The Robin Masters Estate (Pahonu)

[Steve]

Very cool...........Good for you and what a great find. Care to share the story on how you were able to rightfully save them.....

[KENJI]

A great haul of treasure there Bond!
It must've been like Christmas when you saw it all for the first time!
Happy to hear a few things were saved from that sacred spot - well done.
I bet the customs agents were scratching their heads when they spotted a few bricks on the old x-ray machine.

[Higgins (aka Bondtoys)]

You are guessing right, Kenji.

First of all, we arrived in HNL at 20:00 in the evening and had time until 16:00 the following day to arrange everything.

Getting to Alamo for the rental car, driving to the hotel and checkin, eating something for dinner, sleeping, having breakfast, shopping at the grocery store (we love US baked beans), shopping at Waikele Outlet stores, meeting up with the "brickman" for lunch and then dropping the luggage with the bricks off at the harbour, getting some Aloha Shirts at Ala Moana, meeting up with our Honolulu friend, returning the car and driving to the port.

I also wanted to drive down to Pahonu to have a swim in the tidal pool but returned halfway because it would have been too long before we met for lunch. So I had to cancel the Pahonu visit and limited us to visit Agatha's home that was right on the way back to Honolulu.

I have received the stuff during lunch at Yanagi Sushi on Kapiolani blvd, which I can highly recommend. Best Sushi that I've had for years (and I have a lot of Sushi!) - definitely worth the high prices!

First obstacle was the long-haired general (my beloved wife) who did not let any occasion pass to express her displeasure that I was carrying that junk with us around the globe, messing the rest of our clothing, weighting a ton and using up incredible much spacein our suitcases.

Second obstacle was security in Honolulu as we boarded a cruiseship on the way to Tahiti, Bora Bora, New Zealand and Australia.
We received a message, that one of our suitcases was seized at security and I had to come down to deck 2 to pick it up.
The officer told me, that they saw 2 "items of high density" and that I had to show them to him.
It took me almost an hour and talks with 2 of his supervisors to convince them that I was a genuine nutter who was innocently carrying 2 brickstones around the globe.

Third obstacle was Security at Sydney International airport.
I was more concerned about the decorative ball and decided to carry it in my cabin luggage to have the chance to explain what it is and why instead of somebody crack-opening the suitcase and propbably deny us from boarding.
So, my cabin bag was stopped in the X-Ray and was asked to open it, because they saw a huge metalpart "that looks like something that I am not allowed to say the word" the officer said.
After 5 minutes of discussions with his boss, he returned the ball to me and wished us a safe trip.

We had to reboard in London and go thru security again, but then there was surprisingly no issues with my cabin case.

[KENJI]

Great back story there Bond!
General Bond sounds just like General Kenji!!
I'm sure your arms/shoulders had a good workout with all of those stops.
Glad to hear you could convince them that you were a genuine nutter (too funny )and were able to keep the treasure!
Sounds like it was a fun adventure -thanks for sharing it with us!

[K Hale]

Random thought: with the frequent rains on the windward side of Oahu, why was the driveway never paved? Would runoff from the rains have caused problems/shifting/sinking of the ground and therefore cracking of the paved driveway? Just curious.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

That's a pretty amazing story, bondtoys! I still can't believe you got through all the checkpoints at the various ports and airports with what you were carrying. I mean we're talking bricks and metallic balls and chains here. I would have been afraid to transport this stuff for fear that it would be taken away from me. So I think you're extremely lucky there!

[Styles Bitchley]

Bond, I love that you managed to pick up some souvenirs from Robin's Nest. Sound like you put in the leg work to make it happen, so kudos to you!

At least I still have a few charms that Conch sent my way after his pilgrimage. (Thanks again!)

I was thinking of the Estate today and thought I'd wander here to see what's up. Here's an appropriate song in case any of you guys also have a case of Waimanalo Blues.

[suzyfan]

Firstly, I apologise if this has been posted before.
I did have a quick look through this thread, but didn't see it. I just came across this on YouTube.
Heartbreaking, to see.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo3hAxYv3Fk

John

[Styles Bitchley]

Firstly, I apologise if this has been posted before.
I did have a quick look through this thread, but didn't see it. I just came across this on YouTube.
Heartbreaking, to see.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo3hAxYv3Fk

John

Ugh. That's pretty gutting video, John. Thanks for sharing though.

[Tobi]

Firstly, I apologise if this has been posted before.
I did have a quick look through this thread, but didn't see it. I just came across this on YouTube.
Heartbreaking, to see.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo3hAxYv3Fk

John

Amazing (but heartbreaking) footage - would have been wonderful to see it before the demolition commenced.

[eagle]

Firstly, I apologise if this has been posted before.
I did have a quick look through this thread, but didn't see it. I just came across this on YouTube.
Heartbreaking, to see.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo3hAxYv3Fk

John

It's still painful to watch after these several months.

[K Hale]

Photos on the Facebook group show someone has done some cleanup of the wild foliage and a small stairs structure has been built.

[Nifty911]

Firstly, I apologise if this has been posted before.
I did have a quick look through this thread, but didn't see it. I just came across this on YouTube.
Heartbreaking, to see.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo3hAxYv3Fk

John

It's still painful to watch after these several months.

One really sux is the place went to pot to begin with. How do people allow that to happen? This is a house on the beach with acreage.

[Chris109]

One really sux is the place went to pot to begin with. How do people allow that to happen? This is a house on the beach with acreage.

May have just been a tax write-off to begin with.

[JungleBird]

Photos on the Facebook group show someone has done some cleanup of the wild foliage and a small stairs structure has been built.

How can I find this group on FB?
Thanks!

So the boathouse and gatehouse are still standing? I wonder when they're planning to continue destroying this beautiful property...