oh, Joey

Dear Travel Diary

Saturday, May 22, 2021

I was able to sleep until about 8:00 am, a real miracle for me. Afterwards, we slowly got ready for breakfast and sat down at the table with Debbie. She told us stories again and we listened attentively. At the same time, Grandma and her friend (I unfortunately don't know her name, so I'll call her K, because her name starts with K) were sitting outside. K was preaching and Grandma was filming her. She is a pastor and now, during the times of Corona, she does an online sermon on Facebook every Saturday.

When we later sneaked out of the house, as the two ladies were still engrossed in their task, K interrupted her sermon to wish us a nice day and explain to her congregation that we are from Switzerland. K is really a loving and warm-hearted woman. I have already taken her into my heart, even though she is leaving tomorrow.

Chantal, Jasmin and I wanted to go to the Swap Meet or also called Aloha Market. It is located at the Aloha Stadium, which we have already seen briefly. Actually, we were supposed to meet Jasmin at a bus stop in the city, but in the end we met her at the market square. There were dozens of stands, mainly with jewelry, wood carvings or clothing. Each stand had the same junk again, but we still looked at it, hoping to find a suitable souvenir.

Since we only arrived at the market around noon, we slowly started to feel hungry. Fortunately, some stands were still open and so we got tacos. Satisfied, we walked to the bus stop and took the bus back to Waikiki.

Since this bus goes to the airport, it was crowded - next to me was a young man. As soon as he sat next to me, my phone lit up, a message from Jasmin, two rows behind me: 'chöimer platz tüschle diane dä isch no hübsch' Well... but now it's too late. When he spoke to me shortly afterwards and chatted with me, I had to suppress my laughter quite a bit, as I could already hear Chantal and Jasmin giggling behind me. 'ask for his number for me' was Jasmin's next reaction. During almost the whole bus ride, I talked to him and he told me about Big Island, where he comes from, and even showed me various photos. Afterwards, I explained to him where we are currently located (Chinatown, Arts District, Downtown, etc.) and I almost felt like a tour guide. Through the conversation, I learned a lot about him and it was interesting to talk to him. He has Polish roots and grew up in Chicago, which apparently is one of the biggest Polish emigration destinations. But now he lives in San Diego and recently for 6 months in Sacramento, where he didn't really like it. Funny enough, I even know Sacramento and know what it looks like. And suddenly we were already almost in Waikiki and he had to get off. I wished him a pleasant stay in Oahu but wait, what is his name anyway? So I asked Jasmin what we should call him so that he at least has a name in my blog. We agreed on Joey. So now I know a lot about Joey's life and his previous travels, but I have no idea what his actual name is, how old he is, and let alone what his phone number is... A pure disappointment for Jasmin ;).

Arriving in Waikiki, we bought spaghetti and sauce to cook an early dinner at the apartment. The tacos weren't that big and we wanted to go to the beach for the sunset. For this reason, I cooked a pot of spaghetti just before half past five and was delighted to cook and also to have pasta. I haven't done/eaten this in ages.

Then we walked to the beach and made ourselves comfortable in the pole position on a beach towel. That's when Austin, an American born in Texas, who is in Frankfurt due to his father's military deployment, came and asked if he should take a photo of us. We didn't say no and gratefully accepted his offer. After the photo session, Chantal and Jasmin left me alone with him and I talked to a stranger about everything possible again. Now we wanted to take a photo with the sunset in the background, so we asked Austin again. Because he made us laugh so much, the pictures turned out surprisingly good. And because 'picky vicky', as he called Jasmin, wasn't satisfied with the pictures yet, we took another round of photos. As a souvenir, we then took a photo with Austin in it, so that he will not forget the Swiss girls, which he is now very proud to have met.

But now it's time to go home, as we don't want to miss our last bus again. As soon as we arrived home, we heard and saw fireworks, because of Graduation Day today.

Sunday, May 23, 2021

Around 10:00 am, we went to the kitchen and Tony had already prepared breakfast for us. Fried rice with scrambled eggs once again. At the table, we all chatted together, among other things, about the importance of our own birthdays, and we quickly realized that two groups were forming at this table.

Tony and I as anti-birthdays against Debbie and Chantal as proponents of such. It was really fun to talk to the two of them about this topic and hear stories about how Debbie and her children celebrated each other's birthdays.

Afterwards, I got so tired again that I lay down in bed again and took a nap. In the afternoon, Chantal then woke me up and said she was hungry. So it was time to get up again and eat something, quickly vacuum our rooms, and go back to bed. However, vacuuming turned out to be more exhausting than expected. The vacuum cleaner was really heavy and uncomfortable to hold. Luckily, I didn't have to clean the whole house with it.

Get up once again for dinner and then back to bed. Definitely a boring day for my travel diary, but for me it was wonderful.

Monday, May 24, 2021

After waking up at 5:30 am, I could only sleep moderately. The dogs started barking at some point, which felt rather early for normal circumstances. Finally, at around 8:30 am, we got up and made breakfast, in order to leave the house shortly before half past ten. Today, we want to try our luck again with the Lulumahu Falls. Jasmin was also joining us again, but Lisa was not, so we set off on our way there.

After taking the bus to the starting point, we ended up in a valley-like area and then ordered an Uber back to the starting point. An older man picked us up, who even gave us some M&M's. Finally at the starting point, we walked the trail with navigation this time. It was once again slippery and muddy, but that's probably every trail here in Hawaii. We have already gotten used to it and don't care how dirty we get.

The first challenge was a small river that we had to cross. Like a well-coordinated team, we held hands and walked from one bank to the other. Now we had to climb over roots, stones, and other small streams until we reached the waterfall after a good half an hour. Logically, we were far from being the only ones, but we patiently waited until there was no one in front of us anymore. We also took a swim in the small lake and a shower under the waterfall. After overcoming some initial hesitation, the water temperature was really pleasant, as it was tropical warm during the ascent.

Refreshed, we turned back and came out of the forest at a different place than where we started. At least we made it out again, because we didn't want another misstep with incorrect hiking trails. Once we arrived back at the starting/finishing point, we had to walk down the road to the bus stop, which we passed by the first time. At least we managed it this time! I wouldn't go there a third time. On the way down, a car even asked me where the trail started and I could now confidently provide information.

Then we took the bus back to Downtown to change buses there. When I saw a faster connection from another bus stop, we decided to go there. On the way there, we passed the courthouse with the golden statue at the entrance, and about 200 meters further, there were about five people pointing at the Iolani Palace, which is opposite. One person in particular caught my eye.

Just as we had passed them, I asked Chantal, more of a rhetorical question, if that wasn't Gina Rodriguez. She had no idea, so I looked back again and again and again, while my feet kept running. With every step, I became more and more certain of this fact, and it wasn't until we reached the bus stop that I was furious that I didn't stop and talk to her. Oh Diane, why did you just keep walking? That would have been THE opportunity! It made me so mad (and still does).

On the way home, I then tried to find out through the press whether she is currently in Hawaii, what her next film/series is called, and the filming location. Unfortunately, I wasn't really successful in finding any evidence, but in general, I am so sure that it was her. Now I can claim that I walked past Gina Rodriguez in Hawaii.