I have to say it was a bit odd not hearing the roosters when I woke up. I missed them. I got up just before 6am and was surprised (and jealous) to see so many people already out and about. I’m hoping to wake up early enough one morning to be able to head out before the crowds. But even if it doesn’t happen (and it’s not likely) at least I can somewhat see and enjoy the morning from our verandah. We absolutely love having a pool view room (rather than the view we had last time) as it helps to feel part of the resort (we’ve noticed this at other places as well).
Kevin was so excited that there was a DVC Members event scheduled for our first morning. It was at 8am which is a bit too early for my fibro body but I managed to be dressed on time to leave. And luckily we didn’t have too far to go :-). I mean, we didn’t even need the car !
I wasn’t really keen to attend this since it was also to a dance party. But we did receive a nut lei upon arrival so that was nice (since you don’t get them at check in any longer). We were shown to some seats (arranged to promote some social distancing). The first part was all about top travel tips, with characters and volunteers from the audience. After two travel trips we realized this was going to go on for quite some time so we decided to leave. This might be fun for younger kids but I think they might get bored during this first part I don’t know. Mind you Kevin was annoyed when he later found out they gave extra goodies to those who had stayed for the whole thing. I wasn’t anything we needed but he still wants things that says DVC at this stage :-).
We went to get booked in for “make your own ears” which Kevin really wanted to do. We had to make all our choices then and there which I was not ready for. The ear choice was easy because they had special blue ones available for DVC members.
We had our daily wander through the shops, spying things we’d missed yesterday like this hair stick and buying some things I’d been thinking about overnight. Kevin really wanted to get a robe (he did buy one on the last trip that has since been donated, but this one is a different style and a whole lot cheaper) but sadly they didn’t have his size. Hopefully more might come in over the next few days.
I headed back to the room while Kevin went to hunt and gather his breakfast. I had mini bagels with vegan cheese while Kevin had a croissant with egg, bacon, cheese & tomato. We at outside on the verandah.
At 10.30 we were back to decorate our Mickey ears. It didn’t take very long as you basically just had to hot melt glue all your decorations onto the band.
They did turn out pretty good but unfortunately the bands aren’t the most comfy for me (I think I have a bigger head than average.
We went back to our room via the shops again as I convinced Kevin to buy the Stitch travel mug he had been wanting.
I didn’t realize quite how tropical or Hawaiian I looked until I saw this photo that Kevin had taken. But I did buy the dress especially for this trip so I guess it makes sense.
We had a bit of down time here. Kevin had a nap and I worked on editing a video.
Later I made some salads which we enjoyed out on the balcony.
About 2.30pm we headed down to the pool, stopping along the way for Kevin to pick up a free DVC gift – which was a lanyard and photo of the resort. We got to the pool just in time for it to start raining !!! I mean what are the chances?? Esp when no rain was forecast for today. We decided to just wait under the umbrellas and eat some popcorn until it eased up after about 30mins or so.
The water was a lovely temperature so it was easy to get straight in. Kevin went down a slide and then we did one & a half laps around the lazy river (it’s a long one). We filmed today for my vlog but I’ll take photos another today to show you just how beautifully landscaped the area is.
From here we headed down to the beach but once Kevin spotted the shop selling chocolate coated bananas we had to stop there. I decided to get a pineapple & watermelon swirl dole whip. It was nice but WAY too big. I only ate about half.
Kevin decided we needed to have these while in the water. Not sure why. Luckily the ocean water was not too cold (last time we were here it was December and it was a bit too chilly)
Lastly we went to the adults only hot tub. Such a magical spot overlooking the beach. It was busy when we arrived (I assume everyone headed here in the rain), but once the sun came out it emptied out.
We dried off on the sun loungers for a bit then went back to our room. Kevin had a bath & I had a shower. It was only around 5pm and our dinner reservation wasn’t until 8pm. Kevin had really wanted to eat at Monkey Pod which is across the road from Aulani. But at 7.30pm he realized that, like myself, he really didn’t want to have to get all dressed up and go out for dinner (at a time when we’re usually thinking about heading to bed).
He decided to cancel our booking and went to get a flatbread pizza from the Ulu Cafe. Luckily I’d gotten myself an extra frozen meal and had a Chick’n Teriyaki rice bowl for dinner. Kevin really enjoyed the flatbread. And he only had half so has another meal ready to go.
We watched some YouTube in bed before going to sleep.