Day 14 – Saying goodbye to Aulani

Today we sadly have to say goodbye to Aulani, but luckily not quite yet. This morning I did the usual write up of the blog, then did most of the packing before indulging in a nice cool bath (I was hot) with a cup of tea. Before we knew it, it was 9.30am and time to finish up the packing and get our stuff to the car.

We then headed to the Makahiki restaurant for breakfast. We got checked in, saw Moana off in the distance.

We then got to meet the main mouse himself. Still can’t believe we’re in time for actual character interactions. He was impressed to find Kevin dressed in a similar style shirt to he was and he loved my ears.

We then had a little wait before being taken to meet Chef Goofy – who we actually got to hug,

before being taken to our table, which was outside by the koi pond. Such a beautiful and peaceful place. There was a wandering musician singing and playing the ukelele. Breakfast is three courses, one is a pastry basket, one is fresh fruit, and then you make a choice of your main meal.

While we waited we got to see the fish feeding. Funnily enough I was watching them while waiting to see Mickey and they had all come over to me super fast hoping for breakfast :-). It was cute seeing them lift up a little out of the water to wait for the food. There was also a lot of little baby fish/tadpoles in the pond.

We also had a visit from Pluto while we waited for our food.

Kevin had ordered the french toast and I ordered tofu rancheros. Mine wasn’t that great – it was pretty tasteless. Kevin’s toast was nice but super sweet. We weren’t too worried though as we really enjoyed the whole experience.

After breakfast we had a last visit to the shops to pick up some things (mainly board games) that the kids wanted.

A few last photos and it was time to say goodbye Aulani for this trip. We will be back :-).

Shortly after we left I started to feel really yucky – fibro pain, upset tummy and the beginnings of a headache. Kevin was also have a pain day. What a pair we are !!!

I was still on the hunt for some new tea towels (I’d gotten some from costco on our trip to Maui a few years back) so we decided to stop in at TJ Max. I enjoyed a wander around looking at so many things I would have wanted to buy back before I became a minimalist. As it was I left with just two things – one of which was a set of 4 tea towels. The tea towels here aren’t linen like most of the ones you find in Australia and they are much more absorbent. Loved that they had a section for pride dog toys.

Beside moving accommodations, the main goal for today was to visit the Outlet Malls. Not a great thing to be doing when you’re not feeling well. But luckily this is a pretty small mall and we really only wanted to check out a handful of stores – Tommy Bahamas (where we got Kevin two shirts), Kipling, Sketchers and Crocs. I came away empty handed.

Next stop was Down to Earth where I had fun looking around, being envious of all the things we can’t get in Australia, and making a few purchases. We bought lunch from here and sat outside at their table to eat. I had a yummy rice paper roll and Kevin enjoyed some mushroom soup. We were both starting to feel a little better at this stage but still not the best.

From here it was a 50min drive to our accommodation right on the opposite side of the island to Aulani. It’s a nice drive though, through the mountain and then along the coast, right beside the water for much of it.

We drove right past where we were staying so we could get groceries for our stay. Instead of getting frozen meals this time we got some stuff to put meals together ourselves. We then drove back to accomodation.

Now I did know that it was an older building but nowhere did the airbnb listing mention there was renovations going on. But that’s okay, it’s good they updating the building – it definitely needs it. We found the lockbox with our key and made our way up the lift to the second floor where our apartment was. There was a lot of building material around which we didn’t understand.

The apartment itself is really nice but it’s a lot warmer than the one on Kauai (again no air con, just fans, but no through breeze here). The doubts really began when we had just sat down and a loud rotary hammer drill started. It was about 4pm so luckily it didn’t go on for too long before they knocked off for the day. Then we realized we were basically on top of the end of the pool that people hang out in. I actually got out my laptop to look for somewhere else to stay, but there aren’t many options. Since we’ll be out most of tomorrow and the next day is Saturday we’ll just make the best of things. It was just a lot with both of us not feeling great and having come from Aulani.

I did try to sit outside for a bit, but it was very warm and people were in the pool (you can see the chairs where they sit). So I moved back inside and sat in front of the fan with Kevin.

Just after 6pm we went out for a walk out to the front. The place definitely looks a lot better from this side. It will be nice to spend some on the beach on Saturday and hopefully I’ll get to enjoy a few sunrises.

As usual we watched a bit of YouTube before I made som Veggie Fajitas for dinner.

Tofu & Veggie stir fry with peanut sauce

 Adapted from recipe by Vegan aloha kitchen Serves 2-3 people

2 cups  rice

Packet Firm Tofu (cut into cubes)

4 cups mixed vegetable (ie. onion, mushrooms, bok choy, capsicum, broccoli)

Peanut Sauce 

1/2 cup  peanut butter

3 tbsp soy sauce 

Sweet Chili Sauce to taste(approx 1/4 cup)

Prepare rice according to the package instructions 

Cut tofu into cubes, spray with some avocado oil and sprinkle with herbamere or garlic salt.

Cook in air fryer approx 10mins or in frying pan.

In a small bowl mix peanut butter and soy sauce until the mixture is combined. Add sweet chilli sauce to taste

Saute mixed vegetables over medium heat until lightly brown

Add in tofu &  peanut sauce and mix until coated 

Serve over rice and enjoy. 

Great additions to this dish include: garlic, basil, ginger or crushed peanuts if you have them on hand. 

Recipe : Pumpkin Pasta Bake

This is something that I made up (which is very unusual for me) so there is no actual recipe. Instead I will let you know what I included and how I put it together and you can decide how much of each ingredient you want to use – there really is no right or wrong with this “recipe”.

What you will need :

Butternut Pumpkin (or any type of pumpkin) : Diced

Pasta : Any type and quantity (I used a whole packet of bow tie pasta)

Baby Spinach : Lots and lots and even more (as it wilts down to nothing)

Favourite Pasta Sauce : 1-2 jars depending on size

Grated Vegan Cheese (or whatever you prefer)

How to make :

Baked pumpkin (or cook the air fryer as I did). No need for any oil.

Once pasta is cooked, drain and return to pan. Add baby spinach, mix through and put lid on to allow it to wilt.

Then add all other ingredients (except cheese) and mix well. Add more pasta sauce if desired.

Transfer to casserole dish or oven safe dish and top with vegan cheese.

Cook/bake in moderate oven (180C for about 20mins.

Serve and enjoy. And be sure to let me know if you like it.

*** Hubby always add extra cheese to his once served

***If doing as part of a meal prep I can leave the baking until the day of serving or I can cook and store in fridge to reheat in the microwave.

*** This freezes really well (at least when using white pasta)