Aulani Day 4 – Quick Thoughts/Recap

Started off Day 4 early but not as early as the previous.. slept in till just before 6am! Went for a quick walk to the lobby and then drove into town for breakfast and to pick up some groceries.

Was back at Aulani a little after 8:00am and decided to go for a swim. Did a run on the inter-tube slide then a couple laps of the stream before heading down to the beach to take some pictures and go for a walk.

Looking back at Aulani from across the lagoon.

Walked back to the resort and along the way saw the classic Hawaiian view of a canoe on the beach with palm trees and the ocean beyond.

We hit the road again around 11am and headed down H1 to Pearl Harbor. The visitor center expansion/renovation that was underway three years ago when I stopped is now completed.

A wide shot looking out into the Harbor.

A tighter ship of the Arizona Memorial and Missouri. This was the view from our table for a quick lunch while we waited for our launch out to the memorial.

The USS Bowfin sub. We skipped this tour as well as the Missouri and air museum this time around.

We had about 90 minutes to explore the grounds and eat lunch until our 1:00pm tour time. Another look out toward the memorial.

We toured a the new galleries, I took pictures with the SLRs and not the phone.. I already looked like a big enough tourist with two SLRs around my neck to pull out a third camera seemed overkill. The reason for this is they allow no bags so that meant if I wanted two lenses (a wide and normal lens) I had to have two cameras. Here is a model of the memorial to show how it sits on the ship.

A sign in the middle of the walkway showing Hawaii is the crossroads of the Pacific.

Time to head out via launch to the memorial.

One of the gun turret remains of the Arizona is visible above the water line.

The USS Missouri is docked nearby (it is a separate tour that we did several years ago and really enjoyed, but this trip skipped it).

A quick pan from the harbor:

After we left Pearl Harbor we took H3 across the island then turned toward the North Shore.

We turned inland and drove through the pineapple fields, they were burning something in the distance.

Made a quick stop at the Dole Plantation for Dole Whips for those that wanted one.

The Dole Whip choices.

We continued on to H2 then merged onto H1 West and returned to Ko Olina and Aulani for the evening. After parking the car and catching our breath we set off along the walkway toward the Marriott Beach Club to meet the Lazygeek’s family for dinner at their Resort. Along the way snapped this picture of the setting sun.

After dinner I walked back along the lagoons and took some pictures then roamed around the grounds of Aulani. Here is a picture from the 16th floor looking down. The stream is well lit at night, but closed.

After walking around, did a couple laps of the valley and up to the 16th floor of both towers decided to call it an evening and write this posting.

Some quick thoughts/observations:

• The morning was peaceful just like the others. We have really become spoiled visiting the pools the first couple hours they are open and the beach. It is cooler and much less crowded.
• Our plan was to wait until after the morning commute and arrive at Pearl Harbor after the tour groups. We arrived around 11:30 and it was perfect. Our movie/boat time was 1:00pm which gave us about 90 minutes to explore the visitor complex and eat. There were no waits and our boat was not even full.
• The visitor complex was being expanded/renovated our last trip out so it was nice to see it all finished. The new exhibit area was well done and interesting as always.
• Due to the light crowd we were able to linger on the memorial for what seemed longer than the last trip and on the way back they pulled out and gave each side of the boat a great photo op, which I have not experienced on my previous couple of trips and I thought it was great!
• After Pearl we headed up H3 and to the other side of the Island then circled around by Turtle Bay, the North Shore, and then back past the Dole Plantation and H2. There was a lot of traffic this time around. The area around the North shore beaches was very crowded and the trip took us quite a while to make. Nothing too new or exciting this time around the island. I enjoy the trip around the south/east end more with the scenic overlooks, etc..
• After dinner I tried to take some pictures of Aulani from across the lagoon and realized the resort just does not photograph well from that distance at night, especially without a tripod and my limited night time skills and patience.
• I enjoyed taking a couple of laps of the resort and goofing around with the cameras taking some pictures. I wish I could have gotten a good shot of all the stars.. the skies were really clear this evening but nothing seemed to come out that clear, I really need to learn to carry my tripod more.
• Pedometer Notes: 4.2 miles, 11,304 steps, 7,636 moderate pace, 67 minutes at a moderate pace