Hawaii - Day 2- Saturday!

I woke up today at 4:30 and was wide awake but exhausted. Jet leg sucks!!  I laid there and dozed off and on for another hour or so but by 5:30 we were all up.  We all took showers and were ready to go at 6:40 and went down to the breakfast buffet. It was included in our room rate which was nice- especially because there were so many options there. Aidan peeked out on the balcony for a bit and was not impressed with the city lol.

 

After that (7:30) we walked down to Waikiki beach was pretty deserted.  We looked around down there and then got Starbucks before heading back to the hotel a cpl blocks away. 

 

We loaded up our car and then were on the road by 8:30.  We gave P Bonine and her seabands and she did really well on the drive to the East coast of the islands.  We got to Valley of the Temples around 9:15 and headed in.  We spent the hour feeding the Koi fish, exploring the gardens, paying our respects in the temple,  and finding Matt and I’s wedding bamboo carving:)

 

We were on the road by 10:15 and headed to Kapolei on the west side .  We got to the shopping center right at 11:00 and we were starving!  Our choices there were: chilis, mcdonalds, subway and a cpl Chinese food places.  We went with chilis since it was a sit down place and cool inside.  Food wasn’t too bad- I hated going somewhere so commercial but we needed quick food!

We then went to Safeway (in same parking lot of shopping center).  Food was expensive!!  Mostly just dairy stuff we noted.  We split up and each took half the shopping list and got all our groceries for the next 5 days at Aulani.  We only planned to eat our once for each meal (once for breakfast lunch and dinner).  This would save us a ton!  I did budget in grown up drinks and shaved ice, etc for the resort though.  Our grocery bill came to $145.  I over bought on non-perishables though knowing those could stay in our car when we went to the North Shore. 

Got to Aulani right around 1:00 pm and were welcomed with Leis/nut necklaces for the grown ups and tiny Menehune necklaces for the kids (P loved!).  We had done online check in so NO waiting in line anywhere.  The lady greeted us as soon as we got out of car, got our leis, gave us room keys, did a little tour of lobby ad got our maps, etc.  Then we were done!  We also were given our daily Ewa.  It’s like the cruise navigators in where it lists the daily (Mostly free) activities for families, adults only, kids only and teens only.   There is a lot to do!  Many free craft activities, night time story telling, star gazing, movie nights, a mini luau, etc.  There is plenty in the kids clubs to do as well!

 

We went up to our villa and got all unpacked- we rented points from a vacation club member so it was cheap (well, for Hawaii anyway!) and about the same as rack rate for a regular hotel room there.  Piper and Aidan gave us a photo tour of the villa:)

 

We had a great view of the pools and a slice of ocean too!  Here is the view from the right, left and middle:)

After getting settled (we were let up in our room right away), it was about 2:30.  We were tired!!  The kids wanted to go tot the kids club so we let them do that (I had filled out paperwork ahead of time so it was fast) and we were off!  The kids club is free and works just like the cruise (you were a bracelet and need a special password to get them out).  There are structured activities in there as well as free time.

Matt and I went to the gift shop so I could get my D&B wristlet that I wanted:

 

And then off to get a drink!  We were very happy to see that they still had the ginger lemonade (vodka based) drink on their menu!.  On a side note, I think our waitress used to be a Disney princess (high voice, silly expressions). Lol.

We walked around the pool area to see all there was to offer here,  Lazy rivers, 2 water slides (one was a tube slide), a private snorkeling lagoon filled with fish, a giant kids play water structure, the beach area (with a protected lagoon great for swimming or beginning paddle boarding), and all the outdoor bars and restaurants.  There is also the kids club house (with a giant backyard they can play in too) and the spa (with a 24 hour fitness area).

We picked up the kids about an hour later and we crashed in the room for awhile.  I started making dinner and we got our in room celebration package delivered that I had ordered -a cute cake for the kids for the week and we got an anniversary package (half bottle of bubble y and some YUMMY treats).

 

The kids had dinner (lunchables) and then Piper took a bath.  She loves the jetted tubs!

 

I then popped our dinner into the oven and took P on a tour of the grounds sine she hadn’t looked around.  She posed for some cute pics and then she got her first shaved ice:)  She also then spent some of her money from her birthday and got an Aulani coloring activity packet, a turtle stuffed animal (Squirt from Finding Nemo) and a stitch game. 

 

We went back to the room and laid around a bit.  Matt and I had dinner (spicy mac and cheese with caramelized shallots and goat cheese on top), kids played in the room and watched tv and we all were very tired!  At 7 pm the kids fell asleep.  I was out at 7:30 and Matt was out by 8:20.  Early night for all of us!!

PIPER CAM PICS: