LOST in Heaven

On the way back from Guam, I had a whole day in Hawaii.

There were only 2 things I wanted to do:

1. LOST Tour

2. See Wheeler and the old neighborhood.

Well I had done some research and found that tours left from Kualoa Ranch and so I headed there bright and early Friday morning. My colleague Nick came with me- he is also a big LOSTie.

To my total despair...the tours were booked. I honestly almost started crying I was so frustrated. I kept it together and began to wander the store aimlessly. Out of nowhere one of the LOST tour guides comes up to me (and he was totally adorable fyi) and says how bad he feels that we can't get in a tour and says he can give us a few sites that we could drive to. I was ecstatic and we busted out a map and he gave us the 4 BEST sites for a LOST fan to see (one of which you'll learn they don't even see on the tour-AWESOME).

The moutains at the Kualoa Ranch where they did quite a bit of filming.
Walking towards our first site: the beach where the survivors camped from Seasons 2-4. Also known as Papailoa Beach.

The LOST beach!

Their campsite!! There was nothing left but a "Private Property" sign and an orange fence. But you can tell it's their site!!

The view from their site. Gorgeous ocean!

Another shot of their campsite. It was so awesome to be there.

Just a little proof that I was in fact there :)

2nd Site: The beach where they filmed the plane crash!

The original site of the Pilot episode! Also known as Mokuleia Beach.

Crash Beach.

Reveling in this memory. Oh LOST how I'll miss you!3rd Site: Dharmaville!

Kept searching for the Dharma Initiative.

All we found were YMCA kids.

Dharmaville = Camp Erdman.

Which I stayed at when I was in 3rd grade and living in Hawaii!

We did an overnight field trip there. How awesome is that?!

Yes...it is true...the 4th site: The Chapel where the Finale was filmed!!

Also known as Sacred Hearts Academy.

Just sitting in the same place Ben was in the finale when Hurley came out to see if he was ready.

The door Hurley came out of to speak to Ben.

"You made a good number two."

Statue of Christ and Chapel shown in the Finale.

Alright so here's where this experience is going to blow your mind... Nick and I tried the door at the Chapel, it was of course locked. Well I wasn't going to leave it at that... the chapel is connected to a school and there were people still around. We walked into the administrative building and I just asked the first person I saw if there was any way of getting into the Chapel. She seemed confused and I explained that we were big nerds and fans of LOST and had heard the finale was filmed inside. She smiled and laughed and then went to get the woman in charge. Haha. The woman in charge turned out to be one of the greatest ladies ever...she totally opened the door and then told us about how the Locations people had contacted her and checked out the site. It was the highlight of my day...week..year..wow, maybe even my life! :)

The door to Heaven!!

Opening the same door Christian did!!

And there's even light coming in!

Does it get any better?!

The Chapel and Pews where everyone was sitting together.

I could almost feel them!

Just taking my seat at the pews where everyone else sat.

LOVE IT!

Isn't it beautiful?!

All in all it was the best tour I could have ever asked for. I mean it was lightyears better than the organized one we would've done. No one else has been inside the chapel since the filming! It's not a part of the tour. Andrea (the school lady) said she didn't even notice the tours coming by outside. Oh it was just amazing. I am still giddy over it.

I.N.C.R.E.D.I.B.L.E.

Trip down Memory Lane

I'm a military brat.

I've moved a few times and home seems to be wherever we are for the moment. That being said, Florida truly is my home, however, the actual House that is the home I constantly reflect on is located on a little island named Oahu.

Our house on Wheeler AAF is the last home where my entire family lived, before the boys went off to college, before everything changed. Even now, when I have dreams of my family it is in this house.

So during my one day in Hawaii I made sure to check out the House and the old neighborhood, it brought up so many memories I nearly got a little choked up.

Funny how sentimental we can be.

The Box.

During my last year in Hawaii, I was friends with Rachel, Elizabeth and Shelley. We all lived within seconds of each other-literally. However, we met at this box which was pretty much smack dab in the middle of our houses. We spent many an afternoon chatting on this thing.

The only thing that would have made this moment better, were if all 4 of us were there. Someday.

My Street.
The Mango Tree beside our house.
I remember it being huge and it still is!
The reason I cannot eat mangoes to this day...once you've had to pick up a million smashed ones in your yard, they somehow lose their appeal.
The alley behind our house.
This shed wasn't there when we lived there, a basketball hoop was instead.
A basketball hoop where my brother Nathan taught me to play and where we girls spent hours shooting around and sitting on a stool (I almost thought we'd find that stool still there) shooting the breeze.
Our street.

619 Sperry Loop.

Our House.

I took a million other pictures, which I'll just keep to myself, but it really was so wonderful to be able to touch this place.

As silly as it sounds, I heard this Country song by Miranda Lambert on the way and it was absolutely speaking to me.

As I was standing here for this picture I remembered there was a picture nearly exactly like this with me and my new purple bike.

I gotta find that photo.

Madonna sang it best... This Used to be My Playground.

Quite literally, it used to be.

There were swings here that my friend Crystal and I would swing on and sing...yeah, we sang. We called ourselves "The Babettes".

Aww...such memories.

My Elementary School. I went to 4th-6th grades here. I loved this school.

The Bowling Alley!

The best curly fries around.

No doubt.

And yes I totally made my colleagues eat lunch in a Bowling Alley :)

The Shoppette where my infatuation with ice cream began.

Once you're 10 years old in the military you get an ID and you needed an ID in order to purchase anything in the Shoppette. As soon as I got my ID, I wrote my bike down here and bought a quart of ice cream...and sat on those benches and ate it all by myself.

Some things never change.

Mililani Town Center.

This would be the closest mall where we would sometimes hang out. It is completely changed. I was hoping the shaved ice shop "Island Snow" would be around, but it wasn't.

Before we were able to move on base (Wheeler) we rented a house in Mililani for a year.

And here it is.

95-693 Lewanu'u Street.

Kipapa Elementary School.

Where I finished off 2nd grade and then 3rd grade.

I'm sure this post isn't of much interest to anyone else, except maybe my friends from Wheeler...Crystal, Rachael, Susan, Bethany, Elizabeth, Rachel and Shelley...all of whom I've kept in touch with. Yet, writing this all out and sharing these pictures has just filled my heart to the brim. It really is wonderful to be able to see your childhood again. I had a great childhood, too many happy memories to count and walking these streets just made my heart happy.

Thanks for the memories Hawaii.

Hawaii-Guam-Hawaii

Yes. We have a Cosmetology school in Guam.

Don't worry, I knew you were all curious.

So yes, work sent me to Guam via Phoenix and Hawaii and I really just struggled through it.

Life is just tough sometimes

:).

With a 4 hour lay over in Phoenix, you know Krista and I had to get together, and since it had been all of a week since we'd seen each other or eaten Cafe Rio- we made the trek.

I love this girl and love that she was willing to spend that time with me.

It was the best beginning to this fabulous trip.

I was able to spend a night in Hawaii on the way to Guam and on the way home.

This would be the view from my room at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

It was amazing!

Walking Waikiki Beach.
Oh how the memories just flowed!

I love Palm Trees.

I could have done a whole post on Palm Trees, I have plenty of pictures.

They just make me happy, remind me that the ocean is close.

The possibilites are endless. I do love this shot.

(It was inspired by a famous photo I'm pretty sure, but now that I'm googling it, I can't find it. Help!)

The Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

Where my parents used to spend their anniversary each year we lived in Hawaii.

Diamond Head.

Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel.

Rainbow Tower.

Flying to Guam.

I've never been one to photograph the sky in airplanes, but this was just too gorgeous to pass up.

If only I could figure out my fancy camera!

The night we arrived in Guam, there was a Polynesian Dance show at our hotel.

It was incredible.

You should have seen these girls shake it! Haha.

Walking the beach in the morning.

I walked the beach each morning I was in Guam/Hawaii.

I promise, one day...one day, I will live on the beach!!

Aww..flowers, everywhere.

We jumped in the car and drove around the island with no destination and this is what we found.

I know LOST was filmed in Hawaii...but this cliff looks like it belongs on The Island.

This beach was so peaceful and serene.

It was a preserve so that's why no one was there.

The water was crystal clear.

Another beach.

We really did just cruise the island.

Pretty easy to do when its 30 miles by 8 miles.

The Chammorro Village.

A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

Local food. Good thing I love BBQ!

At the Market there was a public dance hall and people were just getting on down.

If you look closely, I'm getting on down with a local guy.

Yup, he just singled me out and said "Let's Cha-Cha".

How do you say no to that?

More local food.

Don't worry, the orange rice was delicious.

Sunset on Guam.

These shots were taken from my friend Billy's place.

Yup, I have a friend in Guam.

Thanks to FaceBook, Billy found out I was in Guam and we were able to catch up.

Love it when you can see an old friend.

Back in Hawaii and here's a shot from my new room.

Yeah, I got upgraded, right over the pool.

It's really the little things that just brighten your day.

Haha.

More Palm Trees.

More Beach.

More Hawaii.

How I love thee.

On our LOST tour (read about in another post) we were able to stop by and see the LDS Temple.

So beautiful!

The Dole Plantation.

Little Hawaiian treat.

Real Shaved Ice. With Ice Cream on the bottom.

The Best.

Sun setting in Hawaii.

What an incredible trip.

Even though I had to spend 38 hours in the air over 6 days and travel across the International Date Line (yes I saw the Sun rise twice on June 11th)...

I loved every minute of it.

I am once again so grateful for the amazing job I have and the endless opportunities it provides me.

We live in a great country and I feel so fortunate to be able to see so much of it.

Life is definitely good.