The Newman Family: Aulani

Back in July (whaaat!?!...I'm only 7 months behind), we took a trip to O'ahu and stayed at Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina.

At the airport and excitedly awaiting our vacation!

It was too funny when I looked over and saw this...I just had to snap a pic!

Our fabulous little flyer!

Yippee...we have arrived! Our travels went well, except when our Speedy Shuttle from the airport to the hotel broke down on the side of the road. It didn't quite live up to its name...heehee ;-)

Ahhh...such a calm, beautiful morning view. This ended up being Landon's favorite pool. The Ka Maka Grotto, an infinity-edge pool overlooking Ko Olina Beach.

Our gorgeous view from breakfast at the 'Ama 'Ama restaurant.

Shaka!

Checking out Rainbow Reef, a private snorkeling lagoon where you can swim with the fish.

Menehune Bridge, a fun play structure for the children.

Enjoying Waikolohe Stream which has two tubing adventures- rapids that twist through caverns and a lazy river.

Aloha!
We spent many hours floating down the lazy river. This was one of Landon's favorite spots!

I thought I would check out one of the waterslides. This is Tubestone Curl, an open-air, twisting and turning tube adventure. It was awesome!!! Landon went down the waterslide once, but that was it. He didn't think it was very awesome. ;-) They also have another waterslide called Volcanic Vertical, an enclosed body slide. So fun!

Hi Goofy!

The resort has a supervised activities club for kids called Aunty's Beach House. They have a costume closet so kids can play dress-up. Here is our little pirate! They also have games, movies and activities that you can sign your child up for. We signed up our little scientist for "Stitch's Space Goo." He enjoyed it so much, that he wanted us to sign him up for the same activity another day.

Ahoy there mateys!

A yummy buffet at Makahiki for their Disney Character Breakfast.

Landon loved meeting the Disney characters.

We visited the Dole Plantation.

Glad I caught Landon's reaction to his first bite. It made him pucker. Eventually, he liked it. It was VERY tasty!!

We hopped aboard the Pineapple Express and took a twenty-minute train tour through a working plantation of pineapple and other crops. It was interesting to learn about the island's agricultural history.

Yes, I have a love of sea turtles and made it a mission to find some! Success!! One of the workers at the resort asked if we had any questions, and my first question was: "Will we see any turtles at Turtle Bay?" His response: "No." I'm sure he noticed the disappointment on my face, so he did his best to describe how to get to a "local" spot. Something like: drive down the coast until you see a white divider on the side of the road, then pull over, park in the dirt and run across the road to the beach. Oh my! Thankfully, the hubby was a pilot and used his awesome navigational skills to get us there. ;-)