We do not remember days, we remember moments. - Cesare Pavese

 

And it's Thursday again, and the weekend is just around the corner!

Yesterday, Wednesday, we didn't do much. My friend Mary had invited us to her hula group's Hālau Aha'aina (a small celebration) in the evening. We picked Mary up and drove together to Kualoa Ranch, where their hula gatherings usually take place. It was exactly where we first met six years ago. One by one, the hula girls arrived, each bringing something to eat or plates and utensils. There was a big cheer when the older ladies I had already met there in 2019 arrived. It was another wonderful moment! ❤

Mary, as a Kumu hula (hula teacher), called for dance practice and began singing and playing her ipu hula. To explain: An ipu hula is a traditional Hawaiian percussion instrument made from a single gourd, which provides time and rhythm for the hula dancers. It is a fundamental instrument of the art of hula. It helps the dancers synchronize and tell their story. It's always a wonderful experience for me to listen to Mary. 🙏🏼 I could do that for hours! After a while, the training ended, and we moved on to the social part. The result was a crowd of chatting women of all ages, with my honey and the fiancé of one of the young women among them. Time flew by again, and soon we were on our way home.

I almost forgot to mention that before meeting the hula girls, I went to my favorite tattoo studio. Yes, I'm going to get another tattoo here and take it home as a souvenir. 😉 Unfortunately, Nico, the tattoo artist who did my first tattoo last year, wasn't in. But I have an appointment with him tomorrow (Friday). I'm really excited to see what he'll create with my ideas. 🌺

My tattoo from 2024

Today we went on another little road trip. Inspired by a short video I saw on Instagram, we wanted to visit a very specific beach above Lāʻie. So today we went to the Mālaekahana State Recreation Area, and the beach there turned out to be almost deserted, as we had hoped. It was wonderful to sit in the sand for a while, watch the waves, feel the wind, smell the sea, feel the sun on my skin, and even take a quick dip – as far as the surf allowed. Later, back in Kane’ohe and back at our apartment, I realized that I (felt like) had the entire sandy beach in my swimsuit. I say it all the time: The sand from the beach combined with the salt from the sea is a really nasty combination. 😂

The best way to end a day is with a BBQ. Yes, exactly. We fired up the grill outside, put fresh corn, and a couple of juicy T-bone steaks on the grill. 😋 Just like it's customary here. To go with the meal, my honey had a Longboard beer and I had a Big Wave. Yes, we're really having a good time!

Aloha! 🤙🏼