Aloha, Hawaii! - Part II

For the rest of our trip, we spent a lot of time on the beach, walked further into Waikiki to shop and eat, and watched the Hilton luau from our room and up close. Hansel did take the kids to the pool with the water slides once, but they liked the beach more.

Mathis getting down and dirty. For some reason, we didn't dress him in swimwear that day.

Hansel went out alone one morning and took some photos. Below is my favorite.

 Below the kids are doing one of their favorite activities with their grandma -- collecting seashells.

Below are shots from Hansel's "photo shoot" with the kids. It was during one of Mathis' naps.

We went to the International Marketplace twice -- to get a gift for Winnie and Dave's new baby and to get souvenirs for the kids compliments of Hansel's mom. Maile got a dancing hula girl and Beck a pullback train. Not exactly a Hawaiian souvenir, but the kid's got to have his train. Hansel and Hansel's mom and the kids also made it to Hilo Hattie not to buy stuff but to ride the free trolley.

Our suite was next to a convention center, and on the roof of the center is where they had the Hilton Starlight luau. Every evening the kids, mostly Maile, would watch some of the luau. We planned to go to the luau but only after sitting in on a sales pitch, where we'd get 2 free tickets for the luau. We didn't sign up for the pitch just for the tickets, we actually wanted to check out the Grand Waikikian, the newest timeshare tower there. It was nicer but not fabulous. The upgrades seemed a little chintzy. The "wood" floors were some kind of resin material, the appliances were black not stainless steel, and the cabinets, even though they were wood vs laminate, looked like something you could pull off the shelf at Home Depot (not that I'm knocking HD, I shop there). The bedrooms and bathrooms were nicer, but the living space was smaller. And for us a bigger living area is more important. Below are some shots from our suite and around the Hilton village.

 There are no seat cushions on the couch because we were using them as a bed for one of the kids.

Yes, the village had penguins. Not sure what they were looking at.

So, we finally made it to the luau the night before we left. Unfortunately, both Beck and Mathis did not nap that afternoon, so they were very cranky. The show was entertaining and the food was decent. And there were some pre-show activities, like getting Sharpie tattoos and playing with Hawaiian instruments.

Last but not least we met up with Roger one night while Hansel's mom stayed back with the kids. Our first time seeing him with a shaved head. I was the odd person out next to Rog and Hansel. Unfortunately, no photo of the two baldies.

It was a great trip. And now that we know the kids' spring breaks fall during the slow period, it'll probably become an annual trip.