Hawaii, Day 4

Day 4: Tuesday, May 6, 2014

We spent most of our day at Kualoha Ranch where we took the ranch and film set tour and saw where they filmed scenes from Jurassic Park, 50 First Dates, and the TV show Lost. We drove in a windowless bus through the most gorgeous, untouched landscape. Then we went to a "Secret Island" and played on the beach all afternoon. We went kayaking, paddle boarding, snorkeling, and simply laid in a hammock. It was blissful but not my favorite beach, well not like the beautiful, pristine beach we went to yesterday. Then we took the trip across the island to Aulani. The traffic was awful and we were hungry so we decided to stop for dinner hoping the traffic would thin out by the time we were done. We stopped at a strip-mall when I saw a Thai restaurant (Thai food is one of my favorites). In the same strip-mall was a traditional Hawaiian diner so Les, Val, and Cam got food there, Vickie went to the Subway in the same strip-mall, and I got spicy yellow curry with chicken. It was HOT but delicious nonetheless. The was a shop called "Sweet Temptations" so we naturally had to stop in :) we got some shave ice (good but not great) but then realized half the store was a casino!! It had slot machines and other "games" that first made it look like an arcade but then I saw the sign "no one under 21 allowed to play games". Oh the fun things you discover on vacation, right?

We got to Aulani around 6:30/6:45 pm. We did self-parking and walked our luggage to the lobby. We were greeted with gorgeous, fragrant leis and fruit infused water. It was Devine!!! I felt a little out of place walking in to this stunning hotel with such a wonderful welcome in my grubby beach clothes and bandana wrapped head. This greeting really needed a better outfit! Lol

We got to our room at 7 pm on the dot and we watched the sun set from our partial ocean view balcony. This room is spectacular!! Les and I are sleeping on the pull-out couch which is quite comfy (I'm laying on it as I write this post), and the other Dawsons are in the bed. It's a tight fit for all 5 of us but it's still really nice. So much of this place, so far, reminds me DCL in that there is a daily newsletter formatted very similarly to the DCL, and the bathroom products are the same as DCL but with Aulani packaging. If Aulani was all-inclusive, I bet it would be just like a cruise except you're on land. 

I took a shower ( so good!! ) and got in my jammies while everyone else went to the pool- I am just too exhausted and could barely keep my eyes open to unpack. 

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