So when you think that the flight from Anchorage to Honolulu is just over 6 hours, plus the extra hour or two you get to the airport prior to a flight, plus the check in, baggage pick up, and taxi times that’s another two hours. We left Thursday afternoon and returned early Monday morning. That gives us about 56 hours total vacation minus 18 hours of travel time, thus we had about 48 hours on the ground in Hawaii. Which doesn’t sound like much but was actually very worth it! We had a blast!
Here’s our luggage situation. Again since we were flying Alaska Airlines, Ty wants us to check one bag each. That way in case they exceed their 20 minute luggage rule, we can get an extra 3,000 miles. It’s seems piddly but we’ve done this enough where we’ve racked up a large quantity of miles this way.
Happy to be leaving this cold grey weather. Also we stopped into the Alaska lounge after security. The kids love to get a steamer, we usually try and stock up on some snacks, an adult beverage is also a nice option! We love our Priority Pass, and use it most every chance we can! It may seem silly to duck into the lounges for just 10 minutes prior to a flight but to use a clean bathroom, grab a drink or snack, and get away from the crowds is worth it every time.
Love my kids that can sleep on planes. I still haven’t figured that skill out.
Since we were taking 4 suitcases, small ones but still we were going to be somewhere warm for only 48 hours. We didn’t need many clothes. We allowed the kids to pretty much pack their own suitcases. I gave them their packing cubes with their clothes in them and said, fill up the rest how you’d like. They went crazy!! We’re always so controlled with our suitcases, weight, size and such. It was fun to allow them this little freedom. L I think packed mostly hot wheels. R brought her Leah doll, along with outfits, and bedding for her.
Walking to the grocery store in the morning. Leah joined us on this walk. This was her only time leaving the hotel I think!
Also R apparently packed a dress up dress to wear since that’s actually an old dress of mine. 😆
Since the last time we stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki was less than thrilling. Too many people, too cold of pools, too spread out. We reviewed the map prior to this trip and decided to try the beach area first, hopefully we’d find less people. Then Ty staked out a smaller pool we didn’t even know was there, which would hopefully be less crowded and in full sun.
The beach was a fantastic idea! Since our kids wake up about 7am no matter where we are. We had our breakfast walk, played in the hotel a bit, and then made it down to the beach by 9am. Which was practically empty. We found ourselves a great little spot by the cove and started building a giant sandcastle. After a while a little girl about R’s age came over and started playing with the kids. Turns out she was 6 and her brother was 8. They were soon digging and playing with R and L, like best friends. We then started chatting with the mom, she was from Colorado, there on Spring Break with her kids. Her husband was busy commercial fishing in Alaska. Such a small world! She and her kids were delightful. The kids entertained each other wonderfully, and us adults just got to sit back on the beach and relax for the most part. We left just after noon, agreeing to meet back up again the next day.
Since R had earned her 3rd Sprachmeister flag, for speaking German non-stop in her class for 10 days, we celebrated with ice cream! This place is so over the top yummy! But I recommend against the dipped cone, it’s just too much sweet.
We then rinsed off the ice cream by checking out the secret pool. It was in a separate tower from our own. You actually needed a key to get into the pool but we just walked in behind some other people. It was definitely less crowded but quite small. The kids happily played between the pool and the hot tub for quite a while.
Around 5 o’clock I realized we needed to get moving, if we were going out for dinner. These kids were going to crash soon. So we hustled to get changed and we walked down the street to an indian restaurant we’d found on our last trip. The kids started melting down soon after we arrived. We entertained them as best we could but it was a bit of mess. I left Ty with the bill and hustled the kids out as soon as everyone had eaten at least some food. I had to carry L back to the hotel, while poor R was just as exhausted. I think when Ty caught up with us he carried her too.
It was a long day but totally worth it and so much fun!
