Surfers, Sailors, and the Sea...Oohrah!!

Thursday:

I survived!!

Just barely, hence why I am a day behind blogging, so I just thought I'd wrap the past two days into one. Okay let's start with yesterday...I was on a boat

A three story boat named Calypso and it was pretty cool! The boys were too good for me, so they ran off and this actually worked in my favor, as they were infamous within two seconds on the boat for their wild comments and shenanigans thanks to their portable speaker. Unfortunately they did boat checks by family, so I had to fess up when the captain asked if my entire party was on board...ugh. 

We sailed out to Molokini Crater, which is a natural preserve off of Maui. The waters were crystal clear, and we had a good amount of sun, so the visibility was amazing. I saw a 15 foot eel and a gazillion different types of fish. No sharks though! Thank goodness...still don't know how I feel about them, no matter how misunderstood they are. I also jumped off the second story of the boat! It was pretty cool, I wanted to show off my semester of CMC diving skills, but the captain was watching and there were no dives...boo. It might have been for the best though, since my lovely diving buddies used to call me the flying shrimp (apparently I could never figure out how to enter the water perfectly straight whoopsies). The boys were all over this jump. How did they get around the no diving, flipping, or running rule? By doing a belly flop, face first, into the water....twice. I don't think I will ever understand them. However, if you want to instantly become famous among 150 people in less than 60 seconds? Belly flop off the second story of a huge boat.

My favorite part of the day was sailing out to TURTLE COVE. Ugh, I love love love sea turtles and was super fortunate this trip to see four of them! One swam right under me and was like two inches away. Thank you Finding Nemo for teaching me that turtles ride the undercurrent. My trick? Find where the cold water shoots through, then let the sea carry you in that direction...if you are just patient and float, BAM, sea turtles. The entire hour all I could think about was "you so totally rock dude!" (if you don't get the reference, go watch Finding Nemo now, it'll be worth it). After that it was lunch out at sea, and then a pretty casual evening/dinner in Lahina, since we were so tired from snorkeling and spending all day out in the sun and the brutal 5 am wake-up call. 

"Work Like a Captain, Party like a Pirate" thanks CMC for this perfect sailing shirt

Look at this ocean guys!!

When you ask the boys to smile

Boys didn't want to take another picture of me, so I had to selfie it

Post boat survival pic

I think the hotel staff was ready to hire me after I got all of us fresh towels and carried them to our room like this! You can thank my Bangladeshi heritage???

Friday:

Another early wake up call, but this time I could not have been more excited as I went SURFING, for the first time ever. Everyone knows how I am all about trying new things...well I may have found my next big "thing" for the time being. We had an amazing instructor, Lawrence, who showed us the ropes on the beach for a quick bit and then was like okay lets do this. We were surfing near a harbor, so the waves were nice and easy beginner ones. The boards were huge, and basically since we were an odd number, Matt and Nick tag teamed two boards on either side of them, while Lawrence and I balanced our 8 ft boards on our heads! See? Who knew last nights towel training would come in handy? The universe was preparing me for this moment...or more likely Lawrence took one look at me and thought I couldn't carry the board by myself using my arms, whatever I'm not about to complain, I looked like a pro. 

We then went out to sea, Nick totally nailed his first wave, Matthew ate it, and I feel somewhere in between. But by the end I rode the entire wave to shore, didn't fall off, and even steered around other riders. Now I'm not going to participate in any US Surfer Open, but I think I held my own pretty well. My arms are SO SORE though. And I definitely did not see that one coming since silks has given me extensive arm strength, looks like there is always something else to improve on. I had a blast and now have even more respect for the surfer dudes who lived next door to me my senior year. 

Since it took me a little longer to finally paddle back to shore (and I thought Kayla arms was the worst workout I've done or Anthony's 21 salute), Lawrence took pity on me and decided to carry both our boards back. The boys, being who they are, just casually started walking back to the shop instead of waiting for us, so Lawrence started jogging after them when we returned our boards. Now Lawrence is pretty buff, since his job is literally to be out at sea all day surfing, but at the same time he's short, and more on the lean side rather than bulky. Me, being me, challenges him to a race back to the shop, and I swear, I totally thought I had this race, I knew it was going to be close, but I had the advantage of shoes and longer legs. So I went for it, and that's exactly how I got my ass whooped by a Marine who still can run a 5:18 mile. Well no one told me that! I even tried cheating and cutting a corner and he STILL had me by a few blocks. When he fessed up and told me that he was a Marine, I laughed and realized that this would happen to me. But it was all in good fun, and I am now going to start running so that next time I accidentally challenge a Marine, I will be ready. (Anyways, huge shout out to Maui Wave Riders, if you're in the area, definitely recommend you go.)

After surfing, the family and I met up with my mentor for lunch and then spent the rest of the evening on the south side of the island. We actually tried to go snorkeling again today in the Ahihi-Kinau Natural Reserve, which is supposedly even better than the ones we did yesterday, but the universe had other plans. As soon as we made it there, it started pouring rain and the waves were pretty rough around the rocks. So we started driving back up north until we found the Kamaole State Beach. It was a beautiful park and beach. Mom and I sat on the benches and enjoyed the view while Matt and Nick explored, and obviously I took a photo :)

Then the boys wanted to hike around and be on their own, so mom and I left for bigger and better things, aka ice cream sandwiches. But these weren't just any ice cream sandwiches, these were kona coffee chocolate chip cookies with cappuccino chip gelato in the middle. And yes, they were every bit as heavenly as they sound, can't you tell by the look on my face? haha

Post sugar induced coma, mom and I had a long ride back in class Maui traffic, but we enjoyed the view, and I made it back to our hotel just in time to sit outside our beach and enjoy the sunset!

 Ugh okay now I have to stop procrastinating my packing by blogging. Tomorrow we adventure to a volcano before hopping on our flight back home.

Love you all and see ya soon!

Aisha 

Mommy and Me

Aloha Ohana!

Today we sent the boys off on a fishing boat (thank you Big G for that blessing in disguise) so mom and I got to spend some quality time together. Net net realization? My mom is the worst stereotypical girl's day person (she apparently doesn't like mani/pedis, spas, and massages,  I know I was so confused myself), but the she is the best road trip adventurer. We took the car, blasted some good 80's rock, and just drove up the north end of the island, stopping wherever we wanted and following random roads to see where they would lead to. My favorite was a RANCH up in the middle of nowhere! I will definitely need to add horseback riding in Maui on my bucket list, since we don't have space for this trip.

We also scoped out some really nice mansions to eventually buy for when she finally retires (if ever lol). I found a burial site that had bodies from the 1800s (unfortunately we couldn't go in, apparently they don't want tourists there, which I had to respect). Mom and I also illegally walked around a golf course because we got lost on a trail that took us to the most gorgeous beach. Boo for the fact it was a red flag day, I pretty much stayed out of the water today , but it killed me because I was ready to hop in clothes and all.

The best part of the day was getting shaved ice at our favorite place in Lanai! Mom and I had a major sugar crash later on, but it was sooooo worth every bite. She and I had a totally slow day (that is until we picked up the boys at 4:30 lol) and I loved it! (especially when my phone died, and hers lost service, so there were no business calls hehe, sorry office but I'm stealing my mom back)

Tomorrow's the boat ride out for snorkeling, wish me luck because it's just me and the boys (eekkk!). If all else fails I'm activating my emergency plan of "boys? what boys? I've never seen those two in my life and I'm DEFINITELY not related to one of them" hehe, sorry mom and dad.

Goodnight everybody!

Much love,
Aisha

Burial ground behind the hedge (I peeked over but it was nothing but grass, no tombstones either)

Golf course trespassing, I figured so long as we are already doing something bad may as well take the time to get some good pics!

Not Pictured: two seconds later a golf course maintenance guy coming for us, don't worry we ran back to the lot before he could scold us hehe

Reppin' my fave sorority (this one's for you Rita & Kelly)

Thank you mom for never complaining about the eight million pictures I make you take

Literally no clue where we are, but it looked pretty! Perks of wandering and getting lost 

Being an adult means I make good decisions, like dessert for lunch

Look of true love between me and my lava flow shaved ice

The answer is no, I could not wait one more second for another picture before eating mine

The only way mom got this pic was because I had to stop from a brain freeze. See that smile? No one smiles with a brain freeze unless their dessert is just that good

 Isn't this the best mural ever!!! Just waiting to become the next "it" place

Day 3

Hi Guys,

Day three in paradise and I'm still loving it. Matt and Nick decided to explore the beach we were on today so that gave mom and me some quality time together in Lahina. We were actually for the purpose of booking a fishing boat and surfing lessons, but found ourselves ambling along random roads and historic sites along the way.

Totally rockin' the Island hair aka three days of being washed in the ocean (hehehe)

Am I insta famous yet?

And that's exactly how we ended up on Prison road a the Hale Pa'ahao Prison. Basically it was a holding cell for "rowdy sailors" and "unruly natives", sounds like a good party to me, can I join? The journal entry from a 16 year old sailor that was found regarding his night in prison (for drunkeness) made it seem more like a good tavern rather than a prison. Although the rooms were pretty small and unfurnished, so that must've sucked.

At the prison!

I may or may not have broken a couple of these prison rules already, read below and see if you can guess which ones lol

Hint: It wasn't aiding deserting seamen

Some other random historic artifacts that were located here was a whale hunting boat and it's anchors! It literally looked like the a dingy so I have no clue how they lugged a huge whale, or even fought one on this boat. Me being the idiot I am, went to take a picture sitting by the anchor, only to stand up and ram my head right into the top of it....whoops.

Whaling Boat and Anchors

The other neat artifact was an old rusty model "T" Ford. It was literally a hunk of rusting metal, but it was still cool to check out.

Mom and I got acai bowls for lunch which were DELICIOUS, I think I would move to Hawaii for the fresh acai bowls alone. They were so good!

We beat the boys back to the hotel and had just enough time for a quick swim in the ocean. However the water was being very weird with currents going in opposite ways. I literally got such a hard workout being in the water for only 30 minutes, it seemed like everywhere I was going (besides out towards the ocean) was fighting the water. So when the waves started crashing in diagonal to the rip, I hightailed it out of there, I'm not one to mess with the sea.

Throwing some shakas

Matt, Nick, Mom and I then went down to the Hyatt for their Luau! We had an AMAZING dance team, that danced everything from Polynesian dances to Maori ones. The neat part of this Luau was that they incorporated Hawaiian mythology in their show and did a good job explaining all the dances. In one of the stories I couldn't help but laugh as the male lead was captured and had to rely on the FEMALE white owls to save him. Rather than your typical prince charging to battle the dragon, the white owl tricked the captors, So we have a female rescuer who is brilliant as well? I am so okay with this story. But no matter how many luau's I see, my favorite will always be the fire dancers. One of them actually set his tongue on fire and held the flame there! If I ever took up Hawaiian dancing, for sure I would be one of the fire dancers (sorry, not sorry mom and dad).

When in doubt, hide your gross hair with a braid and some flower (not shown, the huge line of people waiting to get into the luau judging me for taking insta worthy pics #shameless)

I will never not be awed by the ocean 

Matt and Nick (they aren't #shameless like me, so they were none to pleased when I started directing them around to get the shadows off their face and said that I had one second to take the picture or I would have no picture at all...*sigh*)

And that's a wrap folks!

Can't wait to tell you all about my next adventure!

Love,

Carolyn

I'm on the Highway to Hana

Hey Everyone!

Day 2 in Hawaii and I am happy to report that I am still alive...and neither of us have killed one another...yet. Today we decided to adventure to the other part of the island and visit the black sand beaches of Hana. Moral of the story, if you ever decide to make the trek out, make sure that you reeealllyyy like that person because chances are that you will be trapped in a small car, behind a very slow tourist, and the drive will take you four hours because you're only going 20 miles an hour on a bunch of hairpin turns inside the rainforest. Oh and I forgot to add that you'll lose all cell service, aka a millennial's nightmare because you actually have to converse with the people in your car (sorry Matt and Nick). Don't worry, after the first 30 minutes or so they totally got into the hang of how us old people used to road trip in the good old days. Did you know that the Hawaiian language only uses 13 letters...and the 13th letter is a '. (Thanks mom for teaching us that fun fact). See what I mean, would have never learned this if we were all on our respective devices.

 Anyways without further adeu let me take you on our road trip!

Starting point! This is the view of our resort from the elevator! I know, I feel really lucky. 

First Stop: Twin Falls

We had to trek a little bit through the jungle to actually get to the water falls. The boys left us after like two hot seconds, so my mom and I had some good quality hiking time. Plus she was a great photographer (which I'm sure the boys would most definitely not have appreciated all my photo stops haha, the things I do to entertain you guys.) 

We accidentally took the wrong fork in the road and ended up on the road less traveled, aka at the top of the falls rather than the bottom. Perks of getting lost? Zero tourists and cool tide pools!

Okay so it turns out that I'm still a 12 year old boy. Found these brambles when I finally was sent of to relocate the boys, and well, I couldn't help but swing from them! 

Yes, I ended up doing a second hike down the other side of the fork in the road and got to see the best part of the twin falls. Bad news? Still couldn't find the boys...

At this point mom and I kinda gave up on finding the boys and just took some selfies. Don't worry, the boys showed up about 15 minutes later, and turns out they weren't anywhere near the tourist attractions, but rather down a random abandoned bike path where they found a tent with no one in it. Why? Don't ask me, I'm not an 18 year old boy. 

Second Stop: Hanawi Falls

Mom tapped out for the second hike, so the boys and I climbed down to the Hanawi Falls. 

If you're wondering why I took a picture of it, it's because within two seconds of climbing down, this was the first thing they climbed past without hesitation to get to the top of the falls. 

And if you're wondering whether or not he jumped. The answer is yes, yes he did. Matthew decided to climb back down to video. Give me a classroom of 30 5-year-olds and I can have them all sitting down and reading books during their playtime. Give me two 18 year old boys...and well, they jump off waterfalls. Sorry mom, I tried. 

Stop 3: Wai'anapanapa State Park

It's a black sand beach guys! How cool is that? The only downside was boy was the sand HOT. I mean like walking on coals hot, I literally ran to a spot, put my towel down as fast as possible and jumped on it before I had it all laid out. 

You know a beach is a good one when it's filled with locals. Apparently we were there right in time for the outrigger canoe class to race each other! It was so cool to watch the kids go through their traditional preparations before going out to sea. The very first thing they did before they even said hello to their teacher was gather together facing the ocean and chanting. Then they greeted their teachers and worked together to lift FOUR of those huge canoes into the water, and I'm talking kids were doing all this. They had some serious teamwork and strength skills going for them. Talk about the coolest summer camp ever. Can I join?

I literally spent two hours in the ocean. The black sand combined with the sunlight makes for pretty golden sparkley water. I enjoyed body surfing the waves and just floating around. But as soon as the sunshine left, I hightailed it out of there, the water turns this super ominous black color, and well, I'm just not one to tempt fate when it looks like the perfect setup for Jaws II.

Stop 4: Kaumahina State Wayside Park

No hiking here, just a beautiful lookout where we stretched our legs and enjoyed the view. I don't think I'll ever get tired of all this greenery and ocean. 

Stop 5: HOME 

We made it back! Just in time for the sunset...and no, there's no filter on these pictures, Mother Nature is just that good here. 

Anyways, that's pretty much it for the day. Oh, and we ate Chinese for dinner and my fortune cookie said "I will enjoy a vacation in the near future".....I'm interpreting that to mean after this Hawaii one, where should we go next fam? Juuusssttt kidding (kind of). 

Talk to you all tomorrow!

Love ya lots,

Aisha 

AAAALLOOOOHHHAAAA

Aloha Everyone!

Guess what? I'm traveling again and this time to Maui! Overall, Peru was super fun, and the last days spent in Lima were pretty underwhelming, just lots of chats with the General and his family and boy can Peru throw a dinner party. I was home at 3 am every night! Which definitely reminded me of Spain and the crazy hours they keep. Anyways, if you couldn't tell by my pictures, I absolutely loved Peru and cannot wait to go back! I want to go into the jungles the next time and up to Puno where the lake joins Peru with Bolivia. Who knows, maybe I'll even cross over for more adventures in Latin America. But I digress, basically I couldn't wait to start adventuring again (and one week back in LA was one week too many), so here I am in Maui with my brother, my brother's friend (Nick), and my mother.....bonus points for correctly guessing who gets to chaperone lol. But it is really hard to complain when this is my view:

We also ate at this really classy joint called Beach Bums and BBQ, which to its credit had really great food and was totally packed. I chose the place and to my delight realized that they blasted country music the entire two hours of our island time lunch (yeah service is kinda slow here). Unfortunately others in my party did not feel the same about listening to country music for so long, and I have thus been banned from selecting restaurants for the remainder of our trip...sure that'll work out well, especially since I'm in control of the GPS hehehe. Anyways today was a low key get settled day, but we are out for adventure tomorrow so stay tuned!!!

Love you all,

Carolyn