At Long Last, My Native Land, Revisited

Approximately 14 years ago Jason and I took our first real vacation as a married couple (other than our Honeymoon of course).  We had only been married about 6 months when we ventured over the waters of the Pacific to the Islands of Hawaii.  Okay, so we only visited Oahu, the bustling city of Honolulu to be more specific, but immediately upon our arrival I knew I had arrived home to my native land.  During this trip I learned to love the unique combination of warm water, sandy beach, and 80 degree weather found only in the tropics.

Upon our return 14 years ago, I began to and continue to refer to Hawaii as my native land regardless of the fact that I actually have no ties to the islands other than my one-time visit to the Islands for one week.  For 14 years Jason and I would discuss our return to Hawaii but of course time continued on and almost a decade and a half passed before we knew it.  That brings us to today where I am happy to report our recent return from my native land of Hawaii. 

On this visit we towed along 2 kids and 2 grandma's and once again set foot on Oahu.  Our travels took us to Ko'Olina, a resort town on the west side of Oahu where we found our home base, Aulani.  Aulani is a Disney Vacation Club Resort (DVC) that opened approximately 1 year ago.  As members we were able to utilize our vacation points to stay at this magnificent resort for a week.  We were fortunate enough to buy into DVC around 2 years ago.  This particular time-share made sense for our family given the frequency of our visits to Disney over the years.  Our DVC points can be used to stay at non-DVC resorts as well, giving us the flexibility we need for trips other than Disney, which is a shocking concept I know, but occasionally one does need to leave the Disney bubble and venture out into the real world. 

The beauty of Aulani made it hard to leave the resort for an hour, much less at the end of our trip.  Over the next couple of posts I plan to outline the food, activities and events my Ohana experienced on this tropical vacation; however, here are a couple of photos of Aulani to wet your whistle.

 

 

Tonight's post is about simply celebrating our family's return to Hawaii.  I have always felt there is something inherently restorative in sitting by the ocean and watching the waves hit the shore.  I have returned to the main land restored by the beauty and power of the ocean, dreaming and planning the next trip my family will take to my native land.