The Widow & the Spinster & the Search for Pele - An Aulani TR - A Lazy (River) Morning 7/11

[franandaj]

Following!

 

[franandaj]

I've never been to Hawaii, but have read lots of Aulani reports. I'm excited to see the adventures you had that are different from poolside lounging!

There are plenty of adventures to come!

Love the Lunchable LOL. I just opened a dozen of those here for my Kindergarten students at lunchtime!

They're a great snack in a pinch!

 

[franandaj]

Joining in Alison!

I hear ya about multiple TRs going on and the effort.

Yeah, I'm about to wrap up the WBTA, if I can get to it before I need to leave this afternoon.

I super wanted to finish my Asia-Australia one before I launch my Africa one. I've not read too many (if any really) Aulani reports, so am looking forward to this.

You're going to Africa or already been? I'll have to look for a link, are you posting it in the Dream TR?

So pretty!

So many pretty sights in Hawaii!

 

[Steppesister]

You're going to Africa or already been? I'll have to look for a link, are you posting it in the Dream TR?

I hadn't but will now.

 

[franandaj]

OK Folks, I'm not sure why some of my pictures are smaller than others, but I can't figure out why, so you'll just have to live with it!

Day 0

Aloha!

It was Thursday February 20th. I had Jazz Band that evening, and Jill was flying from Denver to Long Beach. Because we were flying to Hawaii on Southwest Airlines, and they really don't give you any food, I stopped at the grocery store on the way home from my gym class to get sandwich fixins, and some chips for the plane.

When I got home from the grocery store and gym, I took all the clothes that I had picked out in the weeks before, (they were hanging in my “packing closet”), and put them into my suitcase. Once I had everything packed that didn't need to wait until the day of departure, I got caught up on emails and other such business until it was time to go to band.

By this time Jill had boarded her plane and was on her way to Long Beach. Band was fun and uneventful. She arrived at my house before the rehearsal was over and said “Hello” to as many of my kitties that didn't run away from her.

By the time I got home at 10:30PM, she was pretty much done. We talked for a bit and she went off to bed. I fed the cats, and did a little more prep in packing before I called it a night.

Day 1 (Friday)

My alarm went off at 5:45AM and unlike in the past, I sprung out of bed! We’re going to Hawaii today!

I had already picked out my traveling outfit, so I got dressed and did all the little things that needed to happen in the morning, packed the last of my stuff, and I was basically ready to go. Naked Jim arrived in plenty of time. He has forgotten me on several previous trips, so this was a nice surprise.

I fed the cats, made our sandwiches for the plane, drank my coffee, and we were ready to go!

Our first stop was breakfast. Jill and I decided we needed a nice filling breakfast before a six hour plane flight with only our own fixins as sustenance. We went to one of my favorite “greasy spoon” type of places, Dale's Diner.

I got the short Stack of pancakes with a side of bacon that Jill and I split.

Jill got the biscuits and Gravy.

Jim got the Annette special which was basically 2 eggs, meat of choice, Hashbrowns, and he subbed a cinnamon roll for the toast, which he took togo.

Once we finished our leisurely breakfast, Jim dropped us off at the airport. Long Beach is such a chill airport. We were plenty early so we just sat at The gate waiting for our flight. We boarded around 10:45. Jill had done research and knew that the right side of the plane is where you got the money shots when approaching the islands. So I sat in the window seat and she took the middle. It was a completely full flight, so no empty seats.

Bye bye Mainland!

This was our view for the next 5-6 hours.

Once the plane reached altitude we were served beverages and some snacks. We both were flying Business Select so we got the free internet, and a complimentary adult beverage. I forgot to take pictures of the snacks, but they were Blue Diamond Almonds, Ritz Crackers and Cheese, and a strawberry filled oat cake (which I ate, but it was sort of gross).

About an hour and a half into the flight, the guy in the seat in front of Jill started patting his companion on the back, who was sitting in front of me. It wasn't just a little pat, but hard enough that we could actually feel the vibration in the floor. I commented to Jill that it was rather annoying. He eventually stopped, but Jill noticed that the woman did not look very well.

Then about 2 hours into the flight, they called the flight attendant. The woman was wearing pulse oximeter and it was reading somewhere in the 80's. She asked if they had any oxygen onboard. The FA's told her that they could not administer oxygen without calling it in to the doctors shoreside.

They plugged in a headset to the overhead panels, and called the medical team on the ground. At that point they started asking her what meds she took, what her symptoms were, etc. After all that they asked over the flight loudspeaker if any persons with medical training were onboard.. Quite a few people came to help out, but in the end they chose a gentleman who was some sort of nurse.

By this point we were getting close to the halfway point in our 5 hours and 20 minutes flight. We had been worried that they were going to turn the plane around. However, the gal seemed somewhat coherent. She was talking to the nurse, and they finally gave her a oxygen mask.

The poor guy who was sitting in the aisle in their row was sent to the back of the plane to sit in the jump seat. I'm not exactly sure how they moved everyone else around on the flight, but the nurse stayed with her until the end of the flight. Her companion was given a seat in the aisle in the row across from her. I suppose the person in that seat went to sit in the seat where the nurse had come from.

Remember this was a completely full flight with no empty seats. I've over simplified this, but those flight attendants really had their hands full. At one point there were as many as four flight attendants standing over her row.

When it appeared that she was out of imminent danger, Jill and I decided to have our lunch. By this point we had passed the halfway point and Honolulu was closer than the mainland. Jill had gone to Arby's and got Horsey Sauce for me, and Arby's sauce for her.

The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful. I played my math puzzles on my tablet, a Jill farmed. Eventually we got closer to the islands and Molokai was the first island we saw.

Then we approached the island of Oahu.

Then we landed. You can see Diamond Head off in the distance.

The FA's asked everyone to remain seated until they could get the sick passenger off the plane. Of course the entitled white guys (one of whom had preboard status) jumped up and immediately started grabbing their bags out of the overhead bins.

The FA’s reminded them to sit back down, and finally the poor girl was able to get off the plane with the nurse's assistance. Then the rest of us were finally allowed to get off the plane.

We got our bags, headed to the rental car area, and were finally on our way to Aulani, but we still had one more stop to make. We still needed to get groceries. We found everything we wanted except for 6-pack bottles of Jill's Diet Dr. Pepper. We went to two more stores only to find that they were out as well.

It was getting late, we were getting tired and hangry so we decided to just give up and get checked in. As we were checking out at the grocery store I got the notification that our room was ready.

So then we headed to Aulani.

I checked in while Jill put the car in self park. After I checked in, I took pictures of the lobby and courtyard while I waited for her.

I’ll be back later with pictures of the room and the rest of the evening.

 

[Steppesister]

Band was fun and uneventful.

Uneventful, in light of recent events is a good thing.

Naked Jim arrived in plenty of time. He has forgotten me on several previous trips, so this was a nice surprise.

I recall he has been a bit inconsistent at times.

but Jill noticed that the woman did not look very well.

Uh oh.... this sounds ominous.

The woman was wearing pulse oximeter and it was reading somewhere in the 80's. She asked if they had any oxygen onboard. The FA's told her that they could not administer oxygen without calling it in to the doctors shoreside.

Ugh... nothing like delaying necessary care.

After all that they asked over the flight loudspeaker if any persons with medical training were onboard.. Quite a few people came to help out, but in the end they chose a gentleman who was some sort of nurse.

When I've responded, there seemed to be a collaborative decision between the personnel and flight crew on who seemed best for the job at the time.

I suppose the person in that seat went to sit in the seat where the nurse had come from.

Remember this was a completely full flight with no empty seats. I've over simplified this, but those flight attendants really had their hands full. At one point there were as many as four flight attendants standing over her row.

Sounds stressful for them! Yikes.

As we were checking out at the grocery store I got the notification that our room was ready.

YAY for the room ready text!

 

[jedijill]

By this time Jill had boarded her plane and was on her way to Long Beach. Band was fun and uneventful. She arrived at my house before the rehearsal was over and said “Hello” to as many of my kitties that didn't run away from her.

I said hello to all but one of them! I'm going to make friends with Kahlua if its the last thing I do!

Our first stop was breakfast. Jill and I decided we needed a nice filling breakfast before a six hour plane flight with only our own fixins as sustenance. We went to one of my favorite “greasy spoon” type of places, Dale's Diner.

This was a great choice!

Jill got the biscuits and Gravy.

Very yummy but a giant portion. I sent my leftovers home with Jim.

Jill had done research and knew that the right side of the plane is where you got the money shots when approaching the islands.

I had to scout photo opps for your loyal readers!

Bye bye Mainland!

Its amazing to see LA from the air!

I forgot to take pictures of the snacks, but they were Blue Diamond Almonds, Ritz Crackers and Cheese, and a strawberry filled oat cake (which I ate, but it was sort of gross).

It was a Bobo's oat cake. They are pretty dense but ok. I loved the Ritz Crackers. I saved the almonds for later.

It wasn't just a little pat, but hard enough that we could actually feel the vibration in the floor. I commented to Jill that it was rather annoying. He eventually stopped, but Jill noticed that the woman did not look very well.

And thus began the in flight drama!

They plugged in a headset to the overhead panels, and called the medical team on the ground. At that point they started asking her what meds she took, what her symptoms were, etc. After all that they asked over the flight loudspeaker if any persons with medical training were onboard.. Quite a few people came to help out, but in the end they chose a gentleman who was some sort of nurse.

I'd never been this close to a real emergency. I was very happy that she wasn't sicker than she was but she had a host of ailments.

Remember this was a completely full flight with no empty seats. I've over simplified this, but those flight attendants really had their hands full. At one point there were as many as four flight attendants standing over her row.

It was organized chaos and the FA's were very professional!

When it appeared that she was out of imminent danger, Jill and I decided to have our lunch. By this point we had passed the halfway point and Honolulu was closer than the mainland. Jill had gone to Arby's and got Horsey Sauce for me, and Arby's sauce for her.

I was so glad we had packed real food. We needed the protein to get us through.

Jill farmed

I play Farmville on my iPad although I took a break during the inflight emergency!

The FA's asked everyone to remain seated until they could get the sick passenger off the plane. Of course the entitled white guys (one of whom had preboard status) jumped up and immediately started grabbing their bags out of the overhead bins.

The entitled white guys were pissing me off!

The FA’s reminded them to sit back down, and finally the poor girl was able to get off the plane with the nurse's assistance. Then the rest of us were finally allowed to get off the plane.

The paramedics were at the gate and taking care of her when we got off.

It was getting late, we were getting tired and hangry so we decided to just give up and get checked in. As we were checking out at the grocery store I got the notification that our room was ready.

Yes, I have a Diet Dr Pepper addiction. The stores had cans but no 16oz bottles. It was so odd.

The Aulani lobby is so stunning!

Jill in CO

 

[pkondz]

OK Folks, I'm not sure why some of my pictures are smaller than others, but I can't figure out why, so you'll just have to live with it!

This is unacceptable and inexcusable!


Oh, okay. I'll read along, anyway.

Aloha!

we were flying to Hawaii on Southwest Airlines, and they really don't give you any food,

Starve, peons!!

Band was fun and uneventful.

I'd say that's a win, win.

My alarm went off at 5:45AM and unlike in the past, I sprung out of bed! We’re going to Hawaii today!

Nothing like travel day on the first day of a vacation.

Naked Jim arrived in plenty of time. He has forgotten me on several previous trips, so this was a nice surprise.

I do recall a few... forgotten pick-ups.

Those look good!

We went to one of my favorite “greasy spoon” type of places, Dale's Diner.

I do believe you have mentioned this place a time or two.

Jill got the biscuits and Gravy.

We just don't have that up here... And I can't get into them. (I have tried them... but really need to try them other than at the free hotel breakfast buffet.

Jim got the Annette special which was basically 2 eggs, meat of choice, Hashbrowns, and he subbed a cinnamon roll for the toast, which he took togo.

Now this is right up my alley!

Jill had done research and knew that the right side of the plane is where you got the money shots when approaching the islands.

Huh! I never would've thought you could even look that up!

Look at those smiles! You both look great!

strawberry filled oat cake (which I ate, but it was sort of gross).

Not a glowing endorsement.

The woman was wearing pulse oximeter and it was reading somewhere in the 80's.

I'm not an expert, but that sounds really low.

After all that they asked over the flight loudspeaker if any persons with medical training were onboard.. Quite a few people came to help out,

That's really commendable that so many were willing to help.

The poor guy who was sitting in the aisle in their row was sent to the back of the plane to sit in the jump seat. I'm not exactly sure how they moved everyone else around on the flight, but the nurse stayed with her until the end of the flight.

Tough circumstance.

Molokai was the first island we saw.

I've been to three islands... but that isn't one of them.

Then we landed. You can see Diamond Head off in the distance.

Of course the entitled white guys (one of whom had preboard status) jumped up and immediately started grabbing their bags out of the overhead bins.

Yes, we're jerks that way.

I took pictures of the lobby and courtyard while I waited for her.

It's such a stunning building.

The entitled white guys were pissing me off!

I bet. Just sit down and listen to the instructions! How hard can that be?
We're all jerks.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Oh my! The inflight situation sounds stressful. I'm so glad it turned out ok for that person. And, yeah, there are always those guys who rush to be first off. I haven't visited Aulani yet, but I certainly would like to. In the meantime, will live vicariously through you and Jill!

~Christine

 

[lilmc]

strawberry filled oat cake (which I ate, but it was sort of gross).

It was a Bobo's oat cake.

We just had these on our SW flight to Hawaii. We really like them, but found they are best if you leave them in the sunny spot on your tray table until they’re warmed up

 

[missjackiemcg]

Yikes for an in-flight emergency. Glad they were able to take good care of her until the plane landed. It's incredible how self-involved and rude some can be that they needed to be told twice to sit down and let this sick person off the plane first.

Hooray for a room ready text!!

 

[franandaj]

OK Folks,
You may have noticed that I've been missing for a while. Some of you may be friends on Facebook and may have seen it, but my life has had a major change recently. It actually started about 10 days before this trip began. I went out for tacos with a lady in my exercise classes at the Y, in retrospective we are now calling it our First Date, but back in February it was just "lunch."

We took it very slowly at first, and for a little while neither of us were sure if it would go anywhere. However, for the past two months, we have been going VERY strong, and that's why my trip reports have fallen by the wayside.

I'm in Denver visiting Jill this week. She works during the day, and we play at night, so I'm going to try and put out a few chapters while I'm here. I'm also going to get caught up on some other work that I've been neglecting due to "girlfriend time."

I really hope to finish the current trip reports, but sadly to say, I may not have the time in the future for more TRs. She keeps me very busy! (Which is a good thing!)

 

[franandaj]

Uneventful, in light of recent events is a good thing.

I recall he has been a bit inconsistent at times.

Uh oh.... this sounds ominous.

Ugh... nothing like delaying necessary care.

When I've responded, there seemed to be a collaborative decision between the personnel and flight crew on who seemed best for the job at the time.

Sounds stressful for them! Yikes.

YAY for the room ready text!

Uneventful, in light of recent events is a good thing.

Uneventful is always a good thing I am learning as I get older.

I recall he has been a bit inconsistent at times.

And he's getting worse in his advanced age.

When I've responded, there seemed to be a collaborative decision between the personnel and flight crew on who seemed best for the job at the time.

That seemed to be what they were doing in this situation.

Sounds stressful for them! Yikes.

I'm sure it was!

YAY for the room ready text!

Yes! Nothing better than that!

 

[franandaj]

I said hello to all but one of them! I'm going to make friends with Kahlua if its the last thing I do!

And you'll have another chance to make friends with her in just one week!

This was a great choice!

Dale's is always a great choice!

Very yummy but a giant portion. I sent my leftovers home with Jim.

Portions are always huge at Dale's!

I had to scout photo opps for your loyal readers!

Good job!

Its amazing to see LA from the air!

Well.....it can get old.....

It was a Bobo's oat cake. They are pretty dense but ok. I loved the Ritz Crackers. I saved the almonds for later.

Yeah, it wasn't that great.....

And thus began the in flight drama!
I'd never been this close to a real emergency. I was very happy that she wasn't sicker than she was but she had a host of ailments.
It was organized chaos and the FA's were very professional!

I'm so glad it all worked out, and we didn't have to turn the plane around. Those FA's earned their salaries that day.

I was so glad we had packed real food. We needed the protein to get us through.

Yes, a long flight like that on Southwest is not good without real food!

I play Farmville on my iPad although I took a break during the inflight emergency!

We were kind of glued to the emergency considering it was in the row right in front of us!

The entitled white guys were pissing me off!

As they do......

The paramedics were at the gate and taking care of her when we got off.

Which was refreshing to see. At least she got prompt medical attention.

Yes, I have a Diet Dr Pepper addiction. The stores had cans but no 16oz bottles. It was so odd.

:

The Aulani lobby is so stunning!

yes it is!

 

[franandaj]

This is unacceptable and inexcusable!


Oh, okay. I'll read along, anyway.

And I'll try to give you some content to read....

Nothing like travel day on the first day of a vacation.

Yup! It's amazing how motivated that I am these days!

I do recall a few... forgotten pick-ups.

Yeah, one of them was on my way to visit you!

Those look good!

Of course they are! I made them!

I do believe you have mentioned this place a time or two.

Yes, and I've been there several times since this visit!

We just don't have that up here... And I can't get into them. (I have tried them... but really need to try them other than at the free hotel breakfast buffet.

And definitely not on a hotel breakfast buffet. You need to try them in a place like this that specializes in comfort food!

Huh! I never would've thought you could even look that up!

Jill has got mad skilz!

Look at those smiles! You both look great!

Well thank you! You should see the sh** eating grin I have on my face daily now!

Not a glowing endorsement.

They weren't very good.

I'm not an expert, but that sounds really low.

Yup, you're supposed to be over 96 or something like that.

I've been to three islands... but that isn't one of them.

Not many people have been there. I think back in the day it was a leper colony Although that's probably not politically correct to say anymore.

Yes, we're jerks that way.

Not all of you.....

It's such a stunning building.

it is!

I bet. Just sit down and listen to the instructions! How hard can that be?
We're all jerks.

As I said, not all, but enough.......

 

[franandaj]

Oh my! The inflight situation sounds stressful. I'm so glad it turned out ok for that person.

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to this.

I hope she ended up being OK.

And, yeah, there are always those guys who rush to be first off.

Yup....I'm not sure what it actually gets them, other than dirty looks.

I haven't visited Aulani yet, but I certainly would like to. In the meantime, will live vicariously through you and Jill!

I will try and give you more to live vicariously with!

 

[franandaj]

We just had these on our SW flight to Hawaii. We really like them, but found they are best if you leave them in the sunny spot on your tray table until they’re warmed up

That's a good tip! I bet they would be better that way!

 

[franandaj]

Yikes for an in-flight emergency. Glad they were able to take good care of her until the plane landed.

Yeah, it was pretty scary for a while. It was nice of that nurse to sit with her for the remainder of the flight.

It's incredible how self-involved and rude some can be that they needed to be told twice to sit down and let this sick person off the plane first.

I know. These two dudes were super annoying.

Hooray for a room ready text!!

Yes! I was so ready we could go right to our room!

 

[franandaj]

Sorry it’s been a minute since I last posted folks, let’s just catch up where we are at. So we had just flown from Long Beach, CA to Honolulu, picked up our rental car and done some grocery shopping. We got the text that the room was ready. I checked us in while Jill parked the car. I waited for her in the lobby, and then we went up to our room.

When we got up to the room, Jill told me that there was a situation with the car. There should have been an adapter that plugs the car into chargers, but it wasn’t in the car. She tried to call Budget, but their offices were closed. We called the Bellman to bring up our bags.

While he was dropping off the bags, she was thinking out loud of how we could fix the adapter situation. She was looking on Amazon and asked if we could have packages delivered to the hotel, but the Bellman told her that Amazon doesn’t work the same way on the islands as it does in the mainland. He said it could take days to arrive.

We needed the charger pretty quickly because though our next day was at the resort, the next two days involved some extensive driving. We decided to search the car one more time, after breakfast tomorrow. In the meantime, I took pictures of the room.































Our room overlooked the lazy river.



We got all our stuff out of the suitcases, and put away the groceries. I took some sunset pictures.









Then we finally headed down to the ‘Olelo Room for our dinner. I saw this Menehuene in the elevator. I had good intentions of finding more around the resort, but this is the only one I actually captured in a photo.



While the ‘Olelo Room is supposed to be a bar, it’s basically a casual family restaurant in the evenings. We were seated at a nice outdoor table. There was a duo playing Hawaiian style music.





I got the Godzilla Roll with Spicy Ahi Tuna, crab, Avocado, Kabayaki, bang bang sauce, and crunchy tempura flake. Look at the cute mickey wasabi!

I ordered a Junmai Daigingo sake to go with the roll. Jill got a Mai Tai.

She got the Bacon Cheeseburger Sliders. They were tasty. She let me have half of one.

I had the Kona Coffee Cheesecake for dessert with a Spring Agenda dessert cocktail.

We went back to the room and Jill went directly to bed. I took advantage of the jetted tub, before I went to sleep

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I had noticed you've been busy on facebook. I'm so happy for you! I understand not always doing trip reports for every trip (I do the same nowadays)

Nice start to Aulani. The 'Olelo Room is such a great easy way to have dinner as you get settled in.