The main purpose of this trip was to spend time with family and also to celebrate my niece's 5th birthday. She isn't in kindergarten yet since her birthday misses the school enrollment cut off. It was the perfect opportunity to celebrate this precious milestone. Sean and I's birthday present to her was 3 nights at Aulani. I also really wanted my family to experience staying there too.
As I mentioned in a previous Month in Review post, September was nuts with selling and buying a home and also due to work obligations. I was so incredibly grateful that I was able to go on this trip to unwind and distract myself from the busyness of life.
Sunday - September 18, 2016
I love one way flights! I typically like flying red eye flights, but unfortunately Oahu doesn't have one from Anchorage. When I travel during the day, I feel like I waste precious time of sightseeing and activities that I could have done. I usually get minimal sleep on red eye flights, but I drink a lot of caffeine to get me through the rest of the day, haha. We arrived on Oahu at about 6:30 pm. We picked up our car rental and ate dinner at my Grandma Mellie's house. Afterwards we checked into the cutest cottage in Kailua that my sister-in-law booked for us to stay at for the first 3 nights. We had a late night rendezvous at Safeway to pick up essentials like water bottles and snacks. I also found chocolate macadamia nut ice cream and OH MY GOSH, it was so delicious!
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| The cottage Boom booked us via VRBO |
Monday - September 19, 2016
We started our day by enjoying breakfast at McDonald's. Breakfast at McDonald's in Hawaii is the best! I had one of their platters that had rice, Spam, eggs, and Portuguese sausage. Mmm, mmm, mmm. After breakfast we went shopping at the Ala Moana Mall. After the Ala Moana mall we went to the Premium Outlet Mall. I was super excited to go to the Kate Spade Outlet, but I didn't find anything that I had to have. I guess that was a good thing, right?! I did find a cute teal purse and a cute pair of earrings at Saks Off 5th. In the evening we had dinner at my Grandma Mellie's house.
Tuesday - September 20, 2016
Me, Boom, and Bella had a late yummy breakfast at Zippy's. After Zippy's we decided to explore Kailua. We went to Kailua Beach and it was so breathtakingly beautiful! I could easily see why they say that beach is one of the top beaches in the world. After the beach we went shopping at Pearlridge Mall.
Wednesday - September 21, 2016
We checked out of our cottage and then went shopping at the Flea Market. I love the swap meet at the Aloha Stadium! I got a lot of souvenirs at awesome prices. The entrance fee is just $1 per person. There are so many stands full of the typical Hawaiian souvenirs - clothing, sandals, key chains, hair clips, flowers, earrings, etc. So many of them offer similar items, and at times the same item, so be sure to shop around if you want the best deal. They also had a few food stands. I enjoyed a freshly cut coconut. The cold juice was refreshing since it was so hot there.
After the swap meet we drove to Aulani and we met up with Sean! I was so happy that he joined us. Even though it was a short 3 night trip for him, he said it was worth it to spend time with my family and I. I'm such a hopeless romantic!
I was beyond excited for my family to see Disney's Aulani. Their reactions were priceless and meant everything in the world to me! Our room was on the 12th floor and we had an Island Garden View. We had some views of the ocean, so that was a nice surprise.
After we got settled into our rooms, we escorted Bella down to the spa. She did the Keikimahine package. The package includes a dress, manicure/pedicure, light makeup, and hairstyle. She looked so cute!
Sean and I had dinner reservations at AMA AMA for just the 2 of us. I timed it perfectly so that we could watch the sunset together. Dinner was so romantic and the food was delicious!
Thursday - September 22, 2016
My family and I headed to Kualoa Ranch for the Premiere Movie Tour. Aside from Aulani, Kualoa Ranch is my favorite place on Oahu. I highly recommend this tour! We rode on a private charter bus and there was popcorn, M&M's, and cold water bottles for us. It was a nice little treat! Some of my favorite sites that we saw - Jumanji movie set (from far away! I wish we ran into The Rock & Kevin Hart!), the Jurassic Park tree log, the Indominus Rex enclosure (we even got to go into the observation deck!), and the famous hill jump off hills from Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates.
Since my sister-in-law is Buddhist and it was my niece's birthday, I suggested that we go to Byodo-In Temple. It's so beautifully peaceful and tranquil. We rang the gong a few times for good luck. We also fed the koi - there were so many of them! After the temple we went shopping at Costco. Costcos in Hawaii are my favorite. They have so many cool items that they don't sell in Alaska! I love that Costco tries to sell items that are local to that area.
When we got back to the resort, Sean and I headed straight to the business center. We printed our paperwork to close the sale of our condo, faxed it back to the title company, and voila. I felt a little sad that we were making it official, yet at the same time so excited!
For Bella's birthday we ate at the Makahiki buffet at Aulani. It was yummylicious!
Friday - September 23, 2016
This was our last full day of vacation! Sean, Boom, and I went back to Kualoa Ranch and did the 2 Hour ATV Tour. When Sean and I went to Hawaii in January, we did the 1 hour tour. It went by way too quickly! The 2 hour tour was even better! We had a small group, 5 total plus our guide. My favorite part of the tour was we got to see the set of the loading dock for the Gyrosphere (Jurassic World). Oh my gosh, the view up there had me breathless.
We headed back to the resort and got ready for our spa appointment. We enjoyed the amenities at the spa and felt so relaxed after our 50 minute massage. All the stress that we went through selling the condo melted away.
For dinner we just picked up pizza from Ulu Cafe. My family wanted to go on an impromptu shopping trip to Island Country, aka the ABC Store. They have so many cool souvenirs there! I stocked up on Pineapple and Passionfruit Hi-Chews since they only sell them in Hawaii. We spent the rest of the evening packing since it was our last night there.
Saturday - September 24, 2016
We checked out of Aulani. Man, I hate saying goodbye to that place. It's definitely one of my favorite Disney resorts that we've stayed at. Our flight didn't depart until the evening so we were able to do a few more things before leaving. We went to the Dole Plantation and rode on the Pineapple Express. I think we went to a mall again and then spent the rest of our free time at my grandma's house. Boom dropped Sean and I off at the airport about 2 hours before our departure. The rest of my family stayed a few more days. I would have loved to stay longer, but I was definitely looking forward to flying back home with my husband to our new house.
Overall it was a great quick getaway and I enjoyed spending it with my family. I can't wait to go back again someday!
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