On our last day in Hawaii we had some BIG plans 😉 Just kidding…it was pretty much just another relaxing day in paradise!
We kicked off the morning with laying out by the pool at the resort which I LOVED. I’m a pool girl. I enjoy the beach but am pretty diva-ish about it and without a beach chair I wasn’t feeling it. The pool was SO PERFECT. Beautiful breeze, beautiful weather, beautiful view. Perfection!
More reading! And it was nice and early so NO ONE was there!
Hottie
Terrible of me but too good of him not to post 😉
My #1 mission for the trip was Aulani. Zach’s was surfing. He surfed for the first time ever when we visited back in 2014 and LOVED IT. We were able to find private lessons for an awesome deal from Groupon not too far from the resort and it worked out awesome. He had a great instructor who was super funny and he had a BLAST. A full hour of surfing with just him and the instructor!
Going out!
I felt bad I didn’t have my legit camera to get good pics but I knew last time we had AWESOME ones of him and we did a go pro with pics from his surfing in Cocoa Beach. So I didn’t let the guilt make me feel too bad. He was so far out that I couldn’t even see him most of the time BUT I had a BEACH CHAIR whoop whoop that the surf school let me borrow so I was totally content to just relax and people watch for the hour. During that time I also heard from Mama E that her due date was changed so I was busy thinking about all of that and thankful we did go on the Hawaii trip now that we wouldn’t have a baby until possibly mid-December!
He loved it! And, shocker, he got up a ton and was awesome at it 😉
Had to get a random stranger to take a pic of us with DUKE!
Same Duke, but 15 years ago!
And hello why am I wearing JEANS?!?! It was SUMMER.
Surf School Shop! Highly recommend!
Life when traveling…trying to find places to eat and figure out where we are 😉
Lifeguard stand…and awkward person changing clothing
Diamond Head
We ended up deciding to just go back to the resort and to get some food there. We lucked out BIG TIME and saw this food truck parked within walking distance of the resort. We’ve both always wanted to try food truck food but haven’t ever had the opportunity. A first for us both and OMG it didn’t disappoint!!!
On our way to the food truck we passed a wedding!
While waiting to order I glanced over and it just was a moment. Where it hit me that THIS was my view. It was an overwhelming feeling of just such gratitude for such an incredible opportunity to visit such an amazing place. I soaked it all in and just appreciated how blessed I am!
Ordering!
Probably one of my favorite moments from the trip. It’s always the unplanned, simple moments that seem to stick with you the most!
Treat!
The shrimp was good but OH MY GOODNESS the fries were AMAZING
We hung by the pool again for the afternoon. This time we weren’t as lucky regarding the crowds. Aflac people are all LOUD haha Think about it…a ton of salespeople together! Zach doesn’t like a lot of people (he’s very much an introverted extrovert) while I don’t mind some mingling (I’m an extrovert fo sho).
He knows we are duck people 😉
We stayed for a bit then went to the room to get ready for our last dinner in Hawaii. And it was a fancy one! We don’t often treat ourselves to fancy meals. Food isn’t really my thing but it is Zach’s and I’m totally about dressing up and taking in some great atmosphere! We planned our last night to be a special date night and it was the perfect way to end an awesome time together!
Stud Status 😉
Dress from Amazon it’s AWESOME material that is super flattering!
Birthday Lei!
Salad prepared at our table! Our server was also SO awesome!!!
Zach’s stake!
Our server was like my instant BFF b/c he kept offering to take pics of us. DUH totally made my NIGHT.
It was probably one of the most upscale places we’ve ever eaten and we both loved it. It was BEAUTIFUL and the service was impeccable and the food was delicious. It seriously couldn’t have been a more perfect meal!
Free birthday dessert!
And chocolates
AND they took a picture of us and printed it off for me. So. Awesome.
Great night to end a great trip together 🙂
Zach found all kinds of good tokens to remember the trip by but I struggled. I got my sandals but that was it! I decided to get a special Starbucks pineapple cup that is only sold in Hawaii. I love stuff that you can only buy at destinations and, duh, pineapples are my jam so it was a great fit for me!
More “Moana” and I totally want a dang quilt!
We stayed in the “Tapa Tower” so I thought this was neat to know what Tapa is!
We headed to the airport early the next morning to make sure we had plenty of time. I think part of my lack of itch to get home was also about the return FLIGHT. Whew it was a BEAST. We left our hotel at 7 am Hawaii time and didn’t arrive in Valdosta until 11:30 AM THE NEXT DAY. Yeah. I wasn’t pumped.
Saying goodbye to Hawaii!
We did a lot of “shakas” on the trip but the thing I wanted to talk home with me the most was the whole “aloha/mahalo” thing. I LOVE it. They say it CONSTANTLY (and they call everyone “cousin” too but I don’t love that as much). I tried to keep it going but it just wasn’t appreciated on the mainland 😉
View of the rain from the plane!
Even though the overnight situation was rough it was a better flight situation. The flight from Hawaii to LA we had window seats and the flight from LA to Atlanta Zach got an exit row so he was much more comfortable!
In LA…where everyone kept double taking when they passed Zach b/c they thought he might be a celeb 😉
Landed in Atlanta at 5:30ish Atlanta time. We were EXHAUSTED as that was 11 pm Hawaii time the night prior. Whew. We tried to sleep in the airport. It was really a night of good practice for a newborn baby b/c we probably got just about that much sleep ha!
So thankful for the opportunity to travel the way we do and to reconnect as a couple!
But we’re also always so, so glad to be home to our babies!
They loved all their Hawaiian goodies!
Aflac actually ended their contact with Hilton Hawaiian Village this year. I’m so interested to see IF Aflac will return to Hawaii (I feel sure they will b/c it’s always a HUGE year for them since so many agents hardcore wanna qualify!) and if they do where we will get to stay!
Next years trip is San Fransisco! It was funny because people were complaining about it and when we were sent a survey of places we’d like to go San Fran is actually where Zach and I said we’d like to visit! When we did our Cali trip last year we intentionally didn’t visit San Fransisco in hopes that Aflac would take us there. We LOVED Cali and would LOVE to go back! Hoping Zach can qualify!
My work has been featured on Love What Matters, Today Parenting and Babywise.Life. I'm also honored to be a member of the Babywise Friendly Blog Network.
You can read more about our family on my About Me page. Also be sure to follow along with me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!
- What I’m Gifting My Family: 2024 - November 21, 2024
- Effective Parenting Tips to Discipline a 5 Year Old Child - September 24, 2024
- Happy 9th Birthday to My Daughter – Letter to Tess from Mom - August 26, 2024