episode 3

The host of the Buckle Up Podcast, Shablene McGinnis, talks about her recent trip to Hawaii with her husband. She describes the beauty of the island, the friendly and welcoming people, and the cultural experiences they had. She also shares a story about getting stranded after a luau and being helped by a kind taxi driver named Ahmed. Shablene highly recommends visiting Hawaii at least once in a lifetime because of the amazing spirit and serenity it offers. The beaches are described as beautiful and the water is clear and refreshing. Overall, it was a memorable and relaxing trip for Shablene and her husband. What's up guys and welcome to Buckle Up Podcast with your host Shablene McGinnis. How's everyone doing out there? I hope you guys are great. I am doing great. It's a few things I want to talk about on this podcast today so if you're new to this podcast go on and subscribe and like my podcast Buckle Up. You don't want to miss this ride. I just came back from Hawaii, me and my husband. We had a beautiful six days out in Hawaii. If you haven't been to Hawaii it is a must-do on your bucket list at least one time. It is a beautiful island that is part of the United States and you don't even need a passport to get there, okay? The people are so beautiful, friendly, welcoming. It's a lot of culture there in Hawaii. The beaches are beautiful. It's paradise that you don't even need a passport to go to. So I hope that you guys at least make it once out there and experience the people and the culture out there. My husband and I we were out there for his cousin's wedding which was absolutely beautiful. There was supposed to be 50 people but 16 people showed up but it was okay because it was still a beautiful day. They looked beautiful. They looked blessed and we had a phenomenal time out there. It was my husband and I's first time going out to Hawaii and we fell in love with it. I am planning a return trip out there for 2025. I want to try to do it around my birthday. We just met some beautiful people out there. The people out there are so friendly and so welcoming. We met a couple of people, exchanged numbers. So now when we go out there we can reach out to them and just build on the relationship with these people that we met out in Hawaii, Waikiki. When we were there, of course we went to my cousin's wedding which again like I said was a beautiful, beautiful wedding. She looked stunning. It was very nice to witness their union, especially in a place like that. So that was awesome. That was the highlight of the trip, no doubt. But after that, my husband and I, we went on some tours of the island of Hawaii. So we went to a luau which was phenomenal. One thing about the Hawaiian people when you speak to them, they love to tell you a story and I mean it's so intriguing and so interesting and rich the way they give you information about their island and why they live there. And even people that are not originally from Hawaii or just moved to Hawaii, it's interesting when they tell you their story of why they moved there. So when you're speaking with the Hawaiian people, residents out there, they're really giving you a story and it's so intriguing. So we went to a luau which was absolutely beautiful. It was a fire show. They actually used the coconuts and showed us how they made fire from a coconut and what all the attributes that a coconut can do for you. So a coconut is a very vital thing. It can do a lot of things. It can start a fire. You can make a boat with it. You can make a tool with it, you know, to cook or to cut something. You can make clothing with it. Coconut, I didn't really know that it had a lot of attributes that you can really get out of a coconut besides drinking it and eating it. So that was very informative for us to see that part of the show of that tribe showing us how to make fire out of a coconut. And then you had the Hawaiian dancers out there. They're just so beautiful. And every entertainment piece that they did came with a story of how they got to be, how they came to Hawaii, how their ancestors came to Hawaii, how they feed off the land of Hawaii. It was just so, oh my god, mind-blowing, so intriguing. And it's just, these people are so amazing. Nothing but positive energy in Hawaii. Nothing but positive energy. So that luau was beautiful. Toward the end of that luau, we had to get back to, you know, Waikiki. And we had to go over there and we didn't have a ride back, guys. So that was kind of scary because after the luau was over, I didn't really have any good connection to get us a cab from Uber to get us back. So I had to go in the front of the park to see if I can get some kind of network going where the gift shop was. And I was able to get a little bit of a network, but not much that would download to let me know if a car was able to come get us from the site. So good thing, like I said, the people are so friendly there that the Uber driver that took us there, he gave us his personal number. And once we waited out front of the park and watching people get into their rides and, you know, get into their vans that brought them to the park and into their, you know, getting into their vehicles, I'm like, okay, we got to get out of here because we are way, like, we are like 30 miles out of Waikiki and we're in the rural part of Hawaii and it's getting, it's dark. It's not that it's getting dark, it's dark. And we did not want to get stuck out there. Thank God there was a cab, taxi out there. But we didn't know if the taxi was waiting for someone to pick the, you know, we didn't know if that taxi was waiting for that passenger to be picked up from there. So as my husband called the Uber driver and the Uber driver wasn't available to come back and get us, my husband went and asked the taxi driver, you know, how much would it cost for us to get back to Waikiki, what have you. And they started talking and then my husband came back and he said, listen, you know, this taxi says you can get us back to Hawaii, he'll get us 10% off of the off of the bill because the Uber driver that we had that wasn't available, but he could have become available, but he wanted $80 to come back out. And I was like, I do not want to pay $80 for an Uber. But by the time my network came up to see the rate for an Uber, that was kind of the rate coming back to Waikiki from where we just came from, to where we were just at. So I'm like, oh my God, how did the rate go from $27 to get here and now it's like $96, $100. And this taxi is going to, you know, take 10% off of, you know, the rate for us to take us back to a hotel. So we jumped in the cab because we had no choice because he was the only cab out there. And everybody was getting into their transportation to go back to wherever they were coming from. So we get into the taxi, which was a blessing. And like I said, the Hawaiian people, the locals, they have stories to tell. And when we got in the car, you know, I think his name is Ahmed, so shout out Ahmed. I thank Ahmed for, you know, being a blessing to us because we would have been stuck out in that part of Hawaii, you know, seeing that tour. And it's only because we scheduled that tour at the last minute, where we couldn't get transportation. So the people who scheduled us told us we can get an Uber there, but they didn't tell us that it's going to be hard to get an Uber back because the connection is not that great out there. But moving forward, we get into Ahmed's taxi, and I'm just telling him thank you, what a blessing he is to us. And, you know, he tells us that he comes out there every Sunday. Sunday is his day off, but he works on Sunday and he goes to that particular spot because they have that event going on every Sunday. And he says he sit out there for two hours, and he sits out there until the last person leaves out of the park. I was amazed. I really was amazed that he said that because he says he does this every Sunday. And he's like, you know, the reception is horrible out here. You know, I come every Sunday just to make sure that nobody gets stranded because it has been times that people got stranded out there, you know. And he says that's why he sits out there until the park closes. And he says sometimes, you know, nobody comes in his cab, but he'll still sit out there just to make sure that nobody is left behind and is stuck on that part of the island. So I thought that was such a kind act for someone to do and a selfish act for someone to do, you know. And it's not about him making money to sit out there because he said it's times that he'll sit out there for the two hours and wait for the last person to leave and the last person left and nobody needs a cab, you know. And it happens on a lot of occasions and it don't happen on some occasions, he said, but he used to do, you know, to not go there on Sundays in case, you know, somebody really needs him. And I'm glad that he chose to go that Sunday for us because we were tourists of Hawaii, of the state of Hawaii, and we didn't have a ride coming back. So I thank God that he was out there and I thank God that he does this every Sunday. It's not a Sunday that he said he wants to be. So shout out to Ahmed because Ahmed, if it wasn't for you, I don't know how we would have got home back to our hotel that day. But that is just the spirit of Hawaii that I fell in love with, that my husband fell in love with. So I'm telling you guys that, you know, try in this lifetime to make it there at least one time. You will not have a bad experience. The spirit of Hawaii is real. The people are kind and they are loving. The beach, oh my God, we got a chance to go to the beach. The beach is beautiful. Beautiful. The water is so blue. The water is so gorgeous. Gorgeous. It's a breath of fresh air. When you're out there, you are so serene. You don't have a care in the world. You're just listening to the waves. You're just feeling the coldness and the warmness of the ocean. You know, you're listening to the people around you having fun, children laughing and screaming of joy and happiness. And it's just a beautiful feeling. It was so relaxing to be on that beach. My husband and I, we got a chance to get to the beach twice. The second day that we got there, well, our first full day that we got there. And then the day before we left, we made sure after our tour from the luau that we got a chance to go back to the beach in the evening time to kind of get a feel of the water. Those waves are something else, baby. If you don't know how to swim, you need to be careful in the waters because those waves are serious. Them tides are serious. I don't know how to swim, but I sat in the water enough where I was comfortable. And when I tell you the waves, can you, baby, and pulled the girl back in her seat a little bit, I was like, oh my God. I wasn't scared because I had took some swimming lessons. So some of the fears that I've had, I don't have those fears anymore. But I knew that I didn't want to go deep in the water where I wouldn't be comfortable. I need to be at a level that I was comfortable. So I did that at all times and still had a beautiful time. My husband was in the water and sitting in the water, the waves were pulling him. And he's a swimmer, but he didn't take the chance either to go that far deep in the water because those waves are serious. Those are really fun surfing waves, baby. So you see these guys out there, surfing guys and gals out there, surfing, having a great time. They are one with the ocean. So, it's a sport that they love to do. It's a sport that they grew up doing. And in Hawaii, surfing is really big because what they have, they have there is the ocean. So they have to come along with the ocean. And you can see that in a culture, you can see it, you can feel it. You know, it's just a beautiful thing. It's a tropical thing and it's a nice tropical vibe. So that was one of the things that we did. We had a hotel with a pool. We didn't even go to the pool that one time. Like I mentioned the word pool to my husband and he was like, oh, what? We're going to the beach. I'm like, okay. Even though it took me all day to get the sand out of my sister locks, okay. It's worth every minute of it, but we had a blast. Absolute blast. So I am planning my next trip to Hawaii. Sure is, sure is. That is like my home away from home. I tell you. So I'm planning my next trip. This time I want to take my immediate family because I really want them to experience what we experienced. So I'm trying to see if I can get my sons and my sister and my nephew, maybe some cousins to come out there with me and my husband and just share the experience of Hawaii because it's such a beautiful place. We went on some more tours of the farms, of the macadamia farm, the fruit farm. And I mean, everything there is from the earth. You could tell the difference in the food from compared to the food here in the mainland and in the U.S. state. The food is definitely different. It's definitely more healthier because they don't have that additive and stuff like that. Here is commercial food that is out there because it is a state. So they do have McDonald's, Burger King, IHOP, Denny's, you know, so you still get that kind of stuff in the city of Waikiki. But once you go out of Waikiki and you head out into the rural area, the farm area, it is different. You know, it's really different. It's a lot of farms and supermarkets out there, but they get their stuff fresh and you can tell the difference. And their sugar is really sugar. Like I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to buy me some sugar from Hawaii where I know that it's pure cane sugar, you know, and not this processed stuff that we have here in the state. But that's another topic. So we visited farms out there, which was beautiful. We got to taste and buy things from people, you know, that are local who do these things handmade. And like I said, everybody tells a story. We went into the distillery section of the tour where this woman was selling pearls and she was telling us the difference of the pearls, saltwater pearls and water pearls. Saltwater pearls are black, yellow, and white. And they're basically that color and they're harsh because of the salt. But if you get water pearls, they're more softer. They cost less. They're much better. You know, they don't have all the colors as saltwater, but they can form their own colors. That just makes them so much special. And when you go to Hawaii and somebody's trying to sell you pearls, it's very important to find out what kind of pearls they're trying to sell you. It's important on what kind of pearls they're trying to sell you because you don't want anyone to sell you any saltwater pearls. And saltwater pearls are always going to be higher than water pearls. So you always want to get water pearls when you go to Hawaii or you go to anywhere that sells pearls and they're supposed to be real pearls. You ask if it's saltwater or water pearls. If it's saltwater pearls, please pass on it. If it's not saltwater pearls, it's just pearls, water pearls. You can get those. It's going to be less expensive. But like I said, Hawaii is a beautiful, beautiful place. And we had so much fun and I cannot wait to return back there to see those beautiful people again and experience some more extraordinary things in that place called Hawaii. So guys, I wanted to start this podcast with my trip to Hawaii, coming back. And other news today, I heard that Kamala Harris has a running mate, which is Walt. So it's going to be Harrison Walt. I don't know much about this gentleman. I only heard like little snippets of his video of what he was talking about him accepting to be on a ticket for Harris and Walt, which is a good thing. I know he's the governor of Minnesota and he did a lot of great things for that state or was doing a lot of great things for that state. So they're saying that this is a great ticket for Kamala Harris. So I'm hoping that we win this election so that we don't have to have Trump in office. Because if that man gets in office, I don't know what I am going to do. I got to figure out a quick exit plan out of the U.S. for four years if he's in office. Seriously. But I'm glad that she picked the running mate and they're hitting the ground running with their own tour of the state to have people know what the ticket is about and to get people out there to vote on November 5th. So that is actually awesome to know that she has a running mate. So that is great. So I am going to end this Buckle Up podcast with what I always do at the end of each podcast. I am going to pull out a word and let's see what I get for the word for today. So she is close in strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future. Harper 3125. So she is close in strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future. So what I get from this Proverbs 3125 is that, you know, you can be close in the strength and the dignity and the laughs that the Lord brings upon you. Meaning that he is armoring you in all those things. Strength, dignity, and laughs. He covers you with those so that you can walk in your purpose knowing that he is beside you. So you wouldn't have anything to fear because you know that God walks with you. So that's what I get out of this Proverbs 3125. Walking in purpose and walking in purpose with your head up high, your confidence intact, and know that you walk with somebody that is higher than yourself and that is a protector of yourself. And you're walking with his help on purpose. So I'm going to leave you with that and I hope you guys are having a wonderful, wonderful day. Many blessings to you today and every day. And I'm just going to say goodbye for now. Thank you for listening to Buckle Up Podcast with your host Shabrie McGinnis. Bye for now.