Summer 2017 - Hawaii to Korea Trip

June 21, 2017 Everyone was feeling jet lagged and had trouble sleeping last night.  Matty and Carter, who are roommates were up since 2am.  We all met downstairs in the lobby at 8:15am for breakfast.  Greg recommended a restaurant 2 mins half from our hotel, Jin Han Cook.  It was more like a lunch than breakfast.  Most popular dishes that were ordered were Bim Bim Bap and ramen.  Bim Bim Bap was the bomb!  Even Steven, the most critical of the group, enjoyed it so much he said that he's coming back again tomorrow. We returned to the hotel to freshen up and prepare for the adventure of the day.  At 10am, three preordered taxis came to pick us up to take us to Bukchon Hanok Village,  a Korean traditional village  in S eoul.  The traditional village is composed of lots of alleys,  hanok(traditional Korean homes)  and is preserved to show a 600-year-old urban environment. Now it is used as a traditional culture cen...

June 19, 2017 It's bittersweet to leave Hawaii, we had a wonderful 18 days in paradise. I will always love Hawaii, it feels like home and being a part of a big Ohana. We are excited for our next adventure and joining the Pon Clan in Seoul.  Our nonstop flight on Asiana Air was uneventful. 95% of the passengers were Koreans returning to Seoul from their honeymoons and vacations.  The plane was old but the service was excellent.  We arrived at the Icheon Airport on Tuesday, June 20th, at 5pm (lost a day).  Going through immigration and customs was a breeze. The city bus conveniently picked us up outside the baggage claim. The drive was about 1 ½ hour long due to traffic. The bus stop was right across from the hotel.  Pacific Hotel  is  a small  hotel and quite modern.  It took us a while to figure out the fancy toilet/bidet. We met the Pon Clan outside of the hotel while they were returning from having di...

June 18, 2017  Happy Father's Day! This morning we packed up and checked out of the Aulani. Mikey was very sad to leave and wants to return in the near future. Today is the day that Joey and Mikey fly home to California. We made our way to Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki where Russell, Matty, and I will be staying for a night before our flight to Korea.  A slight detour to Leonard's to pick up a dozen Malasadas for the boys' flight.  After checking into the hotel, Joey needed to do some quick souvenir shopping.  Russell, Matty, and I still had our nonrefundable tickets to California (Korea trip was an afterthought).  We were trying to figure out what we can do with them. Hoping to get bumped, we proceeded to the gate. Unfortunately,  the plane still had empty seats so we had to forfeit our tickets. I was sad to see my two boys board the plane but was happy that they are in good hands with my parents. They are in for a surprise when they land in ...

June 17, 2017 In order to be able to do different things, Russell and I had to split up.  Russell took Matty to snorkel at Paradise Cove, Mikey wanted to go to the kid's club and checked himself in.  I took Joey shopping at Ala Moana Center.  After an hour at the kid's club, Mikey was bored and wanted to leave.  Russell eventually picked him up and took him to the cove.  The three of them enjoyed snorkeling and saw a lot of turtles.  Joey was happy with his selection of souvenirs for his friends.  We made it back to the hotel by 3:30pm so that Joey can go to his teen activities. At the last minute we decided to go to a luau.  The Disney and Paradise Cove luaus were sold out but we were able to book Germaine's Luau.  The bus came to pick us up at 5:30pm and took us to a nearby location.  The boys got to see the Kalua Pig get pulled out of the underground stone pit.  They were mesmerized by the Polynesian dancers and re...

June 16, 2017 My baby turned 9 today!  What better place than Aulani to celebrate Mikey's big day.  I started my day with a 6:30am yoga class on the beach which was nice and relaxing.  Mikey found his way to me shortly after class ended.  He was so excited as we planned his day.  I signed him up for Aunty's Beach House that has activities for kids his age. Russell and Mikey changed into their swim trunks and headed to the lagoon.  At the lagoon, Mikey made a new friend, Brian, who is also a 9 year old and from Sacramento.  Throughout the day, they played together from boogie boarding to the swimming pools, lazy river and waterslides.  I had the role of butler.  I picked up sushi for lunch, brought needed supplies, and replenished their waters. Matty did various things...Paddle boarding with Russell, swimming with Mikey, hanging out with Joey.  Joey's day didn't start until late.  He finally left the room at...

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 wa...