Thursday, July 29, 2021
Safe Sunset Beach
It has been exactly one week since the very scary Sunset Beach shooting where we were literally in the middle of active crossfire. I have been practicing self-care to help with the recurring PTSD symptoms from that event. We know that this situation could happen anywhere. Although the experience was extremely frightening, we contacted the Coconut Palm Basket Weaving company to see if we could reschedule our Go City Oahu attraction that was violently interrupted the previous week. They agreed to save us a spot for this Thursday at the same spot on safe Sunset Beach.
Coconut Palm Basket Weaving on the Beach
We parked in the same spot at the Sunset Beach Recreation Center, crossed the same street, and this time we walked to the same spot on the beach where we were last week ducking behind the trees and running for our lives down Sunset Beach. I couldn’t help but take pictures of the scene, it was the same spot, but looked very different to us now. From the street, we could see the house where the gunman was firing from his balcony. The balcony was facing the beach access pass and we were in direct view. We both took deep breaths and slowly made our way to the beach to continue our coconut palm basket weaving lesson, an ancient Hawaiian tradition still very commonly done as a beach-going activity. Estelle, our Hawaiian art teacher, returned to teach my bestie and I how to weave our own palm branch art. We were able to catch up with her and trade stories about how she too survived the same incident with us last week. She was so sweet to take pictures with us to share today so that I could have my snapshot with me in my graduation cap celebrating with Jaime in Hawaii in July.
Waimea Botanical Garden & Thursday Farmers Market
On our way back home, we stopped at Waimea Botanical Garden that we also missed last Thursday so that we could hit up the weekly Waimea Farmers Market that is from 2pm to 6pm. We mingled around checking out the unique items you can only find in Hawaii, specifically in the North Shore of Oahu. To quench my thirst and cool me down, I purchased a Honey Lilikoi Slushy (fresh juiced passion fruit and raw local honey). Walking around the Waimea Botanical Garden, I snapped a few pictures of plants, ancient Hawaiian grounds, and tidbits of the Waimea Farmers Market.
Thank you for reading and viewing,
Dr. Jaime Brainerd, Ed.D.
