Do you know what it's like? Making frivolous promises to someone that then pose a real challenge? That's how I feel at the moment. 😉
"Oh! You're flying to Hawaii?! Wow! Can you bring me...? And maybe also...? That would be really great!" Do you know what it's like when friends ask you to bring something specific from some special place? In principle, it's not a big deal and you like to do it for the people you love. But sometimes this willingness turns into a curse - at least that's how it is for me right now, because the number of souvenirs I want to take home to make my loved ones happy and the number of things I've been asked for has increased exponentially, so that I don't know at the moment whether I'll even be able to fit all of this into my suitcase. And then there's the next escalation level when you can't find the things you were asked for or these things are simply no longer available. Oh boy! 🙄
It's been more than a week since my last blog entry. I just haven't been able to sit down in the evenings and write. Well, I'm not the youngest anymore. My friend Bobby would scold me again and say that I'm still a young whippersnapper! 😅 But I'll tell you about Bobby later. But let me tell you things in order.
We were in Pearl Harbor last Wednesday. Well, I never tire of saying that I am not into war stories or war equipment such as ships, planes, tanks and the like. War is a terrible thing that is unfortunately part of us humans. No matter what time in our human history, no matter where in the world, war is never good. So I wasn't particularly interested in Pearl Harbor. I wanted to take a quick look at the Missouri, get an overview of the situation, maybe take a photo, and then drive on to one of the neighbouring shopping centres to look for very specific souvenirs.
So we drove into the parking lot of the Pearl Harbor National Memorial. The buildings blocked the view of the Missouri, which is firmly anchored on Ford Island, and were so large that I didn't feel like getting out. I let my honey trot off on his own and stayed in the car. While I was sitting in the car, I noticed that you had to pay for parking and hoped that my honey would come back soon. He did that and told me that entry to the museum was free and you only had to pay for parking, which cost 7 US dollars. I was pleasantly surprised, as I had expected an entrance fee, but I still had no interest in going in. So we made our way to the nearest large shopping centre.
Unfortunately, that was a complete failure because there were no souvenirs there. And again I was surprised. My honey had seen a souvenir shop in the open-plan museum and so, with gritted teeth (on my part), we drove back to Pearl Harbor to the National Memorial. While rain showers and sunshine alternated, we walked a little around the open grounds and took a few photos. Well, to put it in the local language: What a bummer! What a shame! We did NOT find the souvenirs from Pearl Harbor that had been ordered in this souvenir shop either. 🙈 Disappointed, we headed home.
On the way back to Kane'ohe we drove our favorite route through Honolulu, Waikiki, Kaimuki, 'Aina Haina, Hawaii Kai, Waimanalo, Maunawili and Kailua. We stopped briefly at the Diamond Head Lookout and enjoyed the view over the bay for a few minutes, which is very popular with surfers. This view will never get old! Just a quick mention that this parking bay was also one of the many filming locations for Hawaii Five-0.
The next day was going to be something special for me. It's no secret that I've been quite active on social media for a few years now, and so it happened that in July 2020 I came into contact with a lady from Kailua on Twitter. It was at the time of the terrible C story and we compared what was going on in Germany and Hawaii at the time. Bobby, that is her name, and I hit it off right away and exchanged ideas on many topics over time. ❤ When I wrote on Twitter a few weeks ago that I was finally going to travel to Hawaii again, I had a message from her within a short time saying that we could finally meet and that she was very excited. We exchanged phone numbers and I was sure that we would finally meet in person.
Well, this stupid cold delayed it a little, but on Thursday the time had come. We arranged to meet at a Starbucks in Kailua and when this wonderful 76-year-old lady came up to me, we immediately hugged each other and laughed. Pretty much the first thing she said was that it felt like we had known each other forever and I can only confirm that. 🙏🏼 We got drinks and sat together for more than 2 hours talking about everything. Isn't it wonderful to experience something like that? 🥰 I was absolutely thrilled when we headed back to Kane'ohe because we definitely wanted to see each other again. ❤
The next day, Thursday, we explored Kailua Beach because the beaches there are at least as legendary and beautiful as those of Waimanalo. But see for yourself!
As I mentioned in my last post, we are currently very adventurous. On the one hand because we want to do and see a lot and on the other hand because we are running out of time. And so on Friday we had arranged to meet my friend Mary. She wanted to eat with us at the M.A.C. 24/7 restaurant in the Hilton Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, where one of her sisters has been cooking for more than 20 years. This restaurant is known for its pancakes (also for a pancake challenge over 5lbs - 2.5 kg) and for its prime ribs. For starters we ordered Ahi Poke Nachos (Ahi-Avocado Poke with spicy Sriracha aioli and soy-ginger glaze; Ahi is tuna, in this case raw tuna) and for the main course we chose fish, prime rib and rib eye and I can tell you that I had the best piece of beef on my plate there in a long time. It was a real treat! 😋
Afterwards, we decided to drive to the Ala Wai Boat Harbor to watch the Waikiki fireworks, which are held every Friday evening at the Hilton Lagoon. There was an incredible chaos of cars and people there, all of whom were still looking for a spot or were already parked in the second or third row. There were pick-up trucks with loud music blaring from the back; food stands along the road; lots of people streaming to the lagoon, while the lagoon itself was already extremely crowded. There was a real party atmosphere that was infectious. The fireworks started promptly at 8 p.m. and it was worth seeing - even if it "only" lasted 10 minutes. I think we'll do it again next Friday, because it was a real blast! In any case, we had a wonderful evening that we will remember for a long time. 🙏🏼
True to the weekend, we started Saturday leisurely and without much planning. On a whim, we drove up to the North Shore in the afternoon and then on to Hale’iwa, got some “spicy shrimp” from a shrimp truck and then drove further through Waialua to Mokulēʻia Rock Beach, the westernmost tip of the island. This meant we had circumnavigated the island 99% of the way. It’s not possible to do it 100% - at least not by car.
Now to another topic. Anyone who knows a little about America probably knows that there are a large number of churches and religious communities here. The great variety of different cultures means that this is also the case here in Hawaii. In every town - no matter how small - there are at least two or three places of worship where people come together. You don't necessarily go to church where you live, you have a free choice. The workship service is probably just as varied and different as the many cultures on the islands.
My friend Mary invited us to her church and immediately invalidated the word “Hale Pule” - Hawaiian for prayer house or church - with the words: “That is outdoors, in an open tent, not in a building.” So we were curious and accepted her invitation to the Hāmama Community Church in Kahalu’u on Sunday morning. Every Sunday, young and old come together under an open tent and even bring food and drinks for the communal lunch afterwards. So at 10:30 a.m. we found ourselves surrounded by a wide variety of people who all greeted us very warmly, while Mary introduced us as friends from Germany. There were prayers in Hawaiian, religious songs in English and Hawaiian, a story from the children's Bible for the keikis (children) and a passage from the Bible for the adults. The members themselves provided the appropriate music, as they played two ukuleles, a guitar and a cajon (beat box drum). Afterwards we had lunch together and very stimulating conversations. 🌺
It was a completely different experience to the church services we are used to here and I really enjoyed it - even though I am not religious at all. Here, community counts so much more and everyone is appreciated. We enjoyed it so much that we will probably visit this religious community again next Sunday.
As you can see, we are not bored and you can look forward to the next post in which I will report on our next week. We really experienced a lot in our last full week here on O’ahu.
Aloha! 🤙🏼
P.S. Remember: To enlarge the photos, just click on them! 😉
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