Check out at Honua Kai was at 10 so we decided to take our time that morning and get a last load of laundry done before packing.
I had a maca ball with a macadamia nut milk latte (!!!) from the hotel’s cafe after an hour on the elliptical (watching bravo crap on tv per usual).
Kyle took the kids for a last hurrah at the pool while I packed us up and then we were off to adventure the afternoon away until the Marriott was ready for us to check in.
Sometimes empty bottles and sea shells are all kids need for entertainment…
We had a few errands to do (new rash guards for the kids and sunglasses for me), but eventually we made our way to a park to have a little picnic lunch.
And then we totally lucked out because the Marriott called us and said our room was ready early! Hoorayyyy!
Let me tell you, naps were SOOO necessary at that point.
They went down in a snap. And as you can see above, this time around at the Marriott we have more bed options so they don’t have to share (although we still have to stagger when they go to bed).
By 4:30 they were still asleep and we didn’t want to get too out of whack with bedtimes so we (gasp!) woke them up!! EEK!
They were so groggy but I was really loving the snuggles I got while they were still half asleep.
They perked up pretty quickly though.
We took a quick trip to the store for grocery essentials (I let us run out prior to switching hotels so we wouldn’t have to schlep things that needed refrigeration since we’d be without a room for several hours) like yogurt and cheese for P’s dairy doses and kiddo breakfast fare.
After that it was off to the pool (we had promised them pool time before dinner).
And then, finally, a stroll to dinner at Hula Grill (again) in Whaler’s Village.
This view is breathtaking, even if you’ve seen it over and over. Do you think people who live in Hawaii ever stop admiring this beauty??
Anyway, this time we had a reservation at Hula Grill so we didn’t have to wait. Phew! I wasn’t super keen on returning because the food was overpriced and not really anything special. My mac nut crusted mahi mahi dish was fine but not spectacular. Kyle, however, thought his snapper dish was one of the best he’d had on vacation so I decided to give the place another shot.
Crazy kids were chanting “aloha aloha aloha” to everyone who walked by. While shoveling focaccia in their mouths. Oof with the manners. SMH.
I thought I’d switch things up and get a salad and side dish instead of a fish entree, but the kale salad was small and pretty lame. I asked for extra dressing and then properly massaged it myself (since it arrived basically raw). The conical bowl is deceiving. It was no more than ten bites. As for the squash side dish..oh man. I was so excited because the menu said “imu roasted squash – herb glazed, macadamia nut romesco” and I’d seen kabocha squash all over the markets and other menus, but what showed up was five sad pieces of zucchini. The romesco was good but that’s about the only nice thing I can say about my order.
Kyle’s chicken, on the other hand, looked stellar and he gave it two thumbs up, especially the cornbread underneath. He clearly knows how to order at Hula Grill better than I.
The good news is that I had plenty of room to dessert on these new purchases.
THIS STUFF IS PURE CRACK.
