Island Wise

A jet-setting Jedi, he is

by Adrienne LaFrance | Feb 25, 2009

Surprisingly vital for someone who’s 900 years old, Yoda, that wrinkly green, Force-infused Jedi master, recently stopped in Hawaii on a trip around the world that has kept him country-hopping for several years now.

“I made friends with this girl on one Star Wars fan forum called [theforce.net],” said 39-year-old Jason Tayros, who’s behind the Star Wars fan site [www.rebellegionhawaii.com]. “She said they were going to send their friend’s Yoda toy around the world and they were looking for hosts to take him around. Of course I said I’d do it.”

But Tayros had to wait his turn. After leaving from California, Yoda first traveled across Asia, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. He visited Dracula’s castle in Romania, overlooked the ancient ruins of Athens, attended a Lord of the Rings symphony in Germany and even spent some time hanging out in Amsterdam. From place-to-place, his preferred method of travel has been through the postal service (it’s impossible to get a light sabre through airport security these days), with few exceptions, though Yoda’s host in Taiwan spontaneously took him on a plane ride to Singapore. After spending a week or two on each stop, the wise and mysterious Dagobah native relaxed on Oahu for a solid three months.

“I took him for a drive around the island,” said Tayros. “We went to the blowhole, we went to Koko Head crater, we went and got shave ice, we stopped at Giovanni’s shrimp wagon on the north shore. Unfortunately for him, the day we drove around the island, the surf wasn’t really that huge. I also took him to a UH football game, took him to the state capital. He took photos with Queen Liliuokalani and I took him to the USS Arizona Memorial three different days.”

But Tayros says there’s still more he would have liked to show Yoda.

“If he ever comes back, I want to take him to Hanauma Bay. If I can find the right equipment, I’ll take him snorkeling.”

Yoda recently headed back to the contiguous U.S., en route to Canada and South America. To see more of what Yoda did while in Hawaii, visit [www.rebellegionhawaii.com]. To see photos from all of Yoda’s adventures, visit [www.travelswithyoda.com].

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