When we booked this trip a while ago, I knew that Oahu was going to my favorite port, not because its Hawaii but due to a little show known as Lost. Production is filming the second half of the final season on the island, this was a trip of a lifetime. And this post is a COMPLETE INDULGENCE of my Lost fanaticism. Bear with me. This post is probably more for myself and my own memory than anything else, but enjoy reading it.
I think our stop at Oahu was the first time I was ready to get off the ship before we actually could. Even though I was ready at 8 am, we weren't allowed off until quarter after. Once off we had to locate our rental car shuttle, mom called for it and then we just had to wait. I was a nervous ball of energy, chomping at the bit. I knew it was going to be a crammed pack today, and it needed to start as soon as possible. And then the rain came while we were waiting...Great!
The last time we rented a car on vacation, we got "The Office" Pam's Yaris car. So what did we get this time...Michael's PT Cruiser, same color. Finally out on the road, we had lost an hour of possible touring time. And we still had to get out of downtown. You should have seen us. We couldn't pronounce any of the Hawaiian street names; we were butchering them left and right. You thought you knew where you were, but no this street has two "u's" in between the two "a's."
In our trek to the H-1 interstate, we accidentally passed a hamburger place featured in Lost. Season 5, where Sayid and Hurley grab burgers, after Hurley was sprung from the Santa Rosa mental institution. First unexpected, positive note for the day.
We'll pass over the traffic issues and my mental state where I thought the whole day was going to be a disaster. Straight to the plane-crash beach outside of Waialua (honestly, try to pronounce that). The rain had let up by the time we got there and the sun popped out for a second or two. This is the beach that the plane fuselage was placed for the first couple of episodes and the location where Jack's father appears to him alongside some bushes and a tree. I felt like I was looking at a television. Aside from the Lost stuff, this beach was amazing. Away from all the crowds.
Across the road was Dillingham Airfield, where down some winding roads is the Oceanic 815 plane wreckage and the Nigerian drug-smugling plane. The main fuselage was covered up; so no cool shot of the Oceanic logo. But we could clearly see the drug plane.
Also right down the road was a YMCA camp, which is the location of the Other's/Dharma's town, aka New Otherton or Darmaville. It was really bizarre being there. The yellow houses, that Lost fans have come to know, are the bunk houses for the camp (interior shots are done on soundstages). So surreal! I was just waiting for a Dharma jumpsuit to walk by. This area was like the Lost trifecta; the beach, the plane wreckages, and Dharmaville. It knocked down a lot of nerves, because I got a lot crossed off my locations list. (You should have seen the notebook, yes a notebook, that had all my notes and google maps for this jaunt around the island. Many hours of internet research went into Candice's Lost Tour; it beat paying a tour company $150 each. It might have cost me a little stress, but it all worked out.)
Before we left Arkansas, I had booked an hour tour out at Kualoa Ranch. This is the location of Hurley's golf course, the tempest hatch station, and the trek to the radio tower with the French transmission. The website was really particular about being there on time. So we arrived at noon-ish after a long drive along the north shore on highway 83. Two lanes, only got up to 55 mph a couple times. I didn't think we were ever going to make it. But along the way, we spotted the turn off for the survivor's beach featuring the tents, plane seats, and ping-pong table seen on the show, and the tree used in an early episode of Kate's flashback where she and a childhood friend buried their toys and The toy plane (This was some kind of mystery in season one and two. What naive viewers we were. Little did we know what was to come in terms of mysteries!) We had to by-pass these locales due to the time of the tour at the ranch.
When we got there, I signed us in, leaving mom to wipe sand off her feet. Returning to Michael's PT Cruiser, some women were there and we started talking about Lost. While I was showing her the locations of the beaches, Jorge Garcia (Yes, the ranch-composite eating, lottery winner, Hurley, Hugo Reyes) shows up out of nowhere. I really am still not clear about where he came from. I think a car pulled up and he got out. I was throwing my maps on the wet ground and clamoring for my camera in my bag. We got our pictures with him and he talked about how he saw the first episode on Saturday but was ready to see it in HD that night. After he left, that's when my legs went all whoncky. Timing was everything!
So celebrity sighting out of the way, we toured the ranch. Awesome pictures of the valley. A lot of other movies were filmed here too. Including Pearl Harbor (scene with the boy scouts and the planes dipping into the valley), Jurassic Park ("I think they're flocking this way" the kids and the doctor run behind the fallen tree, and Godzilla foot prints.
Trekking the 25 miles back to the survivor beach, we passed the North Shore beaches, including Sunset beach and Bonzi Pipeline. The surf was amazing; and the sun was truly coming out, just in time for our own hike down to the beach. In my extensive research, I found detailed instructions to the Lost beach, because all beaches are public but only accessible by obscure public right of ways to the beach. This one was down a dead end street, mile marker 3 on highway 83 for those interested.
So down the public right of way we went, took a left and a ten minute hike down the beach. And there she stood the beach that I have come to know and love. The sun was shining and kind of setting; it looked just like the show and was awesome. The campsites, including the airplane seats, were there, along with the church structure that Charlie and Mr. Eko built. Mr. Security guard was there, but we were able to take pictures behind the orange fencing. I could have sat there all afternoon, but the day was coming to an end and we still had to re-navigate to the car drop-off downtown, which just so happened to be by the "Sydney Airport Terminal" (the HI civic center) and the "South Korean bridge." In the civic center, I snapped a few pictures and a security guard asked if he could help me...in my head "Nope, I'm just a Lost fan."
We arrived back at the pier with five minutes to spare, before we were suppose to be onboard.
The whole day was amazing. Started our very bleak and filled with a lot nerves and time crunches. But ended with the most surreal beach trip I've ever been on. It was like Disney World for adults
crj
