Day No. 19 & 20 on O'ahu

"Travel is not reward for working, it's education for living."

~Anthony Bourdain 

Aloha, my friends! Meanwhile it's Thursday and I have to catch up again with my post about yesterday. Still thinking about how to start I feel my eyes getting wet a tiny bit because yesterday was a very very special day for me. Even when it was exactly 4 weeks before my next birthday it felt like Birthday and Christmas rolled into one. Thus I will use all my carfulness to put this experience in adequate words.😌 Please also take my apologies that this will be quite a long text. While reading you'll understand why.🙏

Let's talk about good resolutions and how to ignor them. Didn't I wanted to plan our last days here more carefully? Oh boy, I screwed it!😩 But that's how life works and sometimes failures or mistakes can lead to something really beautiful and amazing.💗 Oh my ... I'm truly getting emotional thinking about yesterday. You remember that we went to the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort to watch the filming of Hawaii Five-0? Today the filming was supposed to continue until 3 pm. Quite early we had been on the road heading again to Honolulu / Waikiki and entered the hotel area around 10 am from the beach side. But on the beach was nothing to see of filmings. Therefore we went back to the entrance area and got a nice large cappuccino at Starbucks there. The Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort is also quite big and we took the oportunity to have a look around. And then there were a few policemen and members of the film crew and a lot of technical equipment. I didn't hesitate to ask if the filming was still going on. One of the filming crew told me that they were filming on the 4th floor and that we today wouldn't have any chance to watch them working. I thanked him, turned away and a bit demotivated we sat down a few steps away in a pair of comfortable armchairs.😔

We enjoyed our cappuccino and wondered what we would do next. In the middle of the bustle of the hotel around us I noticed a young man with a bag standing next to us. Shortly thereafter he left and a few minutes later he was back again. I glimpst in his bag and saw pictures of the cast which made me ask him if we might be there for the same reason: Hawaii Five-0.😉 Without any doubt it was for the same reason. He was a Local and as we started to talk it turned out that he had someone within the crew giving him hints about the status of the filming. If he wouldn't have showed up we would have left the hotel already but as he told me that they were going to finish work shortly we stayed of course. I remembered the words of my good friend Shell, she likes to use on such an occasion: It's not about what you know, it's about who you know! 😃 

After a while, Meaghan Rath and Katrina Law got out of the elevator, just opposite our place, and walked past us. I guess I stood there with my mouth open and watched them pass by. That guy with the bag headed behind them to ask for their autographs. He returned shortly with a big smile on his face. A few minutes later Chi McBride came out of that lift and I still was to shy to do anything. I only watched him walking out. This was my ever very first time seeing popular actors right in front of me and I had no idea how to react. Thanks to the guy with the bag we knew that Jay Hernandez, Perdita Weeks, Beulah Koale AND Alex O'Loughlin were still upstairs.😊 So how would I react when especially the last named actor would show up?

And then something truly touching and remarkable happend. The doors of the elevator opened again and a guy with a backpack and a baseball cap on his head appeared and headed straight for us with a big grin. "Oh hi! What are you guys doing here? I'm working here but what about you?" It was Steve from Trident Adventures we made that fantastic tour on Saturday with! He hugged us and I couldn't restist to ask if he really couldn't imagine why we were standing right there.😇 No further words were needed.  He smiled brightly and said he would look who he could send us down, then he turned and walked back to the lift. My honey and I looked at each other in surprise because we didn't expected to meet Steve. And again I thought on Shell's words. Hun, you should have noticed that you were with me at that moment!😉 The excitement within me grew and I knew that I now had to overcome my shyness. 

Many of you already know for a while that my trip to Hawai'i is not only because I love the ocean, the beach and the sun and because I always wanted to come here. And the person I wanted to thank someday is not really a secret, even though I didn't explicitly mention the name. But only a few of those people truly close to me know detailed about the background. Anyhow, you can imagine all the thoughts and feelings that hit me at that moment as I imagined what might happen next.😳 After a few minutes Steve came back to us, gave a Trident basecap to my honey and said to him: "You need to wear this now!". He winked at me, said goodbye and hurried to the exit. As I found out later he had another job to do and no time to stay. But in fact he took the time to go back to the set - for us.🙏 Steve, I don't think you can imagine the significance for me of what you did!😉 

When I think back to yesterday, I have to smile.😊 Yeah, somehow we're quite emotional weird Germans because after Steve gave the cap to my honey, even he had wet eyes due to Steve's gesture. It took around 20 minutes until the lift doors opened and Alex and Beulah, and some other people I don't remember frankly speaking, stepped out. Alex and Beulah seemed deep in conversation and didn't see us. So I called his name when they passed us by - and he looked up. I will never forget what happened next because Alex looked up and his eyes fell on the Trident cap on my honey's head and he stopped. Both stopped, looked at us and we shook hands.😍 Honestly I don't remember all details. Indeed I had to ask my honey for some details later on. Beulah took the phone out of my hand, we lined up, he took the picture and before they were able to leave I gathered all my courage and asked Alex if I could give him a letter. I can't remember his answer exactly but he took it gladly without hesitation.💗 That was the moment when I was able to hand over my personal hand written letter to him by which I wanted to express my gratitude and it felt like Birthday and Christmas rolled into one. I had carried the letter with me since we landed on the island.

They headed to the exit and I - still unbelieving about what just happened - looked on my phone. Oh my goodness!😱 The photo failed because I didn't turn off the selfie countdown! This couldn't be the result of all this, no way! We ran behind them and my honey made Alex stop and wait for me. And the Selfie King did it again! What else can I say as Alex's selfies are simply the best, right? 😉 I think I thanked him 2 or 3 times and then he was gone. He got into a big white car and they drove off. And I stood there and still couldn't  believe how lucky I was. 🙏 

How can I continue after THIS???😳 All this happened before noon and the day was not over yet. My honey and I sat outside of Starbucks with another cappuccino watching the people going by. I wasn't able to realize that I met Alex. In a way, I still don't do that honestly.

When we finally walked back to our blue SUV we decided to make it slowly back to Ka'a'awa on the scenic route along the coast. At Hanauma Bay we stopped for the first time and hiked the east path to the end. We enjoyed the beautiful view for a while and took some photos. 💙💦

The next stop was at Sandy Beach Park and it had been a pleasure to watch especially the foil surfer. 

We made the penultimate stop in Kahuluu to take some pictures. If you're on O'ahu and have a car I highly recommend to take the 830 and drive through picturesque Kahuluu. Anyway the 830 leads you through - if you ask me - one of the most beautiful coastal areas of O'ahu.🙏 But that's only my opinion.

Our - nearly - last stop was at the Waiahole Poi Factory in Waikane because besides of Poke we didn't tried much Hawaiian food. For me this dish (the pic on the right) was incredible good and I regret that I didn't tried more of the Hawaiian food. 😔

And finally we took the Waiahole Valley Road until the end and look which beautiful and amazing nature we've found there. 😍

 

  

Meanwhile it's late Thursday (day No. 19) eve and only a few minutes are left until the next day beginns (Friday - day No. 20) which is also our departure day. It took me (with some breaks inbetween) the entire day to write this post. At the moment I can't imagine to leave tomorrow but I also can't believe what happened yesterday and also all the other days of our stay here on O'ahu. Thus I'm very glad that I have created this blog. We met so many amazing people and also the Goodbye from the Hula class of my host tonight was quite emotional. Somehow I know that my journey has still not found an end and I also know that I've found a lot of new Ohana on this island.🙏 So, lets see.  

Aloha! 🌴🌺🙏

... and I still have a dream.

⤇  Thanks for reading! Comments & thoughts appreciated. ⤆