But anyway, we started out on Oahu this time. As usual, I'll just write about things that are new or notably different. The trip itself was fine, other than some turbulence towards the end of the flight. Matt threw up as well, which was probably related. That was a mess (literally), but otherwise things weren't too bad. When we arrived, only my dad and brother were on Oahu, with my mom and the rest of my brother's family scheduled to arrive the next day.

Anyway, Aquaventure is floating obstacle course of sorts. You've got balance beams, monkey bars, hills, climbing walls, slides, and more all on the water. If you're careful and have good balance, you can stay fairly dry but, of course, one slip will send you into the ocean. That said, swimming can be fun too. The course is fairly large and there's a smaller version for little kids as well. Isaac and Zack were old enough for the main course, however, and myself and several others switched back and forth playing around on the course and keeping an eye on them. It was a lot of fun and we ended up spending more time there than any of us has expected. Unfortunately, due to the whole water aspect, we didn't really get any good photos. I should also note that, while we spent the entire time on the Aquaventure course, they also have paddle boards, jet skis, and the like for rent. If we come back again next year, I would definitely be up for a return visit.

The Aulani is Disney's Hawaiian resort hotel and it's right on the picturesque Ko'olina lagoons. I've been to the lagoons plenty of times, and peeked into the Aulani, but never actually stayed there before. During my time in Florida, I came to expect a certain level of quality from Disney and the Aulani certainly doesn't disappoint in that regard. Our rooms were really nice (easily in the top five hotels I've ever stayed in) but the centerpiece of the hotel is the pool area. Tucked away amidst the trees and rocks are a number of different pools and hot tubs, along with a large lazy river, a splash pad, water play area, and a couple surprisingly good slides. Short of something like Great Wolf Lodge with its entire indoor water park, Aulani easily has the nicest pool of any hotel I've stayed at (and Aulani effortlessly beats Great Wolf it in regards to ambiance and relaxation).

Despite being a Disney resort, the Disney branding isn't really in your face. In fact, if you ignore the occasional character meet and greets, it's fairly subtle. Though, like most Disney experiences these days, it's also pretty expensive. On the bright side, aside from the pool there's a number of other facilities and activities available (some free, some not). The kids especially enjoyed the kids club (and it gave the rest of us a bit of a break). Keep in mind though that some of that stuff has limited slots so it's best to reserve in advance.

Since we were spending a lot, we wanted to take advantage of what the hotel had to offer so we spent a pretty significant amount of our time there at the pools. Other than that, it was mostly walking along the lagoons and such. Over all, it was fun and relatively relaxing (considering how many kids we had). Connie and I did go to a Luau one night, but I'll give that a separate entry. On Friday, after a last morning at the pool, my group plus my mom headed back to the condo in Honolulu to start the next part of our vacation while my dad and my brother's family caught a flight to Maui.

Paradise Cove is one of Oahu's older luaus and, being right on the beach, it probably has the best setting of any on the island. Certainly a nice spot to watch the sunset. Before the luau starts you can wander around some shops, get drinks, and try out some ancient Hawaiian sports (like spear throwing). There's also a few short shows such as palm tree climbing and, of course, removing the pig from the ground. Nothing I hadn't seen before, but all nice enough. One interesting element was how they handled drinks. Most of the luaus I've been to include a set amount of free drinks (typically one or two). Except for Drums of the Pacific on Maui, which was unlimited. Paradise Cove, however, gives everyone a pre-loaded cash card. There's enough money on it for a two or three regular drinks (or the majority of a big fancy one in a special glass) but, if drinks don't interest you, you can also use it in the souvenir store, which is a nice option. Connie and my dad didn't want their cards so I get a few things for the kids and still had enough left over for that afore mentioned big fancy drink. I don't actually like alcohol, but if it's fruity enough that balances it out. Plus I got a souvenir cup.

Eventually it was time for food and the main shows. The buffet had your typical Hawaiian type foods that I expected to see, but nothing beyond that and the food itself was just ok. Honestly, of all the luaus I've been to, Paradise Cove's food ranked dead last, which was rather disappointing. The show was good, though nothing too creative. You had a mix of hula and various other Polynesian dances with a fire dance to wrap things up. All good and enjoyable, but nothing I hadn't seen before (or better).

Over all, we enjoyed ourselves. Paradise Cove certainly isn't a bad luau option, especially if you're in the Ko'olina area. Though there are other options on Oahu that have it beat in regards to the food and show (if not the setting), and Drums of the Pacific on Maui is notably better pretty much all around.

When all is said and done, this was our shortest Hawaii trip. It was probably also the simplest and least ambitious in terms of sightseeing and such. But with Matt's current age, that was probably a good thing. It was still a nice trip over all. Not exactly an definitive cap if this ends up being our last Hawaii visit for a while, but an enjoyable and relaxing time (or at least as relaxing as it could be with a toddler). And for next winter... Well, we'll see. No matter what happens, I'm sure we'll return to Hawaii sooner or later.