Friday, February 7, 2020

TOALT Phase 1

Why not Hawaii?

Since our ultimate destination was Australia and New Zealand, why not stop half way in Hawaii?  It so happened that the Sony Open golf tournament was in Honolulu the Saturday before we needed to be in Sydney, so we booked 6 days at the Disney Aulani Resort in Ko'Olina on Paradise Bay.  We are not Disney Vacation Club members, and I doubt we ever will be, but I certainly would if we still had youngsters at home!

Aulani Resort, Ko'Olina, Hawaii
We chose the resort because my SIL had booked tee times at the Ko'Olina Golf Course right across the street (plus it came highly recommended by a friend who had been there a month before).  The first day -- the only day without rain -- we went to Pearl Harbor.  Very moving.

Arizona Memorial
FYI, it is a National Park and the tours are free, but an advance reservation is suggested.  Only $1 per ticket to book online!

The second day SIL played golf in 20 mph trade winds and occasional rain while Alex and I scoped out other opportunities.  


The quilt shop we were looking for was closed that day.😒  Unfortunately, we had rain every day from there on, but we managed to make a side trip to the North Shore and stopped at a waterfall/botanical garden.

North Shore
Our final day we slogged through the mud at the golf tournament (at least we had pavilion tickets) and saw the famous trees from It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.  

W for Wailai
And we wrapped up our stay with the Aulani Luau.  Locals said it is the least authentic, but we enjoyed the "Disneyfied" story line.


Next, off to Sydney, Australia!


5 comments:

  1. oh how lucky you were - I would love to go to Australia and New Zealand some days

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  2. I saw those trees when we had the Sony Open on TV that weekend! How fun that you got to actually be there! I would really like to see the Pearl Harbor memorial one day, too.

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  3. Oh how fun! Glad you had the trip of a lifetime. Pearl Harbor is on my bucket list.

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  4. What a lovely visit (even if the quilt shop was closed)! Those trees are fascinating. Glad you had such a good time!! :)

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  5. Authentic or not, Hawaiian luaus are a TON of fun!! You were mere minutes away from my BIL and SIL while at your resort.

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