Friday, May 30, 2014

Hawaii Vacation Day 3 - Pearl Harbor, Dole Plantation and looking for the Magnum P.I. house

Tuesday morning we had to set the alarm, because we were going to Pearl Harbor, and we had to be there at 7:45 am. I'm not sure how late we would have slept if we had not set the alarm. So, we were up at 6:00 am got ready, grabbed some breakfast to eat in the car, and we were out the door by 7:00 am. We got to Pearl Harbor right before 7:45. We had reserved tickets on-line a couple of months ahead of time, and our tour was set for 8:45.

We had plenty of time to look through the different museums and walk the grounds, before our scheduled time.

At 8:30, we got in line to go into the theater and watch the movie. After the movie, we got on the boat, and went across to the memorial.

 The one thing that surprised me the most, was how strong the smell of gas was. It was overpowering. The whole experience was really sobering. I'm really glad we went, and experienced this piece of American History. 




We were done around 10:00, so we decided to drive around the island a little bit.
One thing I really wanted to do was to drive the H-3.

 It was a gorgeous drive, and we ended up on the H-3 several times the rest of the week.  





While driving around, Andrew wanted to go find the "Robin's Nest". (The house from Magnum P.I.) So with the help of google, and a gps, we were able to find it. You can't see the house from the road, so we parked the car, and walked the beach, until we were behind the house. The beach was beautiful, and we were able to see Rabbit Island.


Of course there is a locked gate, and tons of trees, so we weren't really able to see anything, but Andrew was still happy that we found it.
Outside the gate of the "Robin's Nest"

The house






After that little adventure, we were ready for lunch, and it was still early, so we drove over to the Dole plantation.

This was one place we knew we wanted to go, but also knew we wouldn't spend a lot of time there. We at lunch at the little cafe, and then bought our tickets for the Pineapple express.

Red Pinapples


Riding the Pineapple Express

Field of Pineapples


After the train ride, it was time for a Dole Whip. (The real reason we wanted to go to the Dole Plantation!)




After our Dole Whip, we were ready to head back to the resort and spend some time at the pool.

Michael loved the pool and the Octopus splash pad.

(He is wearing a life jacket, because we were in the pool, and then went to play at the octopus. I did take it off of him shortly after I took these pictures.)
We were at the pool till after 6:00, and we noticed they were getting an area by the pool ready for a Member Mingle. We went and asked if there were any spaces available, and there were. So we ran up to the room, put some clothes on, and went back down for the Sunset Member Mingle. They had Beer, Wine, and POG and BBQ sliders, Crab cakes, and brownies. Everything was really good! We actually ate enough there, that we didn't need dinner. They also played trivia games, and gave out prizes. As soon as we sat down, they asked a trivia question, and I raised my hand first, and won the prize, a DVC Water bottle.
After the member mingle, Michael and Andrew went to get a movie, and we went back to the room, watched the movie, and then went to bed around 8:30. It had been a busy day, and we were all beat!

7 comments:

Brian said...

I love this trip report! We are going to Hawaii next year and will spend 4 nights at Aulani. Your son is adorable! We also adopted 2 of our 3 kiddos. :)

Nancy said...

Oops, I was signed in under my husband's log-in for that last comment. My name is not Brian, LOL.

Bill said...

Which night is the Member Mingle?

Katie said...

The member mingle was Tuesday night and Friday night. They also had a morning one on Momday at 8:00am

linda said...

This looked like a fun day, you saw a lot of neat things !

Katie said...

No problem! Your kids will love Aulani!

Katie said...

We were going all day long! But it was worth it to see everything!