Our First Full Day!
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Warning: this is a long post. I probably should have made it two, but instead of doing that I give you this disclaimer!
I think we all woke up at some early hour, but most of us got back to sleep. Everyone was up and going by 6:00 a.m.
For our first full day we had made a reservation at Makahiki for 7:30 a.m. We figured the time change would be in our favor and we could make it to breakfast by then.
Makahiki was Pam and Dave’s first Disney character interaction. After the photo op, Dave said, “That was fun!” Dave can be sarcastic, but I think he actually meant it this time. During breakfast, the photo pass cast member stopped by our table to show us the photos available for purchase. There were some decent pics, but we decided the ones the cast member took using Brad’s phone were good and we didn’t need to purchase any.
I think starting with a buffet worked well for our first morning since we all seemed to be at different levels of hunger. We had a table on the outside edge of the restaurant veranda. Having breakfast outside in January while wearing shorts was ideal for all of us! The food was very good. Brad and I both felt it was comparable to the better Disney World buffets (i.e. Tusker House at AK). They didn’t have malasadas on the buffet, but that just meant we had to experience Leonard’s for our first ones – definitely not a problem. Dave and Brad both loved Loco Moco (sorry, we didn't get a picture of that).
The next stop was Royal Hawaiian for shopping. When we presented Pam and Dave the first draft of our schedule last summer there was the following exchange:
Pam: Bradley?
Brad: Yes, mom?
Pam: I don’t see time for shopping on here.
Brad: Ummmmm, John?
Dedicated shopping time was quickly added to the schedule.
The plan was for me to drop Brad, Pam and Dave off at the mall. I would then go to the airport to exchange the car and then rejoin them at the mall. Yes, it was a bit of backtracking but made the most sense since they, well at least Pam and Brad, were most interested in shopping. We easily found the mall - Brad was responsible for navigating most of the trip and used the Waze app which worked well.
When we arrived, we didn’t see a good place to drop them off so we decided to just park in the garage while they got out of the car. Remember, I said we had an Expedition? Well that hit the maximum clearance bar at the garage entrance, which also caused flashing red lights on said bar... But there was no good way to back out so we continued up, hoping for the best. I think Brad closed his eyes because he was sure we would take out the overhead lights or scrape the concrete supports. I stopped at the first exit option and had everyone jump out of the car so I could get out of the garage as quickly as possible.
Hertz called me while I was driving to the airport to discuss options and they suggested a GMC Yukon as those are some of the newer vehicles they had on hand. What they either didn’t say or I didn’t hear, was that it was a Yukon XL. That XL detail made it a decently long vehicle – at least longer than I drive daily. It ended up being a great vehicle, but parking was an adventure the rest of the trip. The actual exchange was quick and easy and I was soon heading back to the mall.
Somewhere along the drive I realized I’d likely have the same height issue with this vehicle so I was hoping to find another parking option. After passing the street where the garage entrance was, and seeing no other options, I decided to go around the block. I soon realized that I was essentially on the ocean. Needless to say, I wouldn’t be going around THAT direction! I finally decided I’d risk the garage again and didn’t hit the clearance bar this time so all was fine.
We spent a few hours shopping, including all four of us getting Hawaiian shirts to wear to the luau. Everyone enjoyed the mall and we would recommend it if anyone wants to do some shopping that isn’t just the main stores found at most major shopping areas.
One of the few stores Dave went in was Island Vintage Coffee. He and Brad are the primary coffee drinkers and they got a few different ones to enjoy in the room and extras to take home. In theory, it’s one of those associations that will hopefully bring back (positive) memories of the trip. They also got some cookie/biscuit type things that everyone enjoyed. We tried getting more but they did not have them at the location across from Aulani or the one in Haleiwa. I’m not sure if it was something being discontinued or if the selection varies between stores.
Once we finished shopping we headed to Kona Brewing Company for a late lunch. This was an enjoyable meal. For the most part it’s a brewpub similar to one you’d find in most cities on the mainland. But it’s in Hawaii so there is a lot of open air and views of the Koko Marina. Speaking of open air, this is a good time to mention that we saw birds. Everywhere. While not a big deal, Pam wasn’t always a fan of them joining us at nearly every meal. And occasionally Brad had flashbacks of the time a bird picked up his hamburger patty while we were at
Castaway Cay. I think the bird underestimated the weight of the burger because it was soon dropped. Unfortunately, on Brad’s hat.
Anyway, there were several good seafood options on the menu. Pictured below are some of the things we had, including the Big Wave Shrimp Melt with Mac Salad, Naalehu nachos with Portuguese Sausage and a beer flight.
Brad wasn’t able to get the pub glass he originally wanted since “their shipment didn’t arrive.” This became a common phrase we heard and we humorously wondered if it was one ship that got lost, a common occurrence on an island or just the easy explanation for things being out of stock! So, he picked another glass that was unique and we got Dave the longboard-shaped bottle opener.
Pam, Brad and I had pedicures at 4:00 p.m. at Laniwai spa. We were a few minutes late because we hit more Honolulu traffic than we expected. We were watching the travel time and it literally jumped from 50 minutes to 75 minutes in under five minutes. I called the spa along the way to give them a heads-up and they said it wouldn’t be a problem as long as we were there by 4:15 p.m. It helped that these were technically salon appointments so we didn’t need to change clothes or even go to the locker rooms. I think it also helped we were the last appointments of the day for two of the technicians.
The pedicures were a relaxing experience and a good introduction to the spa. At $80 (plus tip and tax), it falls in the category of expensive compared to getting a pedicure at home, but in line with other resort spas. I think we all thought it was time and money well spent.
We had dinner reservations at Ama Ama for 5:30 p.m. We were fortunate to be seated at a table on the edge of the restaurant facing the water – which provided a view that was beyond words (see photo in collage below). We had breakfast, lunch and dinner at Ama Ama during the trip and we all agreed that dinner was our least favorite of the three meals. I want to stress that it was by no means bad, but the price point is higher for dinner, and we felt it didn’t stand up as well against some of the other meals we enjoyed on the trip. Service was strong at the beginning, but it slowed down towards the end (I think our server received one or two larger parties which I completely understand can upset flow). All things considered, we didn’t regret having dinner at Ama Ama. The meal was great and the view couldn’t be beat; it was an ideal end to our first full day on the island. Dave said he should have taken the server's advice to have the catch of the day sautéed instead of grilled; I had it sautéed and thought it was excellent.
Pictured below (clockwise from top right): A sweet chocolate and coconut accompaniment that was presented with the check, crab cake appetizer, sautéed catch of the day, grilled salmon and the side dishes we selected (Herb-coconut Rice, Potato Trio - Yukon, Sweet and Okinawan Sweet - and Caramelized Brussels Sprouts)
After dinner, Brad and I decided to go to Safeway and get the items we were not able to get at Costco. Since it was later, traffic was light and Brad decided he’d drive. He soon realized some of the fun I’d already experienced with our XL vehicle, such as getting in and out of parking spaces and the vibrating seat that felt the need to ‘alert’ you to anything within what seemed to be a five-foot radius of the vehicle. He was amused when I was cursing it in traffic earlier in the day. After he experienced it, finding a way to make it cease became a priority! The original plan was to divide driving 50/50 so we’d both be able to see things other than traffic. I think in the end he drove 5-10 percent of the time. Which was fine, but you can be sure I gave him grief about it!
Safeway was pretty empty when were there – I doubt we saw more than ten other customers. This is however, where we saw more of the sticker shock. I’m guessing it is because of resorts with kitchens in the area, but we were surprised how many of the smaller quantities were sold out of many items. One of the most shocking costs was Velveeta – the small size was sold out so we got the traditional-size block. It was $14.50! If you had a Safeway card (which I now do) the price came down to $10.50, which was better but still more than I’d expected. There were a few items that didn’t have much selection, such as raisin bread, but overall we found what we had on the list.
We finished the shopping and got back to the resort, unloaded the groceries and other packages from the day’s purchases and called it a day soon after. Besides, we had another early morning ahead of us at Pearl Harbor!!