The hike kicked my ass. Like, it was horrible. We went clockwise on the Aiea Loop Trail instead of going counterclockwise. I really think we should've gone counterclockwise. It's just ridiculous to do the whole trail, then have a whole uphill, muddy, slippery, humid, mosquito-filled, and hot section to deal with when you're already exhausted! It was only 4 1/2 miles but we ran most of it. Kevin and Nick didn't seem to be so bothered by the heat and humidity but oh man, I ain't used to that weather. We met some nice people along the trail though(: Everyone's so friendly....
Oh wait, let me backtrack a little bit. We headed out from home, swung by a grocery store to pick up some extra snacks and food items, then headed up to the trailhead. Once we got there (it was superpacked with tourists and such), we started a fire in one of the fire pits (which took some time) and started grilling our food. Hot dogs and galbe (korean style short ribs marinated) along with some Flamin' Hot Muchies and an Ewa sweet onion were also on the menu. Hahaha. Those onions really are sweet! They're grown in the city of Ewa (obviously) which is like... I wanna say 15mins from Nick's place. Anyway, after we finished eating we started out on the trail at a brisk pace. I wanted to get it finished as soon as we could so we could make it back home in time to get ready for the lantern festival.
Right, so I talked about the trail run a bit earlier before. There were some tourists on the trail that were really holdin' up the line. Some parts of the trail were really thin and could only allow one person to pass through at a time. We found the airplane after some trial and error (a WWII plane went down somewhere along the trail. however, due to time, lots of debris and a fallen tree have made the crash site almost unnoticeable. I climbed down off the trail to get a closer look at the plane. If I wasn't told it was a plane, I never would've known.) and after getting a few shots of whatever I could we continued on down the trail. Oh man, being me I forgot to pack my belt and decided to wear my Juicy Couture jeans that were a bit too big for me. While I was running I'd have my thumbs in the loops of my pants at the side, be holding a big water bottle, and running behind whoever was leading. I must've been some sight to see because when Nick was running behind me he made us stop, and asked Kevin to give me his belt. Which he did so without a problem but I still felt bad. The belt didn't help much though, and if not made it only harder for me to pull my pants up. Hahaha. Anyway, that was that. We made it back to the car and my face was probably just as red as a ripe cherry tomato. I hung my head outside the window as Kevin drove home to cool down. As soon as we got home I changed into some shorts and sandals. We waited for his girlfriend and once she got there we headed out to Ala Moana beach park where the Lantern Festival was being held. Man, that place was PACKED. We parked at the shopping center and ran over to the site where we ran into Nick's mom. We filled out the paperwork, and headed to the volunteer tent where we got name tags and told to meet at the tent by five thirty. So Kevin, Nick, Shayla (Kevin's girlfriend), and I headed to the water to wade around a bit. Oh man, tourists really pack that beach. The water isn't so clear, and the sand is pretty rocky. I'm assuming due to the coral reef just off the coast maybe four hundred yards out. I saw bits of corals rolling around in the surf. Anyway, we left after a bit just standing in the water up to our knees and talking. Walked around for a bit, then went back to the tent. Got bored, headed across the street to the park, did some pull-ups, monkey bars, a climb thing, and I climbed a pole. Then we headed back to the tent and just hung out. Finally it came time to take the lanterns. We all lined up behind the guy and he lead us through the lantern request area where we were all handed a wooden lantern (not the paper ones the other people got). I was first in line, then it was Nick, then Kevin, then Shayla and everyone else with the group. We all walked in a line through the crowd (some people were just being completely ridiculous. We were part of the ceremony and they were giving us crap for walking in front of them. Us, rude? No, excuse YOU, YOU'RE being rude sitting in the walkway that was cone-d aside for us, retard.) and eventually made it to the area we were supposed to be at. (I give pity to the newspaper guy who kept trying to interview me and take pictures of me and I just kept ignoring him and waving him off. But I was only trying to do my job.) We stood with our feet in the water as the performances finished off and Her Holiness Keishu Shinso Ito gave a speech, and her and her high priests lit the flame of... Harmony! And then they lit the big lanterns and put them on a canoe boat like thing and floated toward the middle of the little cove we were in. Tourists begin releasing their lanterns and then we were given the 'Okay' to put ours into the water. Then the big lanterns were also put afloat. It was so beautiful to see all those flickering candles in those lanterns float out toward the ocean. Like, I can't even express the beauty of it! It was so emotional too. Nick had given me some money to donate so I could have a lantern float with my Uncle's name. Oh, how I wish i'd been able to take pictures! But doing my job, they didn't allow us to have anything and wanted us to be formal the whole way. I did sneak a few shots after we were clear. I also know that we were on the Jumbotron, TV, and photos in newspapers and websites.
Haha, funny moment. Nick was trying to hug me while I was making a mass text of a picture of the lanterns floating when a man put a camera on us. When Nick pointed this out I slowly leaned into him more and put my phone behind his back and out of sight. Hahaha, embarrassing, yeah? Soo, we were on the jumbotron. Nick's mom thought it was funny how it all happened with me and the texting. Hahaha. Oh well. Anyway, I had a great time. It was really beautiful. I recommend everyone to fly out a Memorial weekend and watch, if not participate, in the Lantern Festival.
We went out for sushi after. At a conveyor belt place. That was alright. Headed to Hickam Air Force Base to get gas but ... omg, it was so ridiculous. We had to go in to get a pass, but then had to go BACK in to get our pass revised. So retarded. Anyway, we got our gas, and went back home. I fell asleep next to Nick who was online playing his little Facebook games and woke back up when he forced me into the guest room to sleep for the night (he read a text on my phone and wanted to squabble). He came back in a bit after and after I explained it was lyrics to a song he made me go to the bathroom where I washed up and took my contacts out and retired back into his room. We watched TV until I fell asleep.
I didn't get to sleep well last night though. The right side of my throat has been killing me nearly all day. My left side feels fine, but the right one is swollen or something. Oh, who knows. It still hurts.
Anyway, that's about all there is to blog about. My postcards to my family should be in the mail by today, hopefully. Nick left for work at 9AM where they force him to sit there and do nothing. I was texing Kevin earlier (even though he's at the other end of this hallway) and he was asking me what I'd like to do today. We'll see. I have no plans. Haha.
I think i'll take a shower... Then text Nick and ask him if he wants me to walk over to his recruiting place or have Kevin drop me off. Yepp, that shall be the start of my day.
Other lanterns being set off from the beach.
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