Aulani Waves and Disneyland Days: An Ohana Adventure - Day 7 If it’s good enough for Obama

[bambikate]

Introduction and Index

Day 7 - If it’s good enough for Obama
Malasadas from Leonards Bakery, Kailua Beach, Island Snow Shave Ice, Honolulu Kitchen again, resort shopping, dinner at the Olelo Room, evening swimming and lazy river.

We were up and dressed around 8am. Today, we were visiting Kailua and Lanikai beach followed by some more relaxation time at our resort.



We all donned our Leis / kukui nut necklaces and set off for the day.



After some mooching in the lobby and some photos we finally set off in our car at about 8:30am.









For breakfast we really wanted to try Leonard’s Bakery Hot Malasadas after hearing so much about them. There are quite a few locations but we went for one of the mobile vans as it fitted best with our route that day. They have lots of different fillings and these change daily. That day, they had original (sugar), cinnamon, Li Hing, custard, Dobash (chocolate) and Haupia (coconut). We bought a selection of 6 and took them with us so we could have them on the beach!





We drove East through the Tetsuo Harano Tunnel again but this time went slightly South to Kailua.



This part of the island was absolutely stunning. Parking near the beach is very limited and we drove round a few times until we found some roadside parking.

There was a small walkway from the residential area that took you down to the beach, These houses that back on to the beach were just… wow.




Lanikai was hands down the prettiest beach we had seen. Perfect sand, stunning views, not too crowded and the sea wasn’t too rough. We could definitely see ourselves staying near here and spending a day here if we came back.



We had our manapuas - they were really good



We paddled, relaxed and took photos for a while and just took in the beautiful scenery.













Off we go!



Next, we wanted some authentic shave ice after not getting to try Matsumoto the other day. Just around the corner was Island Snow a cute shave ice store who not only offer the classic flavours (with colouring and artificial flavours like they all have) but also the option to have all-natural flavours. They sounded really good so decided to try those - we chose passionfruit, guava and mango again so we could compare.



The ice was powdery and fluffy with no ice crystals - the texture was perfect. We also opted to have little mochis added to it as an extra.



Island Snow’s claim to fame (as displayed in a framed photo in their store) is that Obama has frequented their store and bought shave ice and it’s reportedly his favourite shave ice!



Well, he’s got great taste because it was PERFECT! We only bought one to share but wish we had bought two or one each and it was so good.

[bambikate]

Obviously, the Aulani one has to be done whilst staying there and it has ears but there was truly no comparison - we would (genuinely) give Island Snow (natural flavours) a 10/10 compared to Aulani’s 5/10. (The Aulani one kind of reminded us of the kakigori at the Japan pavilion in Epcot in terms of the texture.

Found this beautiful flower on the floor by our car



After our delicious stop, we drove back towards the gorgeous mountains and back towards the West Coast of the island.




We were going to get some lunch at Aulani but the girls suggested we go back to Honolulu Kitchen instead and we thought that was a great idea and re routed our sat nav to take us there instead.

We said Hi to Unko Steve again and ordered some of the same and some different Manapua and pork hash and took it back to the resort. He also gave us some free fried dumplings to try whilst we waited and the man at the boba shop (also inside) gave us a sample of watermelon juice to try too.





On the way back, we also made a quick stop to Target to return Immy’s swimming costume that had faded a day after wearing it and to pick up some US goodies such as Crest White Strips and a US exclusive colour Stanley cup!

We chilled for a bit back at the hotel, then got changed for the pools. Before going in we wanted to do some pin trading and have a browse around the shops: Kālepa’s Store (Kālepa is Hawaiian for “merchant”) and Hale Manu (the high end store with Tommy Bahama and Pandora etc). There was a huge selection of merchandise to choose from - some were OK value and some was crazy expensive





Spirit jerseys



































This Olu print





I liked these light up leis









They also had a small fridge / freezer section







And groceries



I loved these maps in the lobby on the way to the lifts.









[bambikate]

We noticed that Angel was meeting in a few minutes when we checked our app so we headed down to the meeting area and had some pictures - she’s so adorable!

After some pool time, we were getting a bit hungry so got dressed for dinner and decided we would like to go back to The Olelo Room!



We ordered some cocktails - Andy got the “True Blue Hawaii” (Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Old Lahaina Silver Rum, Bols Blue Curaçao, Pineapple Juice and House-Made Sweet-and-Sour) and I chose the Lii Hing Rita (Sauza Tequila, Triple Sec, House-Made Sweet-and-Sour with a Li Hing Powder Rim) and for the girls, we asked if they could have POG juice (it wasn’t on the menu) and she said “yeah of course!” This ended up being free refills so the girls were over the moon!

It was a bit earlier than we went last time and it was a bit lighter. We got 3 portions of sliders, the karaage chicken and the secret menu “Bang Bang” fries (a bowl of fries topped with a spicy soy aïoli, kabayaki sauce, green onion, and furikake.) and shared it all. There was some live entertainment again which made for a very relaxing time.





Inside the Olelo room




When our food went down, we changed and headed back to the pools for the evening.

We floated around the lazy river for absolutely ages until it closed (it closed before the pools) and then hung round at the Ka Make Grotto pool swimming and relaxing poolside and snacking on our macadamia nuts from earlier in the trip.

[mintybadger]

Loving this trippie Bambi Kate! Drinking coffee, planning an imaginary trip to Hawaii, whilst I’m supposed to be working!

[dismamx2]

Your beach photos are lovely 🥰

Thank you so much for all the pics of the resort shop 😍 I've my eye on a nice Spirit Jersey and some ears 😀

The Olelo room looks lovely again and what a nice chill evening you've all had.

Thanks again for sharing x

[smithlane]

Lanikai beach looks idyllic! The shaved ice looks great too, I’ve noted down Island Snow. How cool that Obama visited?
Did you just park on the road to visit the beach?
Another lovely evening in the pool and lazy river again 😊

[Pep]

You got some lovely family photos on the beach on this day.
The resort looks really beautiful at night time too.

[Wonder]

I feel like we need to see the Stanley!

Another lovely looking day, the photographs while driving are just beautiful, and the beach was just like something out of Moana!

[bambikate]

Originally Posted by mintybadger

Loving this trippie Bambi Kate! Drinking coffee, planning an imaginary trip to Hawaii, whilst I’m supposed to be working!

See more...

Ahh thank you so much Hope the imaginary planning is going well - haha TFR

Originally Posted by dismamx2

Your beach photos are lovely 🥰

Thank you so much for all the pics of the resort shop 😍 I've my eye on a nice Spirit Jersey and some ears 😀

The Olelo room looks lovely again and what a nice chill evening you've all had.

Thanks again for sharing x

See more...

Aww thank you so much! So glad the photos were helpful I must have looked like a crazy person taking multiple photos all around the shop haha! Love love love the Olelo room TFR!

Originally Posted by smithlane

Lanikai beach looks idyllic! The shaved ice looks great too, I’ve noted down Island Snow. How cool that Obama visited?
Did you just park on the road to visit the beach?
Another lovely evening in the pool and lazy river again 😊

See more...

Ahh it was the most perfect beach ever! You'll love Island Snow it was delicious! Yes we did - we double checked and the bit we parked out allowed that - super handy! Thank you for reading x

Originally Posted by Pep

You got some lovely family photos on the beach on this day.
The resort looks really beautiful at night time too.

See more...

Ahh thank you - so happy with them. It's a gorgeous resort at night it's designed so well. TFR!

Originally Posted by Wonder

I feel like we need to see the Stanley!

Another lovely looking day, the photographs while driving are just beautiful, and the beach was just like something out of Moana!

See more...

Hahaha I'm not sure I took a photo - I think you might be able to see it in the packed case on one of the next days! Ahh thank you! The island is so beautiful TFR!