short connections, everything was on time and our luggage made it. So kudos to Delta. We arrived at BWI in the afternoon of Tuesday (we left on Monday) and we even had a surprisingly short wait for our luggage. My in-laws picked us up and in a few minutes we were back at home to greet three really irritated cats.


I left DH to deal with the angry felines and start laundry, while I went to pick up a pizza for dinner.

It was a wonderful trip, full of highlights, that I wouldn’t have missed for anything. Would I do it again? Well, I’m trying to convince DH we should go for our 10th anniversary in about 4 ½ years!

Next: last thoughts.

 

[Chellymouse]

Awesome TR!! Thanks so much for sharing! We are booked for Sept to celebrate our 15th anniversary this year and we will also be having a couples stone massage! Can't wait to try the spa! Is the Hickam tour available for civilians or just military families? DH read this part of your TR and is very interested in this tour. Also, our thanks to your DH for his service!

 

[luvs2cruise]

Great trip report. Really enjoyed reading it.

 

[Witherbark]

That's an excellent question - I actually don't know if the Hickam tour is open to the public. I think PHH is an open base. Give them a call at:

PHONE 808-448-2295
HOURS
Mon-Fri: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Saturday: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Sun, Holidays: Closed

 

[Chellymouse]

thank you!

 

[CaptainCook]

I really enjoyed your report. DH and I went to Hawaii (Kauai/Big Island) on our honeymoon and are thinking of going back in a few years with the kids in tow and I'm wondering whether to do Aulani or another resort. You've given me some good food for thought!

 

[sager1969]

Thanks for sharing! I especially loved reading about your connection to the military. It was pretty moving to be able to see your grandfathers places. Thank you and your stand for your service. Wee go in December and we will be going back to Pearl Harbor. We did a tour last time and did not have enough time. I did take the time to meet one of the last survivors of the attack. We were late to the bus, but my son has a picture and a story forever.

 

[Amw1064]

Sounds like a great trip. We leave 1 month from tomorrow. Can't believe it is finally happening. Any must do's at Aulani?

 

[apple9117]

awesome report and pics!