It all started off at three o’clock on a Tuesday morning. I woke up and threw my luggage in the trunk and headed to pick up Morgan. Then we started our journey across the United States. On our way there, we stopped by McDonald’s and got cinnamon melts and large diet cokes. Once we got to the airport, we met up with Lynch and the other schools. First, we checked our bags and got our tickets. We said our goodbyes and went through security.
While waiting on our plane, we were all shy and stayed within our own group. We took pictures, talked, and played cards. Once we boarded our plane, we took more and more pictures. It was only a two and a half hour flight, but felt like three minutes because of the time difference. At this time, we had a four hour layover. We were all starving, so we went to get airport pizza, which was deliciously scrumptious. During this four hour period, schools began to collide; Whiteland with Batesville, and Roncalli with Brown County.
On our flight from Phoenix to Kona, almost everybody slept. When we arrived in Hawaii, we got lei’d. We got our bags; half of us went to the beach with Uncle Dennis, and the others went with their chaperones in the rental van. We enjoyed a sunset dinner on the beach, which was really good. After that, we went to the dorms, got our room assignments, unpacked, explored, and went to bed.
The next morning, we woke up, went to breakfast, and had our first classes. One of our classes was to be familiar with the snorkel equipment. We went to the dormitory pool and strapped on our gear. Class A went with Mari, which we swam with our heads in the water to get familiar with breathing. Class B went with Monica to learn how to jump in the water with our gear on. It was very difficult for the first time, but most people got a hold of it very quickly. Later, we went to Hapuna Beach and learned what it was like to swim in the ocean.
Every time I was in the ocean, snorkeling, I would sing “If I Lived Under the Sea” from Barney. It was incredible to visibly see underwater. Some people don’t get to experience underwater life, and I was grateful I had the chance. However, the current was a little rough for first timers, but they eventually got the hang of things. The current would drag you away from the group, which is why we had partners, so someone could always see us. I was one to always dive down and look at things hiding in the coral or underneath rocks. Plus, I would find one fish which I really liked, and I would follow it and eventually be far away from the group, but my partner always saw me and called me back. Partners are good to have in the water. NEVER swim alone!
Wednesday was great. I swam more that day, than I have in my entire life. TIRING! After swimming, we had free time on the beach, but I just tanned, worn out from swimming. That was our first time in town that night. They have Foodland, instead of Kroger; I like it a lot better. There, I bought a necklace, twelve pack of mountain dew, and some barbeque Pringles, which was a gross, but yet delicious combination. That night, we hung out in the commons, which had a pool table and computers, but we talked and hung out and got to know each other, a lot.
Thursday we went to Crystal Cove to do a coral lab. Considering it was about 8:30 in the morning, the water was freezing! But, we got used to it. While we were there, we saw all sorts of fish and urchins; there was even a sea turtle, talk about cute. That night we went to a myths and legends talk, which wasn’t my favorite thing, but it was interesting hearing a native talk about their legends. After that, Ms. Hartman taught the students how to ‘dougie’. It was pretty hysterical.
OH! The next day, we went back to Hapuna to do, yet, another lab. This was the most memorable part of the trip. We had a quadrant, which we held up to a rock, and counted critters in each square. We had a wave watcher, two counters, and two people to hold the quadrant. We were stuck in between the huge rock and a rock that Morgan was kind of sitting or standing on. I was a counter and Holly was the wave watcher. In the past, they didn’t do this lab because the waves were too harsh, but they were pretty calm that day. All of a sudden I hear people yelling, “BIG wave, BIG wave!” I turn around, and SMACK. I was pushed into Morgan and we both tumbled over the rock she was on. Plus, I was tangled up in the quadrant. Morgan and I just started laughing. Mari was so worried that we were hurt. Let’s just say, no one else was put in that spot.
Saturday was a blast. We went down in a submarine. My first time ever! It was such an awesome experience. Our host’s name was Jeremiah; he was hysterical. There were so many kinds of fish; we even saw a moray eel, which was pretty cool. There was a movie that night, but Lucas, Morgan, Kaitlyn, some others, and me stayed behind. We had the biggest dance party, jammed to YouTube music, and played pool. Sunday was a volcano and waterfall day. It was pretty cool, considering I love waterfalls. Akaka Falls was so pretty, the way it fell into the water and the sound just made it wonderful. After that, we went into a lava tube, which was pretty sweet. Sunday was a very long day!
Monday, we went to see dolphins, which was awesome! The trainer talked to us about what they do, what schooling is necessary, and we got to ask any questions we wanted. The dolphin quest was behind the Hilton Hotel, which we got to walk through. The hotel was so pretty; there was a waterfall, a lake – which you could swim and snorkel in, plus there were even some turtles – it was just flat out gorgeous. We had a sunset dinner on the beach, again. After that, we made leis. Mine completely sucked. Most turned out good. However, Lucas found a praying mantis, which was awesome.
Tuesday, we went to Pololu Valley and did a wave lab. To finish the lab, we had to do this humongous hike down and up, which this was completely a straight hill and curves. We had another sunset dinner. After that, we did a tide pool lab. This was my favorite lab of all times. It was so neat to see all the different animals that lived in the pools. Some lived but some were unfortunate to get stuck when the water drained out. We even saw a baby octopus! I kept thinking I saw a bigger octopus, but it was just coral that looked like one, not cool. It was super slippery too, so I fell a couple times.
The next morning we went back to the tide pools and finished up the lab. We went back to see what the creatures looked like in the daylight, plus to see what different ones were there because of the sun or weren’t there. That night, we learned how to hula. This was also a memorable part of the trip. The guys were so funny to watch; Kyle was the best at it. He even did the whole dance by himself.
Thursday, we learned about the different types of fish. We went to Lapakahi State Park after lunch. Then, we did a fish identification lab. We followed four types of fish. I followed them a little too far, good thing I had a partner.
Friday was just a normal day.
Saturday, we had our final examination. Then we had our snorkeling cruise. On our way out, we passed sleeping dolphins, so adorable. Once we got to the spot, we could go swimming, snorkeling, or jump off the boat into the water. The jump was fifteen feet down; it was scary the first time. It was so funny, Lynch wouldn’t jump, but we finally got her to. There was also a slide that whipped you around quick. It was fun though. We had pizza in the dorms for dinner, and then we headed out to Mauna Kea to go star gazing. It was freezing up there.
Sunday was our Luau. Everybody was dressed up, looking real nice. When we got there, we watched hula dancers and one of them looked like my brother. It was so funny! The next day, we left for Maui.
In Maui, Holly and I were partners. We went everywhere together. The first night, Amber made us spaghetti, which was yummy. Then we watched movies in Holly’s room. We went shopping and got temporary tattoos. I got mine on my hip and Holly’s on her wrist. July 4th was awesome because we watched fireworks over the water, and so we saw the reflection of them.
I will never forget this trip. Especially the tree. When we went to Rainbow Falls, there was a trail to follow, which I did. There was this awesome tree, like the one in Animal Kingdom at Disney World. I was tempted to climb it, so I did, really, really high. Hartman about had a heart attack. Sorry about that. But I love to climb trees, and I made it out okay. I even woke up at two in the morning to watch the sunrise. It was so funny, Lauren played ‘Here Comes the Sun”; it made the moment priceless. This trip was a once in a lifetime experience, and I loved every minute of it. Thank you everyone who made it happen! J
