"Oliva looked at me like I was a superhero and I knew it was mostly blind faith and dumb luck."
Monday would have seen Olivia Newton-John turning 74, and on Olivia Newton-first John's posthumous birthday, her husband John Easterling is reminiscing about a beautiful time spent on vacation with his late wife. With a touching post, Easterling shared a post on his Instagram about an almost chaotic boat journey the pair went on during a vacation that occurred on one of the birthdays of the Grease star early in their relationship. The post comes days after friends and family celebrated her at a memorial service, reports People.
"I remember the first birthday when we were together and I took Olivia on a week-long adventure in the Out Islands of the Bahamas surrounded by a beautiful, peaceful, spectacular turquoise water," wrote the 70-year-old, describing their stay at a secluded island house with little to no road connectivity. He shared that they had to travel everywhere by boat.
"There are so many islands there [that] you almost always have an island in sight when you're out on your boat," continued Easterling. "It was private, it was wonderful, and we would take the boat to uninhabited islands and beach it and just explore — just the two of us." After spending a day on Great Guana Cay, the two were met by a storm that had strong winds, gloomy clouds, "stinging" rain, and "choppy" grey seas. He described Olivia following closely behind him as he navigated a 23-foot runabout with a center consul. "The only instrument was a magnetic compass," he wrote.
"I had a bearing on Elbow Cay but there was no visibility," recalled Easterling, "I was wondering if the currents and the wind had blown us between two islands and maybe we were out in the open ocean just headed to Africa. But, as quickly as the storm started, the winds died down, the rain stopped, the sun poked through and the seas turned back to that beautiful turquoise."
The couple could soon see "the Hopetown Lighthouse on Elbow Cay" coming to the realization that they were "perfectly on course." Easterling then described that when the clouds cleared "the rainbow started on the left and crystallized over — horizon to horizon — and that's when the dolphins started jumping at the bow of the boat leading us under the rainbow," he wrote. "Oliva looked at me like I was a superhero and I knew it was mostly blind faith and dumb luck." He added, "As the dolphins led us over the gorgeous aqua water, under the rainbow towards the lighthouse, we both recognized the fingerprints of the supernatural were all over this — and that's the way we lived our life."
Easterling's post concluded, "Every day with Olivia there was a hint of magic and [an] everyday day with Olivia was a bit of the supernatural. Happy Birthday, Honey — I love you!"
The Xanadu actress and four-time Grammy recipient passed away on August 8 at the age of 73 following a 30-year battle with breast cancer, according to an announcement made by Easterling on her social media accounts. "Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer," he said, in an Instagram post written shortly after she passed. "Her healing inspiration and pioneering experience with plant medicine continues with the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, dedicated to researching plant medicine and cancer."
John Travolta, Marie Osmond, Leeza Gibbons, and Sir Cliff were among those who attended Newton-funeral John's ceremony on Wednesday to honor her with friends and family. Other Australian friends traveled from Australia for the service as well.
Cover Image Source: Getty Image/ (L) Photo by Gareth Cattermole; (R) Photo by Robert Prezioso
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