Day 2: Aloha Adventures [Oahu 2018]

Welcome to the daily recaps from our Oahu trip. Each post will include highlights of the day, followed by a summary by Melody (age 11), then photos (by Joyce (mom) and Norm (dad) with captions by Emily (age 9 (age 8 during the trip)). We will be sharing reviews to the places and restaurants we visited after the recaps are all done. Enjoy!

Day 1 – Wednesday, May 9

– Brunch at Ulu Cafe
– Check out and head north
– Check into Turtle Bay Resort
– Polynesian Cultural Center Guided Tour
– Ali’i Luau Buffet
– Hā: Breath of Life (show)

Summary by: Melody
Captions by: Emily
Extra comments (in italics) by: Joyce (mom)
Photos by: Joyce (mom) + Norm (dad)

Note: Some links in the post will direct you to our reviews of the places. Links to all related/previous posts are at the bottom of this post.

Today was a busy day and I saw Kapolei/Ewa exit. Also an Avocado Street. When we got to our hotel it was actually a cottage! Emily and I loved it at first sight. I think we loved it because it was bigger, but still, there were lots of comfy seats. And there was also a daybed and two other beds. The waves were so big and we saw a lot of surfers. We also had a hammock in the back. Also, I liked the guava juice. And outside there were more seats even though we didn’t really use them…

After we checked in, it was the time to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center. I first thought it would be not worth it but when we went I really must admit I had a great time. I learned so much from the experience. You could “go” to visit the different Polynesian islands. In the beginning, we got lei buddies and mine was Sue from New York.

So after that, we went to a bunch of different shows, including Kap’s interesting (Super laugh-filled) funny, hilariously funny, show in the Samoan village. Such a FUNNY show! And we went to a couple more, like the drum show in the Tongan village. The host picked three people from the crowd – “California,” “Japan,” and “New York.” They were very funny. California (who just got married 3 days ago) sang, “I want to move it move it. I want to groove it groove it.” Japan was funny too. And then the New Yorker wanted to leave the stage. They all received special leis for being a part of the show.

I hope I see our tour guides again because they were nice.

We went to a luau after that and it was good. There was a fourteen-year-old who did the Firenight dance. I was so amazed because well, I’m not thinking of playing with fire anytime soon, and he was spinning these sticks with big flames at the ends!

Emily went on stage after that along with others who were celebrating a May birthday.

We also saw a night show – Ha, Breath of Life. It was an amazing show with dancing, singing, and a story of a baby who grows up to learn the way of his family and then has his own family.

Then we went back to our hotel except it was like 10:30pm which is still like 1:30am to us.

Brunch at Ulu Cafe

It was a really yummy Ulu Cafe thing and the bacon was good. All the bacon in Oahu is good.

There were a lot of little birds that kept flying in and out of the area where we were eating. We named the birds at Ulu Cafe and it was pretty.

Check out and head north

The view from Aulani was really good because we were on the top floor.

This is us in the car. There were some construction things. Also, we played I Spy.

On these smaller roads, there are usually just two lanes, one going in one direction and another going in the other direction. So when one lane is being fixed, there will be some “traffic,” which still can’t compare to our Bay Area traffic.

Check into Turtle Bay Resort

We went to our beach cottage and it was really big.

There was a guitar with designs on it. Also, it said Turtle Bay on it.

We got a hammock in the backyard and it had a nice view of the ocean.

Polynesian Cultural Center Guided Tour

We took the Ambassadors’ visit, and our guides Sarah and Chad took us to this welcome sign. I’m almost certain we will be doing separate reviews for the places/activities/restaurants since any more details about these places will make them super long posts.

This is the scenery greenery view from when we went on our canoe ride.

The guy in this show was really funny.

The Canoe Pageant, which had dancing from all the islands, halfway through the guided tour was a nice break from the walking. They were dancing on the boat and three guys fell into the river.

Ali’i Luau Buffet

There was yummy food at the luau, and even yummier desserts!

The 14-year-old fire guy was impressive.

I got to go on stage for the May birthdays.

Hā: Breath of Life (Show)

This was a great show but they don’t let us take pictures during the show.

Related Posts: Oahu Trip 2018 Recap | Day 1

Have you been to Oahu before? What were some highlights from the trip? Do you have any travel tips?

Click on the link to view some more photos from DAY 2.