June 15, 2017 - Day #14 Welcome to Aulani!
June 15, 2017
Last minute cleaning and packing were done this morning. The teenagers were told to pack up last night but they decided to stay up late and mess around instead. So this morning, they were franticly looking for things and getting stressed out. Somehow some of Joey's clothes went missing and no one seem to have them. Eventually it will show up when everyone unpacks at home.
We were all loaded in the car by 10am. Russ and I drove Mom and Dad to the airport to catch a 1:45pm flight back to Oakland. Hanh and Moses' families are on the same flight. David's flight's at 3:45pm. It was too early to check in to Aulani so we met David at Koko Head Cafe for brunch instead. Hanh and Moses raved about this restaurant so we wanted to try it out. It's an Asian fusion brunch place and are known for their dumplings. The food was quite expensive, the final bill was $270 for the 10 of us. The food was ok, but the service was friendly. The chef has a cookbook that we purchased and had her sign it for Mikey's birthday. We gave our final hugs and goodbyes to David, Tiffanie, Ethan, Ben, and Co Nhung and made our way to Aulani.
We made it to the southwest side of the island in about 45mins. Mikey was excited to arrive at Aulani Disney Resort for his birthday celebration weekend. It definitely has a Disney vibe; uber friendly service with a touch of Hawaii. I felt like I was at Disneyland and it was overwhelming. The room was nice with a good size balcony. Russell and the boys changed into their swim trunks, armed with their room keys with charging privileges, they headed to the pool area. Lazy river, swimming pools, waterslides, lagoon, and the reef...where to start? Mikey wanted to do snorkeling in the Disney reef but there's an uncharge of $15. We got advice from some of the cast members to go to the adjacent hotel and public beach (Paradise Cove) for a great free snorkeling spot. Russell and Mikey walked over there and had an amazing time. We don't have to go to Hanauma Bay anymore. Aulani puts out a daily newsletter the "Iwa" that list the activities for the day and categories by age group. I persuaded Joey to go to one of the activity and he went hesitantly. He had so much fun and made some friends. They made plans to go to the House Party later that evening.
Rebecca, Russell, Mikey, and I went out to dinner in Honolulu. We went to Hot Pot Heaven, a place Rebecca enjoyed several years ago. Mikey didn't want to go but we made him. He had the most fun and wanted to return the next day for his birthday dinner. We had the mushroom and tom yum broth. They were both delicious and Mikey really loved cooking! We were so stuffed! We made it halfway home when the restaurant called and said that Rebecca forgot her credit card. Joey hung out with Alex and his new friends until midnight. Matty was with Ed and his brother Al. We were beat and called it a night! After all, we promised Mikey that the next two days will be for him, and we will do what he wants to do. We will need all the rest we can get.
Last minute cleaning and packing were done this morning. The teenagers were told to pack up last night but they decided to stay up late and mess around instead. So this morning, they were franticly looking for things and getting stressed out. Somehow some of Joey's clothes went missing and no one seem to have them. Eventually it will show up when everyone unpacks at home.
We were all loaded in the car by 10am. Russ and I drove Mom and Dad to the airport to catch a 1:45pm flight back to Oakland. Hanh and Moses' families are on the same flight. David's flight's at 3:45pm. It was too early to check in to Aulani so we met David at Koko Head Cafe for brunch instead. Hanh and Moses raved about this restaurant so we wanted to try it out. It's an Asian fusion brunch place and are known for their dumplings. The food was quite expensive, the final bill was $270 for the 10 of us. The food was ok, but the service was friendly. The chef has a cookbook that we purchased and had her sign it for Mikey's birthday. We gave our final hugs and goodbyes to David, Tiffanie, Ethan, Ben, and Co Nhung and made our way to Aulani.
We made it to the southwest side of the island in about 45mins. Mikey was excited to arrive at Aulani Disney Resort for his birthday celebration weekend. It definitely has a Disney vibe; uber friendly service with a touch of Hawaii. I felt like I was at Disneyland and it was overwhelming. The room was nice with a good size balcony. Russell and the boys changed into their swim trunks, armed with their room keys with charging privileges, they headed to the pool area. Lazy river, swimming pools, waterslides, lagoon, and the reef...where to start? Mikey wanted to do snorkeling in the Disney reef but there's an uncharge of $15. We got advice from some of the cast members to go to the adjacent hotel and public beach (Paradise Cove) for a great free snorkeling spot. Russell and Mikey walked over there and had an amazing time. We don't have to go to Hanauma Bay anymore. Aulani puts out a daily newsletter the "Iwa" that list the activities for the day and categories by age group. I persuaded Joey to go to one of the activity and he went hesitantly. He had so much fun and made some friends. They made plans to go to the House Party later that evening.
Rebecca, Russell, Mikey, and I went out to dinner in Honolulu. We went to Hot Pot Heaven, a place Rebecca enjoyed several years ago. Mikey didn't want to go but we made him. He had the most fun and wanted to return the next day for his birthday dinner. We had the mushroom and tom yum broth. They were both delicious and Mikey really loved cooking! We were so stuffed! We made it halfway home when the restaurant called and said that Rebecca forgot her credit card. Joey hung out with Alex and his new friends until midnight. Matty was with Ed and his brother Al. We were beat and called it a night! After all, we promised Mikey that the next two days will be for him, and we will do what he wants to do. We will need all the rest we can get.
Comments
Post a Comment