All of the family decided that they wanted to go to Waikiki Beach to start our day. Ed has always wanted to surf at Waikiki so this was that special opportunity. Everyone loves beach time, so off we went! We parked near the Duke Paoa Kahanamoku statue who was the Father of International Surfing. He makes a great photo companion to our surfers!
Lots of family fun on the beach at Waikiki ... sand and surf!
And Ruby's Long Beach summer Surf Camp really worked ... look at her up and surfing on that board!
Looking out over the surf we can see the Arizona - Pearl Harbor Memorial. We had visited the memorial during our 2015 Hawaiian Cruise --- both of the kid's families had visited on previous Oahu stays. So many mixed memories come flooding back when the memorial is spotted.
Leaving Waikiki, we stopped at The Disney Aulani Resort to look around and take in a little of the magic which Disney brings to all of their locations. We parked off of the property and took-in the fabulous Hawaiian views during our walk to The Aulani Resort.
Inside the resort, the lobby is colorful with a mural strip surrounding the peaked ceiling roof and glass windows. The resort is definitely more Hawaiian décor than Disney. Spectacular to take in.
The gift shop is loaded with traditional Disney for all souvenirs that could be wanted. It was good to see the characters that we all have grown to love from all of the animated films. Most have Hawaiian flair in dress or something. It was great to look around. Outside are the guest towers, lazy river for tubing, pools, waterfalls and Disney's own sand beach.
It was great fun to see this Disney touch in Hawaii. With the Christmas Holidays just around the corner, it seems this photo from the Aulani Gift Shop is a proper way to say "So Long" for this trip!
Our next stop was on the shoreline to see the Halona Blow hole and next to it, the Cove Beach. It was an interesting drive on the curvy highway to get to the blowhole. As the waves forcibly come into the rock structures, it does resemble a whale spouting water. We saw another when in Encinitas Mexico at the end of our Hawaiian cruise in 2015. Quite a few folks were on the beach at the Cove too.
We returned to our Owen's Resort to catch-up from the day and clean-up for our family celebration dinner for Kendall's college graduation. Auntie Carrie had recommended The Beach House in Hale'iwa on the North Shore. We wanted this to be a special meal at a great place to say "Congratulations Kendall, job well done!" The Beach House Restaurant was absolutely perfect for our celebration.
All the pictures are in the photo album - link here.
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