Hilo - Live and Let Live

Aloha friends and family!!

Heard Oklahoma is about to get some snow so hope you all have fun with that! So Hawaii was AWESOME!! I have so much to tell you all I have decided to post now while we are in between Hilo and Honolulu and then I will post again after Honolulu. I just have so much to tell you guys!! I have just completed my second day in Hilo, we were here on Monday and Tuesday. Then tomorrow and Thursday we will be in Honolulu, actually as I am typing this we are sailing in between the islands to Honolulu. But I just have so much to say that I am going to make Hilo and blog post and then Honolulu a separate one.

But firsssttttt I will respond to your guys comments from last time! Jt – girl I totally know what you mean with the waves and the music…it is awesome! And thanks for that food tip, I will keep that in mind. Uncle John – yeah yeah yeah I heard about Peyton, and I did hear about Hartley, that was tight! But about the super bowl, dude Saints by 14 at least, if not more. You guys just won’t be able to handle Brees and Bush…it’s just gunna be a shootout…more so than the Vikings/Saints in my opinion. Mike – dude thanks for that website, I have already told people about it and you have made me very popular when I passed on your info. Shirley – have fun in the snow man, I love the snow! And dude I am soooo jealous about Ecuador, definitely praying for you guys and you will have a once in a lifetime trip. Oh and yes, I am a lucky little butt! Esther – yes that is the same Kayln, and for the 3rd time, we have hung out a lot and we have a great time!! Hollis – haha miss you too girl! And don’t you worry, I have so many stories and pics already that it will take me days to show you everything this summer. Nat-attack! – uhhhh yeahhhhh we are going to Mclarens when I get back, no question! Haha I’m not even surprised you tacked on another minor…you crack me up girl! Guys I love your comments!! Keep em coming…it’s like a small taste of home every time I read em!

So Day 1 in Hilo was fantastic because we were all so happy to finally be off the ship AND we were in Hawaiiiiiiiiiii!! As soon as we got off the ship, me and my buddy Austin went to get information on how to get around Hilo and see some of the stuff that our group was interested in. We originally just wanted to see Akaka falls which are these waterfalls that are supposedly the best on the Big Island, which is where we were. So we go over to these vans that are lined up with locals trying to sell all of us tours and sightseeing stuff. I walked up to one of the guys and said “Hey I can fill your van (15 people), how much for you to take us to the Akaka Falls and back?” The guy was like “Well, I can give you a 3 hour tour that includes Akaka, the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut factory and plantations, and the Black Sand Beaches, all for just $20 a person.” We were all like heck yeah!! So we pack into this van and set off for our adventure. We had a driver and then a tour guide named Jordan. Jordan was in his late 20's so he didn't tell us any of the stuff we didn't care about and told us the information about Hilo and other parts of Hawaii that he thought people our age would want to konw. It was really cool cause it was all really interesting stuff and alot of it was super funny! The falls were first and they were worth the $20 by themselves. We walked on this 1 mile loop trail through the jungle and the falls was like a half mile into it. A lot of us thought the trees and bushes were like the movie Avatar which gave us all a laugh or two. Ok so then me and my other friend Scott (who by the way is the splitting image of nate cole) found these vines that were real thick hanging off this tree. So we were like “shoot man, let’s freaking climb em!!” AND WE DID!! That’s how country boys roll baby!! (in the words of Billy Currington of course!) I have personally never climbed vines off a tree before and it was just like the movies, like definitely more than 25 feet off the ground when we got up to the top. It was soooooo cool cause we were like monkeys in Hawaii! (Sorry mom, but I already did it so you can’t get mad!) Then we went to the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut factory. I don’t really know what to tell you all, because it was your standard factory tour. The best parts were the free samples (yes I said free) of every type of Macadamia Nut produced by the factory. Then they also had the cookie kitchen right next to the visitor center and I am absolutely not even kidding, we could smell the cookies at least a mile away before we got to the factory. So after looking around and getting the free nut samples, we left again and headed to our last destination of the Black Sand Beaches. We hung out at the beach for about an hour and then the tour guides were happy enough to drop us off right at Wal-Marts front door. And that was our morning.

The afternoon of my first day in Hilo was a much different experience than the morning. We started off by buying much needed supplies at Wal-Mart before we lose the chance for the next 3 months. After Wal-Mart we took the bus back to the port so we could drop off all our stuff in our rooms. Then the group kinda went our separate ways, the majority of the group had paid to attend an SAS lu’au that night but I didn’t feel like it was worth the $80; and side-note, all the people I talked to about it said it was definitely NOT worth it and no one had much fun…so BOOM I saved $80! Ok so they all went to shower and stuff and Scott and me were like wellllllllll let’s go see stuff!! So we asked around if people wanted to join us. Emily, Sarah, and Cosette decided to join us cause they didn’t have plans. And basically we just started walking…we had no clue where we were headed or what we wanted to do…we literally just started walking. Me and scott saw this “break” (this man-made rock wall thing around the harbor that protects the ships from the surf) and it extended like a mile and a half into the harbor. So what did we decide to do? Well we wanted to see how far out on it jumping from rock to rock we could get; and it was high-tide so the waves were crashing into the rock wall that we were hopping across and it was spraying up on the sides. So legit!! Oh and I should also mention that the spray was making the rocks really slick and that just made the whole process more challenging. (again mom…can’t get mad ) So after we got out there about a mile we decided to head back. (the sun was setting so we didn’t think we could make it all the way to the end and back) We re-grouped with the girls who were watching a sea turtle swim around while they waited for us. We decided to just continue walking along the shore/road and seeing where that would lead us. We walked about another mile when a taxi cab pulled over and asked us where we were headed. We politely said we were ok with walking cause we really didn’t want to pay for a taxi, his response literally blew me off my feet. He said, “Well I am headed to pick up a fare a couple miles down the road, I will take you that far for free.” I never in my life would have expected to have a cab driver offer that. We accepted his offer very quickly and had a nice conversation with him on the way. His name was Joe and he was TIGHTTTTTTT. So he dropped us off at this public little beach area and we were decided that would be a perfect place to watch the sunset against the harbor. As we are walking toward the surf we saw a whole-nother group of 5 fellow students who had the exact same idea. We all decided to have pizza delivered to the beach and enjoyed pizza, the sunset, on a beach, getting to know 5 new friends that we hadn’t ever even talked to. Their names were Courtney, Eric, Kaylee, Rorrie, and Grace. Then the 10 of us decided to start the 5 mile walk back to the ship in the hopes of finding some sort of ice cream shop along the way. We had walked about 2 miles just chit chatting and getting to know everyone better, when we decided to try our hand at hitchhiking. We didn’t really expect to because there were 10 of us and we were kinda just joking around…but a truck actually stopped!!!!!!!!!!! They pulled up next to us and were like, “hey you guys going to the ship?” We were like “YEAH!!”...and they were like “Hop on in the back!” So we all piled into the bed of this truck and they drove us right to the entrance of the port. It was just a sweet little couple that had been out for a drive and since the port was on their way they were totally cool with us hitching a ride. Just a really cool group of people! So the only problem was that we still hadn’t found any ice cream and that was not okay with Rorrie. So she, Courtney, Kaylee, and me decided to walk the other direction in search of something. We eventually found some at this local little joint called Vernas. They had homemade Haupia ice cream (kinda like a native coconut) and it was delicious!! So we got ice cream and then trekked the mile back to the ship just talking about any and everything and building a friendship! I definitely bonded with Courtney the most cause we had so much in common. First she has the same name of my favorite person in the world (love you sis!) and she is a fan of FRIENDS!!! Sidenote - I have now found 5 equally devoted friends fans and two of them brought all the seasons so I can fix my friends deficiency…YESSSSS!! But yeah we talked a lot and it was really cool getting to know her. Anyways, by this point it was a little past midnight and we all decided to turn it in for the night and head to ship so we could have energy for our second day in Hilo.

Okay so our second day in Hilo was much more condensed because A, we had to be on ship by 6 o’clock because we are switching ports, and B I was scheduled on an SAS trip that left at 9 o’clock in the morning. So I woke up decently early, like 8 and went up to grab a quick breakfast before meeting our tour group at the bus at 845. It was a trip to Volcanoes National Park and it was a bomb group of people!! Me, my roommate Adam, Nicci, Austin, Mackenzie, Jacquiline, Amy, and Natalie were all on the trip and we just kinda posted up in the back and took over the back 2 rows of the bus. So we did the normal hop-scotch-around the National Park gig and saw all the huge sights so I won’t go into detail about that stuff. But I do have one specific story. The last stop was at this thing called a Lava tube which is a part of the earth where lava once flowed through but doesn’t anymore so it is just a dark tunnel that winds around. We get down into it and its like 300 yards or so with lights on the walls and stuff and our whole tour is just kinda going through and taking pictures and everything. So at the end it like opens up into outside and the steps lead out. BUT there was this little rusted gate off to the side with what looked like another unlit tunnel on the other side. There was a sign and we looked at it and it said “Unlit, untouched, natural tunnel. Extends 350 meters. Enter at own risk.” Well I think you all know what I did. I went in of course…DUH!!!!! I was toward the end of the group so most of the people had already moved on but some of the people left with me at the end were brave enough to go in. Amy, Mackenzie, and our other friend Leigh (pronounced Lee, she definitely has the coolest name on the ship in my opinion) decided to join me. Like I said it was totally unlit, buttttt I had a flashlight cause I usually carry one just in case…and guess what, it paid off!! So we start inching our way in and literally after about 75 meters it has twisted and it is just pitch black in both directions. The girls didn’t really like that so they formed a chain holding onto my free arm and my backpack so they wouldn’t trip or anything. They say that you can never truly experience pitch black until you are in a cave. Well when we got to the end of the cave, yes I made it all the way there, we turned off the flashlight. I have never been in darkness like that before, it was eerie!! All three girls screamed hahaha. So we hiked back out and were like hmmmm I wonder what time it is. Cause you see at every stop, the bus driver had told us what time we had to be back on the bus so we could head to the next stop. Well for the stop we were supposed to be back on the bus at 12:05. So Mackenzie looks at her watch and goes “Uh guys, its 12:04…” Amy was like “Alright we gotta haul butt back to the bus.” So we just took off, like legit running through down this trail weaving in and out of people so that we aren’t late…cause if you are late your punishment is dock time at the next port. Dock time is time that you have to stay on the ship when everyone else is allowed off, basically like port detention. So me and these girls are running through the trails not knowing how far from the end we are and then I was like “Alright I see the bus, GO GO GO!” So we ran up to the bus and he opened the door and we like hop on. Well of course everyone is already on and like sitting down just waiting for us. I looked at my phone and it was 12:07 when we got on the bus so they let that slide as being close enough. But as we are walking down the bus we were getting a wide variety of looks. Some people were pissed and I just ignored them cause I mean it was only 2 minutes; and I mean they are in Hawaii and they are gunna get mad about 2 minutes? Really?!?! C’mon people. Really I think they were just jealous that they didn’t find the secret entrance that we did to the tunnel of exploratory greatness!! Then the people I knew, I would just make weird faces at to try and get them to laugh. It worked…GREAT SUCCESS! So that was definitely the best part of day 2 in Hilo. Unchartered Lava Flow Adventure!!! So we finished the tour and got back to the ship around 1. We were all starving so we decided to hike to lunch. We actually went back to the same place where we got ice cream the night before, Vernas! Our tour guide the day before had recommended we try this traditional Hawaiian dish called Kalua Pork. It is pork that is slow cooked underground and marinated with simple spices and herbs so it keeps its gamey taste. They mix it with cabbage and serve it. I was kinda hesitant because of the cabbage…I have a rule Green Food = yuck...but I ordered it anyway lol. Okay best decision ever!! The pork was definitely one of the top 3 meats I have ever had. It was so moist it was just soaked and was soooooo easy to eat!!! So we ate and walked back to the ship. We had a little more time to kill until “On-Ship Time” (the time we have to be on the Ship) so we made an ATM run, I also bought some native juice drinks cause they are delicious, and then found a place with free internet so we used some of that so that we don’t have to waste our minutes on the ship. It was an awesome day and one I will not soon forget!!

Hilo as a whole was a unbelievable! In 2 days I feel like I definitely saw everything I needed to see and I do not regret any decision that I made (although my mom would probably disagree haha). Between tour guides, hitchhiking, and meeting random locals, I have a whole new respect for the people of Hawaii. They are so friendly and the constant motto I constantly hear from them is “Live and Let Live.” I can honestly say that this is motto that every Hawaiian I met takes to heart. The live in the moment and they make sure that they don’t interfere with us living our lives in the moment. Live and Let Live man!! I mean the let us hitchhike in the back of their truck because the way they see it, they were going that way anyway, why not give some other people a ride? The actually understand that it only takes like 1 minute total of their time because that’s about the combined amount of time it took us to hop in the back and hop out. What if we all thought on a simpler level like that? What if we considered the needs of others in everyday life? Without even trying God again has made himself abundantly evident each and every day in the simplest things. This is a perfect picture of Christ-like love that we as Christians should be sharing unconditionally. Maybe not specifically with picking up hitchhikers but with other similar things that are so easy. This will be different for each and every one of us but the situations will still present themselves.

Another thing that hit me like a ton of bricks while in Hawaii was God creation is a whole different way. Just looking at all the different forms of creations, from waterfalls, to volcanoes, to forests…his hand is evident in indescribable ways that are breathtaking to me. It really made me feel so small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things. I mean God has so many things that praise His name day in and day out and yet he loves me and desires a relationship with me. Two songs describe this in ways that I can’t and they have been on my heart all day. The first is “I need you to love me” by Barlow girl and the second is “How He Loves” by David Crowder. These lyrics are so powerful and Hawaii has made them come alive for me!! Barlow Girl - “I just never saw how you could cherish me…Cause You’re a God who has all things…and still You want me.” David Crowder – “When all of the sudden…I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by Glory!..And I realize just how beautiful You are and how great Your affections are for me...oh how He loves…Yeah He loves us…Ohhhhhh how He loves us…Oh how He loves us…Ohhhh how He loves us…oh how He loves!!” Gahhhhh those songs are sooooo true!! Just wanted to share that feeling with you guys cause right now I feel like I am just riding on clouds!!

Wow I just wrote so much! This is an insane amount, sorry lol. I just really like writing out what I did cause I get to share it with you guys and relive it in a way as I am re-writing it. I hope all of you guys are doing awesome!! If anything was unclear just ask and I will be happy to clear it up. There are also a lot of smaller stories within all these big ones but I mean I gotta leave some stuff to tell you guys this summer when I get back.

Oh and something else I forgot, it is also really cool being on the ship right now because everyone is like spread out talking about their adventures and catching up. Since I sat down in this lounge and started typing this, it has been at least 2.5 hours because I keep seeing people and we tell each all about our days and stuff. It’s just another absolutely amazing part of shipboard life. We all say we are one big family and really that is the best way to describe it. Just a bunch of brothers and sisters…it’s the coolest atmosphere to be a part of and one I will cherish forever!! Well I am off to bed cause I am waking up early tomorrow to hit-the-ground running in Honolulu!

Love you guys and praying for you! Hope all is well!!

T