PARADISE LOST… AND FOUND – Our family’s first trip to Aulani & Hawaii - updated 9/2/16

Boo, so sad to leave Aulani!

But I'm enjoying seeing the Big Island. Definitely want to get there someday.

Gorgeous pictures!
 
We visited the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, where we enjoyed wandering around, admiring the many tropical plants, trees, waterfalls, and breathtaking ocean views.

Looks like a very nice spot.

Kevin managed to survive the threat of falling mangos.

If I had a dollar for every time I heard that...

The café was attached to an art gallery and shop and had fun, quirky signs in it.

Reminds me of Bubba's Burgers on Kauai!

Akaka Falls was beautiful.

Yes! So glad you got to see it!

Our next stop for next time: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, our main reason for coming all the way to this island. Woohoo! We were so excited to visit the park.

:woohoo::banana:
 
Boo, so sad to leave Aulani!

But I'm enjoying seeing the Big Island. Definitely want to get there someday.

Gorgeous pictures!

Thanks! :) Yes, it was sad to go. We loved Oahu, but the Big Island was well worth the visit. With three boys age 9-12, we simply could not pass up an opportunity to visit an active volcano. That said, when we get back to Hawaii some day, I think I could be very happy just visiting Oahu and doing new things that we missed the first time as well as revisiting favorites. There was a ton to do there & it is easier to get around, because it is smaller. More traffic, though... Oh, well. It's Hawaii! It's all good, of course!
 
Reminds me of Bubba's Burgers on Kauai!
Yeah, so fun to find cool restaurants like that! One thing I appreciate about your trip reports is the fun restaurants you are always visiting (e.g., Slaters 50/50 or that crazy place with the X-wing). Love getting tips like that.

Yes! So glad you got to see it!
:woohoo::banana:
We loved it! The size of it is just stunning, isn't it? Pictures do not capture it well... Just a bit sad my mom could not walk all the way there. We took many photos to show her, and she could hear the waterfall, but not the same as seeing it.
 


LIFE UPDATE

So sorry that I am glacially slow in posting sometimes! I am determined to finish this report soon and appreciate your patience and your sticking with me. :) I had intended to post a report about our awesome trip to Disney World last November, too, but wanted to finish this one first. I considered adopting Dugette's approach of writing multiple TRs at the same time, but wasn't sure I could pull it off... I may just do it. It is so fun to look back and remember the details, and interact with you fine DISers who "get it."

I also have been busy the past month with another fun project: a surprise bonus trip to England with Jeff! :cheer2: He received an email from a co-worker one Saturday several weeks ago letting him know that (due to a new role he has taken on at work) he would need to fly to London for a meeting in late August. He asked me to accompany him, because he hasn't ever been to Europe before and also knew that I would enjoy it. He'll be working part of the time, of course, but we added some time to the back end of the trip, so we can see London together & call it a 15th anniversary celebration.

We had enough FlexPerks points (love, love that card!) for a free ticket for me, so we went ahead and booked it before we could think about it further. Truth be told, I have never liked the idea of flying away from the kids for a "couple trip" since they are still young. But, all things considered, I thought this was a good opportunity to be brave and trust that all will be well. It'll be good to have an extended date of sorts, and the boys are over-the-moon about an extended visit from Grandma who will be taking care of them. (Seriously. They are at least as excited to be home with her as we are to go to Europe.) Upon our return, I know I will just hug them till they break into pieces, though! I love being their mom. :grouphug:

Anyway, back to plans: So, we were all excited to see London, which is all very nice and good. But, wait, what? London is awfully close to Paris, where there is some Disney fun to be had! Sooooo, now we are going to Disneyland Paris for three days! :woohoo:::yes:: I booked travel on a train through the chunnel (something I never thought I'd do!) and a stay at Disney's Sequoia Lodge. We will be making a visit to the "real" Paris also, but it honestly was not the #1 priority motivating us to go to France. You understand, I know. :thumbsup2

So, I am in the thick of planning for this trip, which is quite a task to do quickly. We applied for passports, got everything important booked (including a cool day tour to Oxford and other sites for me while DH works; I'm a big C.S. Lewis fan, so cannot wait), but much remains to do.

I guess that's it for the little update. I plan to make a regular post soon about Hawaii, too. Thanks so much for reading. :wave:
 
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So sorry that I am glacially slow in posting sometimes! I am determined to finish this report soon and appreciate your patience and your sticking with me. :) I had intended to post a report about our awesome trip to Disney World last November, too, but wanted to finish this one first. I considered adopting Dugette's approach of writing multiple TRs at the same time, but wasn't sure I could pull it off... I may just do it. It is so fun to look back and remember the details, and interact with you fine DISers who "get it."
Not surprisingly, I say GO FOR IT! :thumbsup2 I know some people seem to have high expectations of regular and frequent posting, but to my knowledge, there are no time limits on TRs - I'm certainly slow-paced at times, but people still seem to enjoy reading along, so I keep plugging away. Heck, I still have a June 2014 trip report to co-write (with DIS-er Lauren/Imagineer5 that I went with)- and I don't know when that will happen, but I know it WILL! ::yes::

we added some time to the back end of the trip, so we can see London together & call it a 15th anniversary celebration.
That sounds like an awesome way to celebrate a big anniversary! :cool1:

We had enough FlexPerks points (love, love that card!) for a free ticket for me
We love ours too. Plus you get a free onboard spending credit when you use your free ticket. :thumbsup2

It'll be good to have an extended date of sorts, and the boys are over-the-moon about an extended visit from Grandma who will be taking care of them.
Sounds like a great arrangement. I know you'll miss them, but they'll be having a good time while you're having a good time too. :goodvibes

Sooooo, now we are going to Disneyland Paris for three days! :woohoo:::yes::
Wow! Yay! :hyper: Super excited for you! Now I know two people heading there soon (Lauren is going in September). Hope you have a great time! (If you haven't already seen it, Kristy (khertz) just finished writing up an Adventures by Disney Italy TR that ended with a visit to Disneyland Paris. Looks like a beautiful park and so much fun!)
 
Chapter 19: In Which We Go Where Molten Hot Lava Has Gone Before

I know it has been a long time, but I would like to finally finish my account of our Hawaii trip, so here goes... I have had a number of computer issues :badpc: that led to my long pause, but I am hoping I can fare better in this new year.:)

When we last left off, we were headed for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It was amazing, so I am excited to share it with you. We arrived at around 5:00 and were immediately overwhelmed by the other-worldly sights and terrain. We found many dramatic steam vents from a distance, and also got to feel the warmth up close.





Kilauea is one of the world's most active volcanoes. It was incredible to see its caldera. The scope of it was just massive and impossible to capture with a photo, but here are some attempts.







Sam is holding a stuffed Nene, the Hawaiian state bird, that we picked up at the Visitor Center.

The Jagger Museum near the caldera was fantastic and had exhibits that presented the history of the volcano we were observing. Amazing and well worth spending the time there. There were a couple of park rangers speaking outside the museum and we enjoyed listening to them as we wandered.



It was hard to leave, but we got back into the minivan and drove to the Thurston Lava Tube. This was incredible. It was formed by a river of lava that came from Kilauea about 600 years ago. As the outer portion of the flowing lava cooled and hardened, the river continued to flow, eventually leaving a large tunnel that you can see today. It was fun for the guys to explore.



What a way to close out the day! We next headed back to our house, just a short drive away, for a decadent dinner of hot pockets, vegetables, and sweet bread. We rested a little and then returned to see Kilauea at night, when it treats visitors to a spectacular red glow.




It was kind of funny stumbling around in the dark, nearly missing countless strangers admiring the same show. We stayed quite a while and then drive back home to enjoy a movie night and warm chocolate chip cookies. Then, we went to bed, with everyone eager to get up and see more of the park in the morning.

Next time: More Volcano fun! And a black sand beach. And a critical lost item on the way to catch our flight.
 
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Other than your last line, that all sounds wonderful! :goodvibes

I really hope to get to the Big Island (and the other islands) someday! Guess I need to set some more airfare alerts and snag some deals. :rotfl:

Glad you are back to updating!
 
I really hope to get to the Big Island (and the other islands) someday! Guess I need to set some more airfare alerts and snag some deals. :rotfl:

Glad you are back to updating!
I am sure you would love the Big Island! You amaze me with your ability to get a good deal. So yes, you should try sometime. :)

Thanks so much for sticking around and reading! Hope you and your family are all well.
 
Hey, welcome back! Sorry I missed your little summer update.

I also have been busy the past month with another fun project: a surprise bonus trip to England with Jeff! :cheer2:

Sounds awesome! I hope it was a blast!

Truth be told, I have never liked the idea of flying away from the kids for a "couple trip" since they are still young.

My wife worried about that too, but once we went she said, "I'm so glad we did this."

But, wait, what? London is awfully close to Paris, where there is some Disney fun to be had! Sooooo, now we are going to Disneyland Paris for three days! :woohoo:::yes::

Can't wait to hear about it!

When we last left off, we were headed for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It was amazing, so I am excited to share it with you. We arrived at around 5:00 and were immediately overwhelmed by the other-worldly sights and terrain.

It really is an amazing place. Such a unique experience.

It was hard to leave, but we got back into the minivan and drove to the Thurston Lava Tube.

Glad you got to see that. It felt like being in an Indiana Jones movie.

We rested a little and then returned to see Kilauea at night, when it treats visitors to a spectacular red glow.

So cool!
 
Hey, welcome back! Sorry I missed your little summer update.
Hi Mark! Thanks very much for checking in. I've been reading TRs at the gym in the mornings, so I have been awful at posting replies although I always am thinking of what I would say. Funny.

My wife worried about that too, but once we went she said, "I'm so glad we did this."
I think this is totally a female thing. My husband was much more easygoing about it than me. So glad we did it! The boys loved being with my mom so much they're already conspiring to get rid of us again.

By the way, I'm looking forward to hearing about the trip you and Julie took, also! Sounds amazing. I believe you said you stayed at the Poly?

Can't wait to hear about it!
I can't wait to post a short trip report about it. It was amazing. Spoiler alert: We liked Disneyland Paris better than Paris Paris. May make us sound kinda simple, but we have our reasons (some are our own fault).

I thought the castle was stunning.



Glad you got to see that. It felt like being in an Indiana Jones movie.
I completely agree. Our boys get it too, although we haven't let them see the actual movie yet. (No need. All PG13 movies are explained in LEGO sets and LEGO magazines anyway.)
 
The Jagger Museum ...

I hear that's a real experience! :P

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Chapter 20: In Which We Climb on Lava, Sink our Toes in Black Sand, and Reluctantly Fly Away

On Friday morning, my mom chose to relax at the vacation home, because we had a lot of walking planned. We headed back to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and took a drive down Chain of Craters Road, stopping periodically to get out of the car to take a closer look at the destruction that has been caused by the volcano over the years and the subsequent rebirth of new life that has followed. It was just overwhelming – the scope of the devastation.

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Lava has flowed over this road repeatedly, as recently as 2003, making the end of the road impossible to use, as it is covered in huge masses of black lava rock.

We drove as far as we could, until a road block prevented us from continuing. We then got out of the minivan, because we would need to walk the rest of the way to the end of the road where the lava covers it.

I made a quick stop in the bathroom, and as I was washing my hands was startled to see this visitor pop into view. (I did let him know afterward that in the future doing such things is not a good idea!)





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The boys loved climbing all over it. After I took a bunch of photos, we headed back in the direction we’d come from, this time at a leisurely pace, enjoying all of the scenery.

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We stopped at Holei Sea Arch on our way. Formed over the past 100 years through a process called differential erosion, this arch is about 90 feet tall today. It will eventually crumble and sink into the ocean, so we’re thankful we got a chance to see this dramatic work of nature.



Everyone was feeling pretty hot by this time, because we had dressed too warmly for this section of the park. We’d worn layers of clothes for our visit to park, because we knew it would be cool in some places.

We continued driving around the park afterward, and then saw the cooler temperatures that we’d expected. According to my notes from the trip, at the lowest point of the drive it was 82 degrees, but as we the minivan climbed 3700 feet higher, we hit a low temperature in the mid-60’s.

At one of our last stops as we were returning to the visitor center, Kevin realized he had lost the boys’ camera. :confused: :sad2: We turned the minivan around and attempted to retrace our steps, pausing at the overlooks that we thought we’d stopped at before. Eventually we gave up and drove back to the visitor center to report the missing item to a park ranger. We completed the required form, but had little hope.

We drove back to the house and picked up my mom. She had clearly been enjoying herself.

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We then drove to Punalu’u Black Sand Beach, which is on the south-eastern part of the island, about a 35-minute drive away from the house in Volcano village.

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It was a beautiful beach, but, sadly, it was raining when we arrived there. We saw four sea turtles there, in a little roped-off area to protect them from any over-eager fans.

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I took off my shoes and walked in the soft, pretty sand for a little while, until I was forced to admit we needed to go.





The rest of the family had returned to the car due to the rain, and was surely getting hungry and itching to get on the way.

While we were driving back, I noticed that I had received a voicemail from an unusual area code, so I ignored it. When I did finally bother to check it, I was stunned to hear a message from the visitor center at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Our camera had been found! We were SO relieved, partly because I had not backed up any of the photos from the trip and we really did not want to lose them.

We enjoyed a snack of Maui Style potato chips and cookies on the way to lunch. I guess our exciting day had everyone famished!

We consulted our trusty guidebook for a restaurant for lunch near Volcanoes National Park and decided to take a chance on Lava Rock Cafe in Volcano... It turned out the mixed review was spot-on: several mistakes were made with our orders, but the food was good overall. While there, I enjoyed my 4th burger of the trip (and I almost never eat burgers at home!), but my malt unfortunately didn't live up to the hype (from the review).



After lunch, we dashed back to the vacation home to grab our bags and take a few final pictures, before saying good bye to our sweet, cozy home-away-from-home, because we had to get to the airport for our flight back to Oahu. That’s right! We are not done with Hawaii yet. We get one more day on Oahu!

On our way to the airport, we stopped at a gas station, where I realized I did not have my driver’s license. Oh no!! Of course, as we covered in the beginning of this Trip Report, identification is required when flying. So I was concerned… Eventually, I was able to locate it in one of my bags, and we got on the road and reached the airport on time. We had to say goodbye to my mom at this point, because she was staying another couple of nights on the Big Island without us.




She was headed to the western side of the island, to Kona. Funny thing, though: because she does not drive, the best way for her to get there time- and money-wise was to fly there with a stop in Waikiki (a completely different island!) because there are no longer direct flights between the two airports on the Big Island. Anyway, after our family said our sad goodbyes, we enjoyed a short, pleasant flight to Honolulu.



Once there, we rented our third and final minivan of the trip and drove to our hotel, the Doubletree Alana Waikiki.

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I was so thankful that we’d decided to visit the Big Island during our trip. We knew it would be a whirlwind visit due to our limited time there and it truly felt like we just grazed the surface, but we loved it and it was well worth the extra flights and cost. Someday I hope we can return and see the other side of the island.

Before closing out the day, I think it’s worth taking a look at my tally of LOST items on our trip thus far:

Jeff’s wallet
3 beach mats
Sam’s stuffed buffalo
Aulani Key card
Boys’ camera
My driver’s license

We certainly made a habit of losing things in Hawaii! And there's more to come, even though we only have about a day left.

Next time: Pearl Harbor!
 
I hopped on over here from your Disneyland TR! We were in Hawaii in summer 2014 and spent a week on the Big Island (most of it on the Kona side with an overnight in VNP) before heading to Oahu. I absolutely loved VNP and think your description as "other-worldly" is spot on! Unfortunately, a tropical storm was in the area so it was very rainy during our time in the park and night time views of the caldera were really obstructed and hazy.

Can't wait to hear about Pearl Harbor. Weather also impacted our visit there ... it was too windy during our timed admission and, while we were allowed to board the shuttle boat, they just did a quick little turn around and would not let us get off at the USS Arizona Memorial. Disappointment city. I guess I really need to go back to Hawaii one day!!! :)
 
My goodness, you really were having trouble keeping track of your stuff on this trip!

Still, Volcanoes and black sand makes for a pretty memorable day.

Your place in Honolulu looks nice! But it's not Aulani, though...
 

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