It’s Always Good To Be Home!

Our Royal Aloha Vacation Club members are always asking, “Where do you go on vacation?” Well, to be honest, living in the Hawaiian Islands is kind of like being on vacation every day! But occasionally I’ll take the family on a trip to the mainland… We actually just returned from a trip on Wednesday.

My son Cody is a senior in high school so my wife and I took him to the East Coast for a “university tour.” First stop, New York City to look at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus. We spent three nights in NYC’s Financial District just to get a feel for the area. Talk about hustle and bustle… I’ve never seen so many people walking so fast, each with a different destination and purpose.

We took the New York subway system all over the city… Up Manhattan to Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (which is unbelievable), down to Battery Park where we visited Liberty Island and Ellis Island, over to Brooklyn for a coal-fired pizza at Grimaldi’s. Speaking of food, we tried everything from hotdogs on the street, giant pastrami sandwiches at Carnegie Deli, to the best steak in the world at Peter Luger’s Steakhouse.

We then jumped on a double-decker Mega Bus for the four-hour trip from New York to Boston to check out Harvard and Northeastern University. We stayed for four nights in the great city of Boston, walking the Freedom Trail to see Boston Harbor, Paul Revere’s house, Bunker Hill Monument and The Old North Church. We stopped by Faneuil Hall for lobster rolls and then headed up to the famous North End for a sumptuous dinner at La Familia Giorgio, topped off with fresh cannolis from Modern Pastry Bakery.

In one week we explored two great cities, three prestigious universities, and enough food to justify a serious diet!

What I love best about traveling is coming home. When I step off the airplane, the air smells of fresh flowers, the mountains are green and the ocean is bright blue.

Always, So Good To Be Home in Hawaii Nei!

Channing Bridges hosts the Tuesday morning breakfast briefings and Thursday evening Pau Hana reception at our Vacation Club in Waikiki.

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To all of our Royal Aloha Vacation Club members:

Watch your mailbox for information about this year’s Annual Meeting of Members to convene at 9:00 a.m. on May 12, 2012 at the Hilton Waikiki Beach Hotel.

At the meeting, two Member Directors will be elected, and Royal Aloha’s President Jack Corteway and Treasurer Stephen Lin will present their annual reports.

We have posted the entire Proxy Statement at www.ravc.com/membership-information/. Read about the nominees who are running for director so you’ll be ready to vote and send back your proxy to arrive at RAVC’s Corporate Office no later than Wednesday, May 9, 2012.

Better yet……if you’re planning to attend the Annual Meeting, we look forward to seeing you bright and early Saturday morning on May 12.

DIM SUM, ANYONE?

Royal Aloha’s manager at the Waikiki timeshare, Phylis Culver, loves going to Chinatown every weekend to eat “dim sum” at her favorite restaurant Won Kee. This longtime restaurant on Beretania Street offers ‘ono bite-sized morsels you’ll find mighty hard to resist. Small baskets of steamed and fried dumplings arrive on push carts faster than you can say jack rabbit! Don’t forget to try their noodles, buns and cakes – and consume all these savory delights with hot Chinese tea!

After lunch, stroll through the Chinese Cultural Plaza. Along the promenade is a statue of the famous political leader Sun Yat-Sen. Before you leave, poke around the shops and markets – you might find something very interesting!   

Don’t miss the Tuesday morning breakfast briefings and Thursday evening Pau Hana reception at our Vacation Club in Waikiki hosted by Channing Bridges.

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Royal Aloha Members, Get Ready!

This Monday, February 20, is the annual Great Aloha Run!

This 8.15-mile “run/walk” is a relatively flat course starting at Aloha Tower in Downtown Honolulu. Winding its way along historic Honolulu Harbor, down Nimitz Highway, Kamehameha Highway, it finishes on the floor of the Aloha Stadium at the back goal line of the north end zone.

It’s a surreal experience being in Downtown Honolulu at 5 a.m. with 20,000 other crazy people! Many have probably gotten their java rush at Starbucks or McDonalds. Others are trying to catch a few more winks on a soft concrete curb! Most are just busy gearing up for the run.

This President’s Day, join in this charity event with Hawaii residents, visitors and the “Sounds of Freedom” division of the United States Armed Forces. There will be sights and sounds along the way that only Hawaii can provide.

And truly an experience you will never forget!

Channing Bridges hosts the Tuesday morning breakfast briefings and Thursday evening Pau Hana reception at our Vacation Club in Waikiki.

Subscribe to our blog to get our weekly Aloha Friday tips.

Get Ready for Spain’s Annual Carnival Celebrations!

Spain is known for its carnivals and festivals. If you’re visiting Royal Aloha Spain in the month of February, ask Royal Aloha’s manager, John Griffin, about the carnivals throughout the Andalucia region.

The most famous is in Cadiz, which is about a three-hour drive from Malaga, and we hear it is the liveliest in Spain and really worth seeing. The festivities, which can last all week or longer, showcase elaborate costumes, singing contests, parades and fireworks. This carnival is a “fiesta of the people,” and visitors come from near and far.

Set aside a vacation day to join in the fun of this cultural celebration!