This past weekend was our second long weekend of the semester (Labor Day). This no-class Monday was thanks in part to Christopher Columbus and Captain Cook. In Hawaii it's not Columbus Day, it's Discovers' Day for obvious reasons - the most notable of which is Columbus didn't discover Hawaii.Technicalities aside, we got Monday off for what we still referred to as Columbus Day because, after all, we're American.
Our first road trip with the Exchange Student Organization (ESO) took place on Monday. ESO, if you're curious, is an excuse for us exchange kids to do touristy things funded by the school. It's quite convenient. For our first trip, we traveled to the North Shore to visit the famed Dole Plantation. They grow food there. More specifically, they grow pineapples there. A lot of them.
We toured the Dole Garden with all the Hawaiian trees and plants (Picture above: My excitement about the Dole Garden). It was raining terribly hard and it was terribly boring, except our tour guide, Ray, kept it interesting. He was extremely old, but loved his plants, and I loved him for it. We then watched a pineapple cutting demonstrations because everyone needs to learn the proper way to cut a pineapple, right? We ate some pineapple, which might have been the most delicious pineapple I have ever tasted. After that some of gang ate pineapple ice cream while Garrett got adventurous and ate a pineapple, macadamian nut cheesecake, which I tried and loved. So much flavor.
Did I mention it rained?
Then the real fun started.
The Dole Plantation is home to the largest outdoor maze in the world according to the 2001 Guinness Book of World Records. It has over 3 miles of walkable pathways in the maze. The maze has only one entrance/exit (You go in the same way you come out). The object of the maze is to find eight strategically placed stations with stencils to trace a given picture. Each station had a different stencil and you had to draw all eight before you could finish.
Naturally, it became a race. Luke, Garrett and myself teamed up. We called ourselves Team Chris Columbus, because on a day like Monday, who better to honor in a came of discovery. I was the Nina, Luke the Pinta, and Garrett the Santa Maria, because, as he kept saying every time he slipped in a puddle, "The Santa Maria is a big ship boys."
Luke carried a trident he found somewhere along the way, and I led the way with the map, which everyone had access to, Ed. (They called it a map, but it wasn't very accurate.) We won, locating all eight stations and getting back to the beginning in a time of 37 minutes, which may seem like a decent time to navigate a 3.11 mile maze, trace eight little pictures and get back, but when you realize that the record is eight minutes, it's not that impressive. We were one of only two or three teams to even collect all eight drawings and the first to make it back out. Champions: Team Chris Columbus.
Yesterday, Tuesday, was the culmination of another project we started awhile back. At my roommate, Victor's, suggestion we started collecting cans and plastic bottles instead of throwing them in the trash. I don't know if you are aware, but Hawaii is one of five states that reimburses 5 cents for every recyclable you turn into a collection station. Eligible items are indicated by the HI 5 emblem somewhere on the product. We made a solid $15.05 which turns out to be 301 bottles and cans. My pre-collection guess was closest ($11.75), which won me a free shaved ice from Tropicana. We got free money, and I got free ice. It was a good day.
As I mentioned last week, we went surfing all day this past Saturday as part of Surf Club. It was a nice day of relaxing on the beach, eating good food, and getting absolutely rocked by the Pacific Ocean. Diamond Head Beach is not a bay like much of Waikiki and is not immune to larger swells and a vicious wind that whips around the Diamond Head peak. It was a brutal experience, but I managed to surf amid the chaos. It was a long day, which made me understand my limits as a surfer. No man should surf that long unless he has done it before. I was sore, but can't wait to get back out there.
This upcoming week, the ESO has another trip planned for the North Shore. We're participating in a beach clean-up (my second) and then have the rest of the day to enjoy the other side of the island. Where the beaches are less crowded and the water is more clear. That should be a great trip. New beaches are always fun. Other than that I am going snorkeling at the famous Hanama Bay on Thursday, and golfing that afternoon with Garrett, Luke and Luke's father. Hooray golf. I plan on surfing some time this week and continue to hone my skills on the skateboard. I'm just going with the flow and making everyday better than the last.
The Dole Plantation is home to the largest outdoor maze in the world according to the 2001 Guinness Book of World Records. It has over 3 miles of walkable pathways in the maze. The maze has only one entrance/exit (You go in the same way you come out). The object of the maze is to find eight strategically placed stations with stencils to trace a given picture. Each station had a different stencil and you had to draw all eight before you could finish.
Naturally, it became a race. Luke, Garrett and myself teamed up. We called ourselves Team Chris Columbus, because on a day like Monday, who better to honor in a came of discovery. I was the Nina, Luke the Pinta, and Garrett the Santa Maria, because, as he kept saying every time he slipped in a puddle, "The Santa Maria is a big ship boys."
Luke carried a trident he found somewhere along the way, and I led the way with the map, which everyone had access to, Ed. (They called it a map, but it wasn't very accurate.) We won, locating all eight stations and getting back to the beginning in a time of 37 minutes, which may seem like a decent time to navigate a 3.11 mile maze, trace eight little pictures and get back, but when you realize that the record is eight minutes, it's not that impressive. We were one of only two or three teams to even collect all eight drawings and the first to make it back out. Champions: Team Chris Columbus.
Yesterday, Tuesday, was the culmination of another project we started awhile back. At my roommate, Victor's, suggestion we started collecting cans and plastic bottles instead of throwing them in the trash. I don't know if you are aware, but Hawaii is one of five states that reimburses 5 cents for every recyclable you turn into a collection station. Eligible items are indicated by the HI 5 emblem somewhere on the product. We made a solid $15.05 which turns out to be 301 bottles and cans. My pre-collection guess was closest ($11.75), which won me a free shaved ice from Tropicana. We got free money, and I got free ice. It was a good day.
As I mentioned last week, we went surfing all day this past Saturday as part of Surf Club. It was a nice day of relaxing on the beach, eating good food, and getting absolutely rocked by the Pacific Ocean. Diamond Head Beach is not a bay like much of Waikiki and is not immune to larger swells and a vicious wind that whips around the Diamond Head peak. It was a brutal experience, but I managed to surf amid the chaos. It was a long day, which made me understand my limits as a surfer. No man should surf that long unless he has done it before. I was sore, but can't wait to get back out there.
This upcoming week, the ESO has another trip planned for the North Shore. We're participating in a beach clean-up (my second) and then have the rest of the day to enjoy the other side of the island. Where the beaches are less crowded and the water is more clear. That should be a great trip. New beaches are always fun. Other than that I am going snorkeling at the famous Hanama Bay on Thursday, and golfing that afternoon with Garrett, Luke and Luke's father. Hooray golf. I plan on surfing some time this week and continue to hone my skills on the skateboard. I'm just going with the flow and making everyday better than the last.
