Lost 2014: Day 3

For me, Friday, September 19th, 2014 started around 9:30AM with another fine breakfast at Lulu's, this time shared with several of my LOST cohorts.  If I recall correctly MJ, Chris, Ian, Fiona, and Rambo made it out that morning.

Ian's breakfast at Lulu's. (photo: Ian)

After breakfast MJ and I walked over to the beach.  While MJ took a short swim in the ocean I played to my strengths and relaxed in the shade under a tree.

Doin' what i do best.

We were then rejoined by Rambo and the three of us set off on foot to see some of the sights in the area.  First we walked through Kapiolani Park, which among other things features this awesome view of Diamondhead fronted by a lonely cluster of trees.

Kapiolani Park.

We then moved on to the Waikiki Shell, a lovely outdoor theatre which has no doubt hosted many a shindig, but of particular note is the LOST concert performed by the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Michael Giacchino back in 2007.

Waikiki Shell

Next up we perused a few LOST locations which I'll cover in separate posts.  Eventually we ended up at Leonard's Bakery, where we randomly ran into Alice, Terri, Kiana, and Allison.  Small island!

Catching some shade and some sustenance.

We ran into Allison and the rest of the Fab Four. (Photo: Alice)

Enjoying a macadamia nut malasada at Leonard's (Photo: MJ)

After Leonard's, MJ, Rambo and I caught a city bus back to our respective hotels.  Fortunately happy hour was still in effect, so you can guess where I ended up.

We've got to stop meeting like this.

After freshening up at the hotel I spent a few minutes experimenting with some of the effects functions on my camera.  (Actually, my son's camera.  I decided to forgo my Nikon DSLR on this trip  in favour of his compact Canon camera and my iPod touch. )

Hyper-colour view of DiamondHead from the Park Shore hotel.

Moody Honolulu taken from the Park Shore hotel.

Panorama behind the Park Shore hotel.

Shortly thereafter I met up with the regular gang and we ubered (that's a word now, right?) over to O'Toole's pub for a LOSTie meetup.

Friday afternoon LOSTie meet up at O'Toole's (Photo: Ian)

We're heeeeeerrrrrreeee! (Photo: Ian)

The party was already in full swing when we arrived, with a group of 20 or so LOST fans drinking and conversing around a large table.

One of our first items of business to take care of was a toast to the rest of our LOST buddies who weren't able to make it to Oahu this time around.

To absent friends...  (Photo: Chris)

Several beers later we decided to head out for dinner.  As it had started to rain rather heavily the decision was made to go across the street to Murphy's Bar and Grill.  It was also around this time that I ran into "Amy Foxland", whom I had met when I was on The Island three years prior.  Although Amy lived on Oahu back in 2011, she had since moved back to the Mainland.  I didn't know she was attending Lost 2014 so it was a very happy surprise to see her again.  Amy was accompanied by her friend Sharon; I sat with the two of them for some time and caught up on the latest news.  A few minutes in a very rude English bloke poked his nose over a partition and accused me of deserting his group!  The nerve!  When the meals finally arrived I said bade farewell to Amy and Sharon and scooted back over to my compatriots.  (I do not recommend Murphy's chicken salad, by the way -- dry and tasteless.)  The British bloke eventually apologized for his horrendous behaviour and we were back to being bosom buddies again.

Pleading my case.  (Photo: Ian)

Time to kiss and make up.  (Photo: Amy)

After dinner we ubered back to Waikiki.  A few in the group called it a night, while others dropped in to The Cheesecake Factory to satisfy their sweet teeth!  I was part of the latter set.  We ordered two slices of cheesecake to share among several people; our initial trepidation about not ordering enough evaporated when dessert arrived.  These were American sized cheesecakes to be sure!

Huge slab 'o cheesecake.

After cheesecake I got word that Paul was back at the Mai Tai Bar, so I scooted over there to finish off the night.  On the way I could have sworn I saw a nattily-dressed surfing turtle.

Hard-shell dude.

Paul was hanging with the younger set that night; most seemed to be in their early twenties, and in fact one in their group was apparently refused entry earlier for being underaged.  I love my forty-sumptin' pals, but it was refreshing to see a new generation of LOST fans on the scene, equally devoted and obsessed.  Just the other day my eleven-year-old daughter came home and told me that one of the girls in her class really likes LOST as well.  Clearly the show's legacy will live on for many years to come.

After again closing out the Mai Tai Bar we dispersed back to our hotels.  The following day would mark the beginning of the "official" Lost 2014 events.

Bonus Photo: One of my favourite shots from the trip, taken at Murphy's and featuring two lovely ladies:

(Photo: Ian)