Waving Goodbye To My 20s - Aulani Trip Report - Update 9/25 Going Home (The End)

[Dis_Yoda]

How To Be Healthy, Then Ruin It

We woke up around 5AM on the 4th of July. My husband got ready for his run while I slowly got ready for the 6AM Sunrise Yoga Class at the beach. .

I headed down to the class a bit early to just relax and watch more of the sunrise before the class. They had the safety zones set up for the fireworks later.

Warnings About Animals Living In Oceans

Safety Zone Set Up for Fireworks That Evening

At 5:45AM, they started letting us check in for our class. They had set up yoga mats and towels already for us on the lawn above the beach. I will admit I was little disappointed that this ‘beach’ sunrise yoga was on the grass rather than the sand. Yes, I know beach yoga is harder in the sand. I go to a beach yoga class in Naples on Wednesday Evenings when it isn’t horribly raining so I knew what I would be getting into.

Set Up

After I selected my mat (towards the front) I saw my husband running...you can kinda see him in this photo…

Husband Running In There

The class started a little after 6AM once everyone arrived. It was a mix of people that have done yoga before and people brand new to it. It was a very slow hatha (gentle) style class that was a nice way to start the morning. It was far from the difficulty of my normal beach yoga class but it was a good stretch and I did sweat a bit. It was probably one of the first classes I've been to that I felt like the more advanced student in comparison to the majority of the class but when you are on grass instead of sand, it does wonders for your balance!

Once back at the room, I took a shower and decided to play on the computer some afterwards. My husband had decided to have his two left over slices of pizza for breakfast and I decided I should do the same thing. I, at least, reheated mine in the microwave but he has his cold.

Breakfast of Champs!​

 

[alohamom]

Hahaha it took me a minute to spot your husband but I did eventually! Kind of like one of those picture puzzles, "find the running man in this photo". Thanks for the info on the yoga, I have been doing it for almost 10 years and never made it to the classes last time I was at Aulani but I do have it on my list for the next trip.

 

[Cinderpamela]

Both times we went to Aulani I fully intended to try that morning yoga class..... but "island time" took over and I got lazy!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Hahaha it took me a minute to spot your husband but I did eventually! Kind of like one of those picture puzzles, "find the running man in this photo". Thanks for the info on the yoga, I have been doing it for almost 10 years and never made it to the classes last time I was at Aulani but I do have it on my list for the next trip.

It was a picture puzzle! I debated on drawing an arrow on it but I figured it was more fun not to. As he's a speedy runner, its hard to get photos of him anyway from a distance (although the boy takes the best race photos as he always looks so freaking happy!)

10 years of yoga is awesome! You must be so strong and flexible! You would probably do well on the Ocean Yoga as well where they take the paddleboards out in the water and do the class on there.

Both times we went to Aulani I fully intended to try that morning yoga class..... but "island time" took over and I got lazy!

The cabana day felt like the best day to make it work on our schedule as we really had nothing major planned that day. "Island Time" did take over - or well just laziness in general for me. I totally did not work out as much as I intended to - I meant to go running in that beautiful weather but nope, totally didn't do that once.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Utter Relaxation

We headed down to Rainbow Reef a little before 9AM to check in for our cabana. We paid for the rental with our DVC discount ($306ish) and soon we were escorted over to Cabana #6 that would be our home for the day. She explained that service would start a little after 10:30AM for drinks and we would be served a fruit platter around 11AM and a dessert platter around 4PM.

We settled in and relaxed! We did end up closing the sides of the cabana so we would have some privacy from the cabana next to us. I left the cabana to take a trip around the lazy river and started counting the amount of Menehune I found along the route. Once back at the cabana, I laid out in the loungers until I was dry.

Once it was getting close to the time our attendant would be visiting us, I got comfy on the loveseat as my husband had gotten comfy on the two chairs. He was playing a game on his Nintendo DS so I decided to try to find something on TV. I ended up watching Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel as there was nothing else on that I would have wanted to watch.

TV Watching

A little before 11AM, our attendant visited us with a drink menu and asked if we would like our fruit platter. We did so she brought that back and then took our drink order! It wasn’t long until our drinks arrived. The lychees were the best part!

Fruit Platter - Grapes, Pineapple, Lychees, Dragonfruit, Mango, Papaya, Strawberries, Berries, Grapefruit

Blue Hawaiian

Pina Colada

We got a second round while we were enjoying our cabana.

Mai Tai (for me) and Kona Longboard

We both went for a swim in the pools and the ocean at this point along with another trip around the lazy river where he also counted for Menehunes. He left me to head back to the cabana and I enjoyed the adult pool for a bit.

Eventually I went back to the cabana where he had gotten another drink and decided to look at the food menu as he was getting hungry. He ended up ordering something and I got a small snack as well.

Mai Tai

Caesar Salad Wrap

Onion Rings w/ Jalapeno Ranch

One of the birds ended up stealing one of my onion rings but I ended up just laughing at it as the bird ended up having to fight with a couple others to get some food!

We enjoyed the waters some more and went back and forth between lounging and swimming. We ended up not being at the cabana for the 4PM dessert platter but when we got back to the cabana at 4:30PM, the attendant mentioned this was last call so we just asked for our platter togo and our bill. We had ended up only spending about $110 on food and drinks for all day which really isn’t too bad with all things considered as apparently my husband had enjoyed a few more cocktails than me! We decided to head back to the room even though we did have some time left before 6PM as we had spent from 9AM to 5PM out and we were ready for some AC and showers to get the chlorine and salt water off us!

Dessert Platter​

 

[lauralynn0612]

Enjoying another one of your TRs! Love to eat and drink so I use a lot of your reviews for our October ADRs.

 

[franandaj]

I don't know that I could get up that early on vacation for something like Yoga! I don't do it at home (though I did try for a few weeks). The leftover pizza looks great! I wish I could have something like that right now!

It's nice to see how a day in a Cabana could unfold. I'm not sure that I would enjoy sitting in one all day. I think I would get restless! I know you guys got out and went in the pools and stuff. I can totally see it with kids so you can be at the pool with them, but still relax out of the sun.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Enjoying another one of your TRs! Love to eat and drink so I use a lot of your reviews for our October ADRs.

Thank you for reading along! I do love to eat and drink! I got a ton of great eats this trip! I was very sad to go home Glad to see my reviews helped you plan our your October F&W Trip!

I don't know that I could get up that early on vacation for something like Yoga! I don't do it at home (though I did try for a few weeks). The leftover pizza looks great! I wish I could have something like that right now!

It's nice to see how a day in a Cabana could unfold. I'm not sure that I would enjoy sitting in one all day. I think I would get restless! I know you guys got out and went in the pools and stuff. I can totally see it with kids so you can be at the pool with them, but still relax out of the sun.

Well - on a normal day in Naples - I'm up by 5AM and at work before 5:45AM during the week. On the weekends I'm usually awake by 7AM, although sometimes I really won't leave the bed until like 8/8:30AM but I'm on my phone goofing off. As Hawaii is 6 hours behind, my body wouldn't really let me sleep past a certain point each morning. Yoga is one of my favorite workouts now

Leftover pizza is a good thing sometimes!

I wasn't sure we would enjoy the Cabana either but I figured this would be the best place to give it a try between their awesome pools, the beach, the wait staff and the tv. We didn't want to travel anyone around the island that day because of the holiday and this would be a great way to keep us out of our room all day! I don't think we would ever do it for more than 1 day if we were to return to Hawaii again. It was very very relaxing!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Sunsets and Fireworks

We made ourselves look presentable back at the room and got ready for our dinner reservations at ‘Ama’Ama at Aulani. On our walk over, we finally saw the Stitch Carving, so of course I had to take a photo!

When we were first sat, I regretted not having my sunglasses because of the sun was exactly in a place that hit my eyes, but I endured as I figured it wouldn’t be long before the clouds would deal with it or it would set enough that the trees would.

We ordered our drinks - I had a manhattan while my husband had a Diet Coke. He figured he had enough to drink at the Cabana during the day and didn’t need anymore!

Manhattan

We had the same appetizer. The soup was just rich enough. The maui onions are a bit sweeter than the onions usually used in similar soups so it gave it a nice twist to the classic and we both really enjoyed it.

Maui Onion Soup - Caramelized Maui Onions, Gruyere Cheese, Toasted Baguette

My husband decided to have two sides for his dinner rather than a salad or an entree. He was super happy with this as he loves fingerling potatoes and he was happy with the vegetables that were the selection for the day.

Farmer’s Market Vegetables & Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

And for my meal, you’ll just have to imagine it. I apparently didn’t take a photo. I will promise you it was super tender and cooked to a perfect medium rare. I really liked the tarragon butter, especially when I put my garlic-pecorino fries in its melty glory. I totally cleared my plate of all meat and potatoes!

Aulani Steak Frites - Filet of Beef - Spinach & Leeks ala Creme, Garlic-Pecorino Fries, Tarragon Butter, Peppercorn Jus

Sunset

More Sunset

And Last One For Today’s Post I Swear!

We skipped dessert as we figured we would enjoy some cake while we watched the fireworks later that evening!

Our service was attentive at ‘Ama’Ama. In comparison to our other dinners around the island, this was definitely one of the more casual of the ‘nicer’ spots especially being so near the pool and the deck with all the chairs overlooking the ocean. We would go back here though if we were staying at Aulani though.

We went back to the room to settle in the for the night. The fireworks were set to go off at 8:30PM so around 8:15PM, I cut slices of cake for us to enjoy and then we enjoyed the fireworks from our balcony.

The show lasted about 10 minutes and were set to some various music. They were nice but they have nothing on the shows I’ve seen at Walt Disney World or even the Naples Pier ones (I’m also the type of person that would rather be playing with the fireworks than watching the fireworks)

Once they were over, we didn’t last much longer before we went to bed!​

 

[alohamom]

That cake was indeed a great idea, its kind of the gift that keeps on giving! Wow, the fireworks were really close, you had a great view too!

 

[Mom2m&k]

Those mini desserts and those drinks looked yummy! The cabana was a fantastic idea for a pool day. Your dinner sounds like it was delicious!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Fun updates! Gosh I want to visit Hawaii soooooo badly. I need to stop dreaming and start seriously planning!! I have a semi-big birthday next year in July... Hmmmm.

Your lunch at Morimoto looks delicious. Seems odd to me they didn't have much for vegetarians. I consistently hear good things about that pizza place - it looks really good!! And can't beat leftover pizza for breakfast. Totally the breakfast of champions!!!

Your cabana day sounds amazing! That's a definite must do! How far in advance do you book? I'm worried that once I do it the regular lounge chairs will be a horrible letdown, LOL.

Ama Ama at sunset looks like another must do!

 

[kastoney]

Your day at the cabana sounds ideal, though did I read you right that it was $300 to rent it?????

What an amazing location for your dinner. Sunglasses or not, you can't beat a meal watching the sunset. Then fireworks on your balcony to top off the night. Looks like the perfect Hawaiian day!!!!

 

[TeeterTots]

Oooh, the Maui onion soup looks great!!! As does your description of your meal! Yum!
The cabanas are pricey, but is definitely a must on my Aulani list! Love the fireworks from the balcony.

 

[franandaj]

I'm glad you enjoyed your dinner there. I've heard a lot of other people who were not as pleased, not so much with the food, but the price to food quality ratio.

You had a great view of the fireworks from your balcony, and that cake was great, you just keep getting to enjoy it!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

That cake was indeed a great idea, its kind of the gift that keeps on giving! Wow, the fireworks were really close, you had a great view too!

It was such a great idea! While it was a little pricey, it wasn't that bad considering it gave us dessert so many nights of the trip! We actually ended up not even finishing the cake before we left! I felt bad about that but I wasn't going to overeat.

The fireworks were off at the bay in front of Aulani. We got to see all of them from our balcony! The music wasn't super loud.

Those mini desserts and those drinks looked yummy! The cabana was a fantastic idea for a pool day. Your dinner sounds like it was delicious!

They were super yummy! The cabana was such a nice splurge for us. We've never really done a pool day before so I'm glad we did it right! 'Ama 'Ama was delicious but it actually was the least delicious of the 'nice' meals we had. The best is yet to come!

Fun updates! Gosh I want to visit Hawaii soooooo badly. I need to stop dreaming and start seriously planning!! I have a semi-big birthday next year in July... Hmmmm.

Your lunch at Morimoto looks delicious. Seems odd to me they didn't have much for vegetarians. I consistently hear good things about that pizza place - it looks really good!! And can't beat leftover pizza for breakfast. Totally the breakfast of champions!!!

Your cabana day sounds amazing! That's a definite must do! How far in advance do you book? I'm worried that once I do it the regular lounge chairs will be a horrible letdown, LOL.

Ama Ama at sunset looks like another must do!

You should totally start planning! Hawaii is totally a splurge trip and well worth it! Semi-Big Birthdays are a perfect excuse for a trip there

I think the reason they didn't have much for vegetarians was because it was lunch over dinner. They probably had a lot less prepped as the menu is far parred down versus the dinner options.

I booked the cabana back in December for the 4th of July. I'm not sure how booked up they were at that point. We didn't really go back to the regular lounge chairs the rest of the trip so we didn't worry about the letdown!

Your day at the cabana sounds ideal, though did I read you right that it was $300 to rent it?????

What an amazing location for your dinner. Sunglasses or not, you can't beat a meal watching the sunset. Then fireworks on your balcony to top off the night. Looks like the perfect Hawaiian day!!!!

It was a little over $300 to rent the adult cabana ($325 w/ 10% discount!) The family cabanas are $425 but you do get a 10% discount as a DVC member so it stings a little less!

You can't beat a meal watching the sunset! It was such a perfect relaxing Hawaiian Day!

Oooh, the Maui onion soup looks great!!! As does your description of your meal! Yum!
The cabanas are pricey, but is definitely a must on my Aulani list! Love the fireworks from the balcony.

That maui onion soup was so good! I'm so sad I didn't remember to get the photo of my steak - I'm so good about taking photos! Fireworks aren't a common occurrence at Aulani but I'm glad we got to see them!

I'm glad you enjoyed your dinner there. I've heard a lot of other people who were not as pleased, not so much with the food, but the price to food quality ratio.

You had a great view of the fireworks from your balcony, and that cake was great, you just keep getting to enjoy it!

I do wonder where the people live that complain about the price to food quality ratio. I really didn't find 'Ama'Ama to be that out of line for a similar type place in Naples would have been - especially with views of the sunset and the beach like that. I know I'm skewed on what normal is, especially since having moved to Naples in 2012. Anytime we go someplace above Fast Casual, Chains or Bar Food here - we're looking at a $80+ meal before alcohol gets into the picture.

That cake was such a great idea! I'm really glad I went with the vanilla cake though as that chocolate icing was rich!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

The Start Of The War - USS Arizona

I had set the alarm for 6AM but my husband was slow moving this morning. I had wanted to get us to Pearl Harbor prior to 7AM like the email had stated but he didn’t seem to understand the importance of that as we had tickets for 8AM. We didn’t leave until 6:50AM! Anxiety Melissa was in full effect as she drove to the Pacific National Monument. We luckily were able to get a spot in the 2nd of the main parking lots and my husband was convinced we didn’t have to be in this super long line as we had tickets. I let him ask that question as I got in line and yup - we had to wait in that long long line. We went through security check (we knew not carry any bags as they would not be allowed in) and then continued onto the long line inside the memorial to pick up our tickets. As it was getting closer to 7:30AM, I was super anxious but eventually we got our tickets and then picked up our audio tour.

We had a few minutes before we had to be in the cattle call for the movie prior to the boat visit to the memorial so we did a little walking around where I got a couple of photos.

We went into the theater where a video was shown explaining the political climate at the time of World War II, information into the Japanese reasons for the attack, and the events leading up to Pearl Harbor and immediately after. For being only a little over 20 minutes long, there was a lot of information packed in!

After the documentary, we were led to the boat where we would be taken to the Arizona Memorial for our visit.

Locations of Ships In Harbor Day of Attack

Once on the memorial, it was really nice to have the audio tour as we were able to learn even more about the ship and the aftermath.

List of Fallen Soldiers

For those that were survivors of the attack on the Arizona, they have the option of being buried with their crew aboard the Arizona and their name added at the special memorial at the bottom.

Tears of The Soldiers/Oil Seeping From Ship

We only spent about 15 minutes at the actual memorial. It is incredibly moving, especially knowing you are standing over the grave of the many innocent lives lost that day.

My husband and I didn’t speak during the entire visit as this wasn’t exactly a place that felt like it was needed (obviously, parents needed to explain things to their children) but sadly it seemed not everyone felt that way.

We took the boat back to the Pacific Memorial and walked through the Attack Museum and Path to War Museum.

We looked at our watches and realized it was a little before 10AM when this was done. Our tour for the USS Missouri wasn’t until 1PM but we decided to see if we could move it up to an earlier time rather than leave, go to the lunch and come back. We went to the ticket counter (now with a non-existent line as all the Arizona Tickets were gone for the day) and they were able to move us to the 11AM tour! We had to head directly to the bus to Ford Island and we were on our way!​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Ending A War - Heart of Missouri

We headed off the bus once it reached the USS Missouri Museum. Once it was decommissioned, it was brought to Ford Island to be a part of the Pacific Memorial as it was where the Japanese Forces surrendered to the Allied Powers in Tokyo Bay, ending World War II.

Here is the overall timeline of the history of the ship:
https://ussmissouri.org/learn-the-history/the-ship/timeline/

It was the last Iowa Class battleship to set sail but it was finished after Pearl Harbor. It was sent to the Pacific when it was first commissioned to support the war efforts.

We headed onto the ship and checked in for our tour. We were told that it would start in the Ward Room right on time and if we needed to use the restroom or such to do it now. We took advantage of it and then headed into the Ward Room to wait for our tour guide.

The tour guide was a retired Navy veteran who has met with many who had been on the ship during various tours or events that the Missouri has hosted over the years. We waited for the others in our tour to join - which was all one family group that you could tell they were only doing the tour for 2 of them as it seemed 6 of them were barely interested.

Ward Room Rules

Our tour started in one of the main gun turrets which we were allowed to climb inside of. It truly was amazing to see how a 16 inch gun can fire up to 23 miles! (They showed us videos while letting us see the equipment in the turret)

Shells

We were given stories on how these worked (it had many stories of men all working together between loading the bullets, the powder, aim and firing) along with our guide talking about one of his saddest tours. They let you see inside the place where the shooters sit - it is a very small area they have to sit. He had a couple ask to see the one in the far corner of the room away from the area they have ready for the tour - apparently their son had lost his life on tour in that exact seat by falling to his death.

We were then taken down below the main deck where the living quarters were. It had been remodeled from the WWII/Korean War Days as when it was used in the Gulf War - the Navy gave their men slightly more room for their beds and lockers. In what now has 3 beds used to have 5 beds only 40 years before.

But that wasn’t the main reason for this tour - this tour was to go into the “Heart of the Missouri”

We went further below the ship to where people with normal tickets aren’t allowed to go to “Broadway”

This was the widest and longest passage of the ship that connected many of the main areas from the broilers, to the engine rooms, to emergency control stations, medic stations (some that could be makeshift), machine shops, and more.

As the ship was decommissioned after the Gulf War - the artwork that was left on the ship by the sailors was never covered up. I’m only posting those that are appropriate for a family board as you can imagine what some artistic young men would paint during their long stints in the ocean.

Boiler Controls

Information from Boiler

They used to have actual maps of the battleship out on the ship during the tour but someone complained to the US Government about them being ITAR-Controlled drawings and they had to take them down.

Navigation Room

While we were in the Navigation Room learning about it, we were told that when the Navy Recommissioned the ship for the Gulf War, they actually had to bring in the sailors from WWII and Korean Wars to teach the new guys how to use the controls and equipment in the ship as while some of it was modernized, not everything could be, nor should it be if they wanted to keep everything in working order. This amused me as it struck a note to one of my previous jobs where we had equipment that dated back to the 1940s and it was similar on why we didn’t try to upgrade certain things.

We really enjoyed this tour as it gave us a more in depth view of how a ship works. As an engineer - I really liked seeing the boiler, engine room and navigation station. My husband loved the gun and fire power information as the amount of accuracy it had is pretty amazing. If those things don’t interest you - I wouldn’t do the “Heart of the Missouri” Tour - you would probably be fine with the normal self guided tour that shows you the main parts of the ship normal people would be interested in.

We ended up skipping seeing some of those other areas as we both were hungry and headed to the bus stop to get off Ford Island.​

 

[franandaj]

Wow! Some of the things you reported on, like the "artwork" were seriously not expected.

I have a feeling that if I ever visit this island with Fran the Arizona will not be on our tour list. I've never discussed it with her, but her mother lost her 1st husband in the Pearl Harbor bombing. Fran's father died just after I joined the DIS so I don't think I've gone into what a terrible human being he was on this forum. I'm pretty sure if the two of us go to Hawaii, she doesn't want to see the death place of her mother's only love of her life.

I'm sorry that some of the families didn't feel it necessary to pay proper respect at such a site.

 

[TeeterTots]

Wow! The pics of your tours really make me want to do this! I think I will leave the kiddos, but my husband would truly enjoy the "heart of the Missouri" as he's an engineer too.