Aulani 8/3-10/2012

[ASROBERTS]

My husband and I finally made it to Hawaii after 30 years of marriage. We arrived on a Delta flight from Atlanta on Friday afternoon. Not a bad flight for 9 hours and 40 minutes. Watched 3 movies and ate often. I had reserved a rental car months ago, but snagged a Hotwire deal recently for a compact car only $148. we stopped by Byron's drive inn near the airport for a dole whip cone. The drive to Aulani was not bad and our room was ready. I had booked a studio pool view. The only one available was a handicapped room, 456. It is ok, configured differently with no tub. The view is just above the lazy river and to my right is the Olelo bar area. At least I can listen to music from my balcony. We ate dinner at the Olelo bar. The nachos and wings were ok. We went to bed early.
We hung around the resort most of the weekend. We took a drive up the west side, ate breakfast at Zippy's and shopped at Walmart for food and souvenirs on Saturday. The lazy river and water slides are fun, although the plunge one is too dark and scary for me. We had dinner at Just Tacos, I had a Yelp coupon. The fajitas and margaritas were very good. Sunday we ate at Outback.

 

[ASROBERTS]

Monday was Pearl Harbor day. We had 9:00 reservations and arrived around 8:00. Parking was no problem that early. The memorial is very moving and very interesting. We also toured the aviation museum. Since we didn't get to the Bowfin or the Missouri, we'll just have to return to Hawaii. We left about 2:30 and had lunch at Anna Miller's. The food was average, but the pies were excellent. After that we headed to the Dole Plantation, just to say we'd been there. We drove up towards the North Shore. It's a pretty drive.

 

[ASROBERTS]

Yah!!! It's spa day for me and scuba diving day for DH. The hot stone massage was sooooooooo relaxing. A first for me and I highly recommend it. With the DVC upgrade, I just paid for a regular massage, $150. The entire spa area is beautiful and I enjoyed the hot tubs and showers and relaxation rooms (one female/male only and one coed). There are 2 scented soaking "tubs" and 6 different showers, a whirlpool and cold water plunge, all outside. I was there from 9-1.
DH enjoyed his dive with Ocean Legends. He saw lots of sea turtles. I had purchased a deal on Yelp for the 2 tank dive for $59.
We took a walk down past the other lagoons to the marina. It is so pretty here.

 

[ASROBERTS]

We went to Pizza Hut last night and then took a stroll through Ross, couldn't pass it up.
Wednesday we headed to KOA pancake house for macadamia nut pancakes, yum. Then, we were off to the Aloha Stadium swap meet. That was fun. I bought hula outfits for my granddaughters for $4. DH bought a wind chime. It takes a LONG time to walk all the way around.
We had a catamaran ride scheduled for 1:00 in Waikiki. I got tickets on Living Social for 1/2 price. That was a blast! It was a 90 minute ride and left from the beach at the Sheraton.
For dinner we went to the buffet at Makahiki here at AuLani. The food was very good, especially the shrimp and bread pudding. It is $43, but I think it was worth it.

 

[ASROBERTS]

I can't believe it's our last day here. The weather has been beautiful. Today we just relaxed here at the resort. DH snagged 2 chairs with an umbrella by the pool early this morning. There are plenty of chairs, just not many in the shade. We never had a problem getting chairs and umbrellas at the beach ( and they are free). We snorkeled for awhile in the lagoon. You have to swim out a bit for good visibility.
We drove to Chili's for dinner.
Tomorrow is our character breakfast. DH doesn't understand why I want to do that.
Earlier in the week we went to the Starlit Hui and I also had a shave ice here at the resort . Both were very enjoyable.
We liked floating around the lazy river and looking for shapes in the rocks and hidden menehunes.
Yesterday we drove up the east side of the island. The views were breathtaking.

 

[DVC'96]

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip! Glad to hear about it. Maybe for our
30th in seven years.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[ABE4DISNEY]

Congratulations on 30 years!

Thanks for taking the time to share!! I enjoyed your trip report!

 

[Tinks "SS"]

Sounds wonderful! I am hoping to get out there one day. The flights from ATL aren't cheap and need to save up for it.

 

[oktracy]

Nice report. It is great to hear that you don't need to break the bank in order to get a massage and the DVC upgrade is nice. $150 spent for 4 hours of pure relaxation is not bad in my opinion. Glad you enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to time in the spa a few weeks from now.