Written for Ed/Win week on Tumblr
Ed laughs and leans further against the railing as he watches his new bride being splashed by a dolphin at Sea Life Park. Winry was having the time of her life and that's all he could have asked for when he booked their destination wedding in Hawaii. Two weeks of fun in the sun, she deserved it and more, and sometimes it surprised even him that she had put up with him for all these years but what could he say. She was the reason he made it through the accident that cost him his leg, stuck by and put up with his rebellious phase, and now married his crazy ass. He chuckles again as she leans over to pet another dolphin, Ed couldn't give her the world, but at least he could finally give her this small slice of happiness.
Last week, the ceremony had been perfect, how could it not, fiery sunset along a white sandy beach, lazy ocean waves lapping behind them, his brother Al and girlfriend Mei, Winry's grandmother, and even their absentee father who had the decency to show up for the ceremony, bearing witness as they exchanged their vows in front of the officiator. The glow that Winry exuded that day was simply beautiful and the only thing that could have made it better was if her parents and his mother had been alive to see it. Ed sighs, he was sure they were watching from somewhere.
A hand taking hold of his own snaps him out of his daydream, "Come on Ed, let's go see the seals next!" Winry beams, chattering away as they walk hand in hand along the pathway to the next exhibit…
Across the island of Oahu, his wife dragged him from location to location intending to pack in as much sightseeing as they could during this trip, while Ed focused mostly on tasting all the delicacies he could get his mouth on, and maybe even try a little paddle boarding. He had been surprised with how different the foods were, a fusion of cultures so unlike what they'd find back home, it thrilled his taste buds to no end! Tropical fruits he'd never heard of before, seafood so fresh like it'd been caught that morning, Hawaiian, Japanese, Filipino, Puerto Rican, Italian, Portuguese, he was losing track of all the different types they came across especially when they were blended in what the natives called "local style plates".
From the northern shore where they tasted freshly picked pineapples and reveled in the luau provided by the Polynesian Culture Center, those hula and fire dancers were a sight to behold, to the southern, drier side where they visited Pearl Harbor, and everywhere in between. Tried the Atlantis Submarine adventure, to spending the day with their family at the Wet 'N Wild waterpark before seeing them off to the airport.
The Bishop Museum was kind of boring to him, he had wished the Dinosaur exhibit had been open, they both would have been thrilled with the animatronics, but Winry loved the Pacific Hall and all the artifacts collected from around the Pacific Rim. It was fascinating to a girl who loved machinery how these ancient peoples managed to sail the seas with little more than the stars and nature to guide them. Then there was the shopping, oh, boy, if his wife bought anymore souvenirs they were going to have to buy another suitcase!
But his portion of this trip was coming up the next day when they would be flying to the island of Kauai for an overnighter, Ed could barely sleep a wink he was so excited! He had promised himself that one day, if they ever came to Hawaii he'd visit the setting of one of his most favorite movies…
"Let's go, let's go Win, the helicopter is waiting for us!"
Ed slings their carry-on over his shoulder and tugs his wife across the small airport as she could only laugh at her husband's excitement and tries to keep up. He had booked the helicopter tour to take them around the island but specifically to see locations where they had filmed Jurassic Park and now Jurassic World.
As the helicopter leaves the Lihue airport, the pilot heads west in a plan to circle the island, their first location along the southern tip in Hanapepe. "Now I'm sure you'll recognize this iconic scene," the pilot hovers for a few minutes. "Manawaiopuna Falls is the best way to start off this tour."
Winry, "Manapua?"
The pilot chuckles, "Trust me, it took me years to say it right."
"That's the waterfall!" Ed pushes on Winry's shoulder, "Where the helicopter lands!"
"I can see that Ed."
"This is one of the places I wanted to see!" Clicking away on his camera.
On the western side of Kauai, "As you look to your left along the Na Pali Coast, these were used to showcase some of the landscape of the island in the movies. Another scene, where the kids had to climb the electric fence, that was shot just northwest of here in the Olokele Valley in Waimea."
Edward is glued to the glass like some enthusiastic child again, "Oh My God, Win I recognize those cliffs from the World movie!"
As they pass over the northern region of the island, the pilot points out the ranch they are flying over. "Down there is where they filmed scenes like the Brachiosaurus encounter in the first movie. The name of the ranch is Jurassic Kahili Ranch, an actual working cattle ranch that has hosted scenes from movies like Mighty Joe Young and Just Go With It," he chuckles, "I liked that movie, along with all three of the original Jurassic movies."
"That was such a cute scene," Winry chuckles, "especially when it sneezed."
"Not so fun a fact is when Spielberg was filming the original movie, we were hit by Hurricane Iniki, probably the strongest hurricane to hit Hawaii and it destroyed a lot of their sets, but the show must go on as they say."
"I wonder if the hurricane helped inspire the storm idea in the movie…" Winry wonders aloud
"I don't think it did," responds the pilot, "but that would have made for a really interesting movie fact."
Taking a detour over the center of the island, they pass near Mount Waiale'ale on their way to the eastern coast, "That is the tallest mountain on our island. Unfortunately, you can't see it from the air anymore, but at the base of this extinct volcano is where they erected and filmed the big entry gates to the park. It was removed after filming, but large posts still remain, only experienced hikers should attempt to reach it, well a lot of these locations one must be an experienced hiker to get to them. Also, nearby is where the T-Rex's paddock was filmed."
Next, they head east towards the Kapaa area, flying over a river, "that is the Hoopii Falls, where they filmed the amber mine scene." And soon they pass over the vast Valley House Plantation Estate, "Here is where they filmed a shell of the visitor center for the movie as well as the Triceratops…"
"The sick Triceratops scene!" Ed blurts out, "that was a really cool part of the movie!"
"A few other areas were used, but you could also note this estate has been used in movies like Tropic Thunder, George of the Jungle, and one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, I believe Stranger Tides."
On the way back to the airport, "After that first movie came out, tourists began flocking to our island to get glimpses of where they filmed, but over the years, the tours began to slow down until only a couple of us were offering them. However, with the new World movie, it's brought a new wave of sightseer's. I hope you enjoyed your flight today and I will you all the best…"
After returning to the airport and thanking the pilot, they rent a jeep and head to the one of the two other accessible locations, north of the airport and part of the National Tropical Botanical Garden, the Limahuli Gardens. From lush native forests to archeological complexes that provide a window into the times of old, it has hosted several scenes for the Jurassic movie amongst others.
The young couple walk around the vast pathways and landscape reveling in the natural wonders, scents, sounds, all so different than any forest they had ever seen before, sometimes joining behind tour groups, and other times just wandering on their own. Ed figures they could spend several days in the park and barely have time to see it all. They stay and watch the last of the sun's rays disappear below the horizon in a brilliant flash of fire. "I feel like I'm in another world," Winry whispers to her husband.
Ed closes his eyes, "I was just thinking the same thing," laughing as he envisions being Allan Grant in the midst of a tropical rainforest…
That night at their hotel, Ed wastes no time uploading all the pictures and videos from his camera to Instagram while his wife takes a bath. He smiles as he can hear her humming, sweet floral scents of the islands filling the room, no doubt from the amenities provided by the hotel.
Feeling refreshed, Winry sits down beside him on the bed just as he's finishing up, "Are you sure you don't want to visit the sites on Oahu? You know the World movies filmed a lot of scenes on that island too."
"Nah," he smiles at her, "I think I'll save it for another trip," he leans back against the headboard, "I love the new movies and all, but the originals are still my favorite."
"Well I'm glad you had fun Ed, although I thought you were gonna jump out of the helicopter a couple of times cause you were so excited."
"Yeah," grinning, "it was just too cool you know, like when we passed that Estate where they filmed the Triceratops, I could picture the movie scenes in my head, sigh, everything is so gorgeous in Hawaii I hate to leave."
She leans against her husband's shoulder, "I feel the same way. It's almost a shame to return home."
"Hawaii is definitely a place we'll have to come back and visit again…"
