My No Pre-Trip Planning Spring Break 2017 all Aulani trip

[MeeskaMooska13]

WOW!!

 

[cgattis]

It's really that simple??!!?! Wow!!!! Very cool! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[kdonnel]

Day 7

Today was a beach hopping day. We ate breakfast at Ulu Cafe and went back to Robins Nest. It was high tide and as a result not as nice. We decided to head to another beach.

We first went to Makapu'u Beach Park. It was almost as rough as Waimea Bay.


We didn't stay long and got back in the car.

We ended up parked at the Halona Blowhole so we could hike down to Hālona Cove, aka cockroach cove, aka eternity beach.

You hike down this


To get here




The surf is rough with a real strong rip tide. Apparently there is good snorkeling here as well.

According to the all powerful Google lots and lots of cockroaches live in the tunnel accessible once you hike down.


For our final beach we went to Kailua Beach Park. It was really fun swimming here. The waves were relatively gentle and it stayed shallow for quite awhile.

 

[alohamom]

Love your casual day tripping, it is exactly what we do - you are making me want to book a trip!

 

[blondietink]

I must have missed it ...... what kind of camera is your wife using?

 

[blondietink]

One more question. We usually stay a couple days in Waikiki to do the east side beaches, however this next trip our base will be Aulani. What time have you left Aulani in the am to avoid rush hour traffic? I know the traffic starts very early, but when does it slack off?

 

[cgattis]

This TR seems a tad light on malasadas....LOL!

Was there a specific viewing area for the blowhole? Was it pretty well marked? Really hoping to see that!

Loving your TR.

 

[kdonnel]

I must have missed it ...... what kind of camera is your wife using?

She has a Nikon D750

She wanted to try a second time but it was cloudy last night.

 

[kdonnel]

This TR seems a tad light on malasadas....LOL!

Was there a specific viewing area for the blowhole? Was it pretty well marked? Really hoping to see that!

Loving your TR.

Yeah. We only stopped at Leonard's three times.

The blowhole is well marked. There is a parking lot with about 20 spots as well.

 

[kdonnel]

One more question. We usually stay a couple days in Waikiki to do the east side beaches, however this next trip our base will be Aulani. What time have you left Aulani in the am to avoid rush hour traffic? I know the traffic starts very early, but when does it slack off?

We have been on the road by 9:30-10am. The roads towards the east and north are fine at that time.

For the return you have to be back by 3 or after 8 to totally avoid rush hour.

Friday we got on the H3 for the return at 4:15 and still it was just under an hour back to the resort. Traffic is bad but not unbearable. It only added about 20 mins to the trip.

 

[kdonnel]

Day 8 part 1

Had to be out of our room by 11am. On a whim we decided to climb the KoKo Head Stairs.

Crazy stupid idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The approach doesn't look that bad.


But once you get to the true beginning....


About halfway you hit a bridge. There is about a 20-40 foot drop. I crawled across on the way up but used the chicken path to the side on the way down.


It just keeps going


I finally arrived at the top of the stairs.


At this point my daughter had been at the top for 20 minutes. My wife and son were still near the bridge which is close to halfway.

We had each brought a single bottle of water. No where near enough. Thankfully Ryan(a true saint) carries 5 gallons up once or twice a day on the weekends. He stays until it is gone and then walks back down. My son and daughter would have been in rough shape without the extra water.

My son ended up making the top as well. My wife turned back around step 800 of 1050 out of fear for the steepness.

 

[kdonnel]

Part 2

The view from the top was amazing.









There was a Kona Ice truck at the bottom. Seems almost against the law to eat a Kona Ice while in Hawaii. We have Kona Ice at home but it was so good after the hike.



Much like Times Square at New Years, I will check this off as having done it, never going to do it again.

We went back to Aulani, changed into our bathing suits and swam in the pools and ocean for a bit.

Grabbed a bite to eat and used the departure lounge to shower and cleanup before heading to the airport.

 

[kdonnel]

On the way to the airport we stopped at Leonard's one last time.



The only thing that makes the end of the trip ok is that we leave in 55 days for an almost three week European adventure. My son is taking Spanish and the teacher always arranges a group trip. We would be too jealous if he went by himself so we are all going. We added a few days on the beginning and will visit London as a family. Then meet the other 80 people going in Madrid. The trip visits Spain, France, Monte Carlo, Italy, and Switzerland.

 

[kdonnel]

Final notes:

As much as a whined and complained about Vintage American Airlines (It really was like flying in 1995), it turned out to be a good thing I wasn't on Delta considering Delta ended up cancelling 4000 flights due to weather during the time we were traveling back to Atlanta.

Aulani was spectacular again. We really love the resort and have had a great time on every visit.

Next time I want to do a 2 week trip staying on Kauai and Molokai. Not sure how I can swing two weeks with the kids though, school is really getting in the way of vacation.