Finishing Well in Hawaii!

One factor in deciding to take this trip was that Tim and family would still be living on Oahu and that we could stop on our way back for a visit – enabling us to spend time with the granddaughters, avoid a 20+ hour flight home, and help us with the jet lag!

So, yes, it was a lovely way to end our amazing trip. We left Brisbane late on a Saturday night and arrived in Honolulu the same Saturday at 12 Noon – so we got a little younger as well – flying back across the International Date Line. And we enjoyed our own personal Groundhog Day.

Next stop, Disney Aulani – a lovely hotel resort located in Ko’Olina, about 40 minutes from where Tim and Jacqueline live. We caught a taxi to get there as Tim had also just arrived back in Hawaii from his work travels and they were still getting packed up and ready to meet us.

By mid-afternoon we were all together once again and spent the next two days and nights enjoying the many pools (including the Lazy River) offered by Disney; and eating our dinners away from Disney (too expensive). There are many restaurants available literally across the street from the Disney Aulani hotel – one of them being our favorite Monkey Pod!

Madison had a wonderful time getting to meet some of the characters, swimming in the pools, and enjoying our floats in the Lazy River where she always insisted we ‘raft up’ and ‘make a train’ as we let the river move us along. Charlotte probably would have preferred to be home crawling around the house and playing with her toys but her face lit up as well when she was in the water. These girls are going to miss this warm Hawaiian sunshine and the warm waters of Hawaii as well.

Monday afternoon found us back at their home and enjoying the regular day-to-day routine of a family living in Hawaii. Madison headed back to Nursery School on Tuesday and Ed and I were each able to pick her up one day and see her classroom and wave to her teacher. It’s a school very similar to our church nursery school and she always comes home with a new song to sing and a story to share.

Charlotte showed us her true self once home as she navigated the toy room, pulling herself up as much as possible and taking off after Madison using her army crawl.

Tim and Ed worked on Tim’s backyard one day, preparing some of their items for their upcoming move and getting lawn mowed and trimmed.

Home cooked meals were a treat for us (thanks Jacqueline!) for the next few nights and we ended our trip on Thursday with a short shopping spree in Haleiwa (pronounced “Ha-leh-eve-a”) followed by dinner.

Our flight home on Friday left at 4:30 p.m. and with a 130mph tail wind, we landed in Newark after a record 8.5-hour trip at 6:00 a.m. Of course, the weather that morning was not what we expected – 15 degrees!!! 

Thanks for listening to all my ramblings – no more trips planned at the moment but there are still many places on our “bucket list” so stay tuned!