Dugette
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2009
- Messages
- 5,775
The Sun Sets on our First Day at Aulani
Dug and I got changed into nicer clothes for dinner. I soon realized that I hadn’t brought any shoes that would look appropriate with my dress.
I ended up borrowing Dug’s Mickey flip-flops, as those were actually the least objectionable 
(at least at a Disney beach property), but they weren’t very comfortable since they were so big on me. However, I then ran into Kay and Jay in the hallway and asked Kay if she had any shoes to spare – she sure did, so I borrowed a much more suitable pair from her – whew! 
I then headed over to Nana and Papa’s room and knocked on their door to see if they were ready to go down to dinner. And they were thoroughly confused.
Apparently, they’d completely forgotten that I had booked us dinner that night. 
However, they quickly got changed and Dug went down to Ama Ama to get us checked in on time and ask for a sunset-view table for our group of 6 (I'd made the reservation for 7, but they were fine with Izzy skipping out).
While Nana & Papa got ready, I checked out the view from their room, which was considered an Island View category, but it actually had a nice peek of ocean out there
:
Looking down, they had a decent view of the lawn where the Starlit Hui would be performed later in our stay:
And then looking to the left and right from their balcony:
Not bad. I think they were happy they splurged on an island view and ended up with a peek at the ocean too.
While they were getting ready, I got a phone call from Aunty’s Beach House. They said that Izzy was ready to go. When I mentioned we were on our way to dinner at Ama Ama (and could stop and get her), they immediately said they would try to redirect her and we should enjoy our dinner. Ok, then. And I didn’t hear from them again. Nice that they try to help out that way.
We all headed down to Ama Ama and found that Dug had gotten us a nice table with a view:
I spotted a wedding taking place outside on the terrace:
Looks like a dog watching the sunset over there:
I think it was a stuffed animal, though?
Dug got up from the table and got some better pictures than I did:
We had a really lovely dinner here. Obviously, the sunset was beautiful, but the food and service and the company and conversation were great too. I was glad that Izzy had stayed at Aunty’s, as this gave us some nice “off-duty” time to just relax and hang out with other adults. This happened at other times during our stay too – having Aunty’s available for Izzy was really a nice perk.
I remembered having had a yummy grilled cheese and tomato soup appetizer previously, so I got that again:
The menu said this was Roasted Kamuela Tomato Soup with a Mini Truffled Brie Cheese and Portuguese Sweet Bread “Sandwich”. Very tasty!
I don’t remember what drinks Dug and I got, but these look good:
Our group got a lovely cheese platter to share:
It appears that I got the Orecchiette ala Checca – Local Currant Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, Arugula, Garlic, Olive Oil, Mozzarella Bocconcini:
I think Dug had a steak with fries:
After dinner, Dug went with Kay and Jay to have a drink at the Olelo Room. I picked up Izzy from Aunty’s and it looks like she and Papa raced back towards our rooms:
Looks like Izzy wasn’t wiped out just yet!
Shortly after we got back to the room, I realized that I’d intended to run a couple errands this evening. I wanted to stop for gas at Costco and grab a few things we’d need (food, etc.) at Target. I let Dug know and he came up to watch Izzy after finishing his drink. Then I headed for the minivan and took off for Costco, which was basically the next exit over.
This trip was sometime after Costco announced they would take credit cards besides American Express. So, I only brought my Visa. Got to the pump and found out that they still only took AmEx, as there was a lag between the announcement and the implementation. Ugh, bummer! I can’t remember if I got gas elsewhere or if we had enough to wait awhile? 
At any rate, I headed over to Target, got whatever we needed, and returned to Aulani:
Parked the minivan in a nice open area (the spots are rather small and hard to get a minivan in and out of
):
I think Dug texted me saying that Izzy was sad that she left her beloved “purple Minnie” in the van, so I brought her inside too:
I remember I was in a great mood while walking inside. The view of Aulani lit up at night was gorgeous and there was just a peaceful feeling knowing we were in Hawaii and had a few more days to enjoy paradise.
Up next: Pool time!
Dug and I got changed into nicer clothes for dinner. I soon realized that I hadn’t brought any shoes that would look appropriate with my dress.
I ended up borrowing Dug’s Mickey flip-flops, as those were actually the least objectionable (at least at a Disney beach property), but they weren’t very comfortable since they were so big on me. However, I then ran into Kay and Jay in the hallway and asked Kay if she had any shoes to spare – she sure did, so I borrowed a much more suitable pair from her – whew! I then headed over to Nana and Papa’s room and knocked on their door to see if they were ready to go down to dinner. And they were thoroughly confused.
Apparently, they’d completely forgotten that I had booked us dinner that night. However, they quickly got changed and Dug went down to Ama Ama to get us checked in on time and ask for a sunset-view table for our group of 6 (I'd made the reservation for 7, but they were fine with Izzy skipping out).While Nana & Papa got ready, I checked out the view from their room, which was considered an Island View category, but it actually had a nice peek of ocean out there
:
Looking down, they had a decent view of the lawn where the Starlit Hui would be performed later in our stay:
And then looking to the left and right from their balcony:
Not bad. I think they were happy they splurged on an island view and ended up with a peek at the ocean too.
While they were getting ready, I got a phone call from Aunty’s Beach House. They said that Izzy was ready to go. When I mentioned we were on our way to dinner at Ama Ama (and could stop and get her), they immediately said they would try to redirect her and we should enjoy our dinner. Ok, then. And I didn’t hear from them again. Nice that they try to help out that way.
We all headed down to Ama Ama and found that Dug had gotten us a nice table with a view:
I spotted a wedding taking place outside on the terrace:
Looks like a dog watching the sunset over there:
I think it was a stuffed animal, though?
Dug got up from the table and got some better pictures than I did:
We had a really lovely dinner here. Obviously, the sunset was beautiful, but the food and service and the company and conversation were great too. I was glad that Izzy had stayed at Aunty’s, as this gave us some nice “off-duty” time to just relax and hang out with other adults. This happened at other times during our stay too – having Aunty’s available for Izzy was really a nice perk.
I remembered having had a yummy grilled cheese and tomato soup appetizer previously, so I got that again:
The menu said this was Roasted Kamuela Tomato Soup with a Mini Truffled Brie Cheese and Portuguese Sweet Bread “Sandwich”. Very tasty!
I don’t remember what drinks Dug and I got, but these look good:
Our group got a lovely cheese platter to share:
It appears that I got the Orecchiette ala Checca – Local Currant Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, Arugula, Garlic, Olive Oil, Mozzarella Bocconcini:
I think Dug had a steak with fries:
After dinner, Dug went with Kay and Jay to have a drink at the Olelo Room. I picked up Izzy from Aunty’s and it looks like she and Papa raced back towards our rooms:
Looks like Izzy wasn’t wiped out just yet!
Shortly after we got back to the room, I realized that I’d intended to run a couple errands this evening. I wanted to stop for gas at Costco and grab a few things we’d need (food, etc.) at Target. I let Dug know and he came up to watch Izzy after finishing his drink. Then I headed for the minivan and took off for Costco, which was basically the next exit over.
This trip was sometime after Costco announced they would take credit cards besides American Express. So, I only brought my Visa. Got to the pump and found out that they still only took AmEx, as there was a lag between the announcement and the implementation. Ugh, bummer!
I can’t remember if I got gas elsewhere or if we had enough to wait awhile? At any rate, I headed over to Target, got whatever we needed, and returned to Aulani:
Parked the minivan in a nice open area (the spots are rather small and hard to get a minivan in and out of
):
I think Dug texted me saying that Izzy was sad that she left her beloved “purple Minnie” in the van, so I brought her inside too:
I remember I was in a great mood while walking inside. The view of Aulani lit up at night was gorgeous and there was just a peaceful feeling knowing we were in Hawaii and had a few more days to enjoy paradise.
Up next: Pool time!
So glad we got to do the family trip, though - Dug's parents and sister/BIL all had a fabulous time too. 
)
She's even bigger now, but doesn't look terribly different. Kids Club worked out great on this trip! 
(Yep, Izzy was used to that too. 
:
I don’t know what exactly was going on, but the vehicle at the exit was apparently having issues getting out of the ramp. They tried and tried and tried and then tried some more. And we were all trapped in line behind them. 
In fact, Dug plugged it into his phone and the ETA was 1:34pm…for a 1:30pm departure. So, he gave them a call as we made our way there (as we were hitting every red light, of course 
(they were stretches that seemed like interstate driving, not residential areas or anything). I probably shouldn’t admit to that, but I was definitely pulling out my old sports car driving skills with the minivan that afternoon. 
I got a Pina Colada (and later a Diet Coke) instead. I really didn’t take advantage of the open bar, as I was running around with Izzy and watching whales (and had to drive us all back). 
I’ll put them in the next post.
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