It has been a harrowing few weeks. I had every intention of posting earlier, but certain things kept me from keeping up as I wanted to here.

A little over three weeks ago, my mother called me with devastating news. My grandpa was in the hospital. The doctors had found a mass in his gallbladder that they later found to be cancer.  Despite surgery to remove his gallbladder, the cancer had already spread. He was placed in hospice care with a grim 2 week – 2 month prognosis.  10 days later, my mother said he had passed peacefully with herself and my uncle in the room.  I’m not sure what my reaction was.  I had tried to mentally prepare after the first bit of bad news but it didn’t dampen the pain the second time around.

Immediately, I was living my nightmare again. Being 4000+ miles away from the people I love most and no way to be there for the funeral. I broke down with sobs that rocked my body.

 In the years just prior to leaving for Hawaii, I had been a constant visitor. I worked right up the road and would stop at least a few days of week to sit and talk and watch westerns with him. I learned stories from his Army days, talked hand guns (he was a gun dealer for a lot of years), and poked fun at my uncle. 

Grandpa was a rough man on the outside. He had the gravelly voice from years of smoking and a no-nonsense attitude that hid his genuine care for people. I looked forward to our visits and saying goodbye a few days before I left was one of my harder goodbyes–as he was one of the few remaining grandparents who could still remember me and function highly. We always talked about how much he loved my bright yellow Neon. He never cared for the car, but the color was something he fixated on.  He loved classic cars–owning two restorations that are beautiful.  No matter the time I’d show up, he never failed to ask me if I “wanted a pop” from the big cooler by the fridge.

A favorite story to tell was his return from Europe with the Army.  The plane ride was supposed to take a couple of days and the train a few more.  There ended up being issues with the plane so they had to turn back instead of flying on after already having made it half way.  Then they wanted him to take another plane once he reached the states.  He refused after the debacle previously. So he got a train ticket. The train ride was less eventful. But when going through a dry state, he made sure to buy a case of beer to enjoy on his way through. He eventually made it home, but he has never liked long trips again.

He got a job with the railroad after he returned home and that encompassed his life from then on.  His walls are lined with trains and memorabilia. I remember his huge key ring with what seemed like hundreds of keys he used to carry on his belt. When we moved from Missouri to Iowa, we asked him to watch our dog Lucky while we got things settled.  A week or two later, we realized we’d never be able to ask for Lucky back.  He was his faithful (and SPOILED) companion until kidney failure forced Grandpa to put him down.  He was heartbroken and swore he’d never have another dog.  But my family knew he was missing his little furry buddy. So my mom and I started looking at various humane societies and rescue groups looking for a new buddy. I found a small dog similar to Lucky at the humane society I volunteered at in high school.  They insisted he was 9 years old.  A trip to the vet confirmed our suspicions, he was barely 2 years old. We fell in love with this pooch.  He has a hilarious quirk–if you stop petting him, he will nudge you with his butt and make this growling Chewbacca noise as if to say “you’re not done yet!”.  We had to fabricate a story so Grandpa would keep him.  Turns out we didn’t need to. We told him I had rescued him because he was set to be put down (the humane society wasn’t a kill shelter) and that we were going to give him to my uncle.  Grandpa had smiled and said “I thought you brought him for me.” And thus, history was made and Jake remained his constant companion until the end.  That poor dog is struggling now–he misses his buddy too.  Jake was even listed in the obituary, even before the children.

Remember how I said I was living my nightmare by not being able to come home? My uncle called me at about 3am his time and offered to pay my flights to and from Hawaii so I could come to the service.  So….I am posting from my small Nebraska hometown. The service was last Wednesday–complete with Jake in tow.

Despite the rotten circumstances, we did manage to go out the weekend prior to my flight. The Mister and I finally went on some short hikes. We took Audie out and he was exhausted by the end of the day, but he was loving being outside with us. 

We took on the Judd Loop Trail first.

The Cook pines were the neatest part of the trail. These babies tower over you by hundreds of feet. They have such unique rings around them too.

We lost the trail a few times, but eventually, we figured it out. Only took an hour–even with the my constant stopping to snap photos (much to Audie’s annoyance).

Then we drove up the Pali a bit and found the Kaniakapupu Ruins.

This was the summer palace of King Kamehameha III.  In 1847, it is said that 10,000 people attended a luau here.  This site is technically kapu to visit (it’s on BWS land and is a sacred spot).  But since we respected the place, we didn’t have any issues with authorities.

After the ruins, we went to the tourist attraction at the Pali Lookout. It’s here where Kamehameha forced the warriors of Oahu over the cliff face and effectively united the Hawaiian Islands.  Now it’s just a cool scenic overlook where you can follow the old trail around the mountain to a waterfall (we will likely do that trail another day).

Now that I’m back in Nebraska until Sunday, we’ve had to put a few plans on hold. We have a green lava flow tour and a rainforest/waterfall/movie tour coming up on the 16th (assuming the hurricane and tropical storm coming through doesn’t mess things up too bad). I’m just hoping my flight from Seattle to Honolulu doesn’t get canceled. I’d rather be stuck at home here, than in the airport in Seattle.

Going to be an adjustment going back and getting used to things again, but I do have a phone interview for a job on post tonight so maybe it will work out. We’ll see!

Hopefully things will not be as eventful before my next post.

Cheers!

-A.xoxo