Followed by the Police

Dear Travel Diary

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Since I arrived in Hawaii, I never know what to expect each day. Every day is a new adventure, with both positive and sometimes negative aspects. Today, for example, I started the day as usual at school and then went to the beach. Since we got a bit too much sun during the Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail over the weekend, we took it easy the past two days in terms of sun exposure. But today, we decided to venture out into the sun again and look forward to our second surf session. With rented boards, we paddled out into the open sea, and I already noticed that I got much less wet compared to the last surf session. Slowly, no wave rushing into my face. Even when it mattered, the waves mostly didn't come. So it was more of a tanning session rather than a surf session. Since there were so few waves and I could lean back a bit, I wasn't really ready when a wave came... But one of the few waves I could catch was good. I was even able to stand on the board for a bit. Of course, not upright like in a picture book, but still a big success for me.

During the subsequent sunbathing, the police suddenly came by on their quads and checked the alcohol consumption on the beach. Right next to us was a group that had to pour their beer into the sand because it is not allowed to drink alcohol in public. It's interesting how the police get around in different places. Car, bicycle, horse, motorcycle, or quads.

In the evening, we watched the movie 'Breakthrough' with Debbie and Uncle Randy, and tears were streaming down my face. Afterwards, we had to digest the movie and had a long discussion with Debbie about everything under the sun.

Thursday, April 22, 2021

We spent the afternoon at the beach with a large group of Swiss students, and no, we're not speaking German. As mentioned above, every day is a new adventure, and today was no exception. With a visit to the beach restroom, I already had another unforgettable experience. It was quite unusual to sit on the toilet and be able to see the aisle of the restroom since there were no doors. Maybe you can even greet the other people using the restroom ;).

On the way home, the streets of Honolulu were very busy. The entire right lane towards home was blocked by fire trucks and police cars. They spread two narrow tracks of sand on the road and then smoothed it out again. A concert of flashing lights. Further ahead, I saw the cause of the whole operation. A bus on the side of the road that seemed to have leaked oil. This turned the usual 10-minute drive through the city into at least 20 minutes. Just as we were getting out of the chaos, the bus stopped and told us that we had to transfer to the bus in front of us. For some reason?! Finally, after a good hour, we finally arrived home and were happy to take a shower.

Friday, April 23, 2021

Uncle Randy joined us for breakfast and told us about his grandchildren, whom he already misses incredibly. He even proudly showed us pictures. But he will probably stay here for another week.

Afterwards, we happily walked to the bus stop when we suddenly heard a familiar sound. It went 'Pfff' and Chantal and I jumped off the sidewalk onto the street at the same time. At the same time, we let out a little scream of fright. Fortunately, we were fast enough to avoid the sprinkler systems that were just starting. So we still made it to the bus stop without getting wet.

When we got off in the city, the road to school was closed, and we had to take a detour. When we asked why the road was closed, the police officer said coolly and briefly: 'Investigation.'
Hmm, I'm actually quite curious about what investigation needs to be done there. Anyway, once again, I couldn't satisfy my curiosity.

So we've had three real police days... At least I didn't have to spend three hours in a police office again!