This was our third trip to the Aulani Disney Resort & Spa on Oahu, and there are very few things we’ve yet to check off the salty, sandy, Dole Whip-filled to-do list.

Drink piña coladas out of pinneapples: yup. Sunset dinner at ‘Ama ‘Ama: at least a couple times each visit. Watch Mark get harassed by Goofy-in-Hawaiian-swim-trunks: yes (and it’s pretty glorious every time). Snorkel in Aulani’s Rainbow Reef: just once, but it’s not worth a repeat. Enjoy the kid-pee-free tranquility of the adult-only hot tubs: always. Spend way too much dough on entirely unnecessary (but very necessary) Disney x Aloha souvenirs: guilty. Makahiki breakfast buffet, complete with all your fav Disney characters in Tommy Bahama garb: legit the best.

A lot of people have asked if Aulani is worth the cost. Short answer: yes. IMHO, anyway.

This is my pretending-to-be-zen face, right after accidentally drowning my phone at Hanauma Bay. I lost most of our vacation pics because of it, so this only represents 1.5 days worth of the 5 days we enjoyed this go-round at Aulani. It was still great, just injected with a bit more technology related regret. Live and learn.

The trip home was filled with major sads. Goodbye, Hawaii.

American Airlines is celebrating the start of a new non-stop leg to New Zealand, so they have all of the Lord of the Rings movies stocked on their in-flight entertainment system. It made me so happy, you don’t even know.

It was a splendid vaca, the kind that make you wish you could figure out an easy way to move your entire livelihood to a tropical island. Where, in the words of the wise philosopher, Sebastian — they “got no troubles and life is the bubbles,” under next to the sea.

xx.