Most girls have huge parties for their sweet 16th birthday. I, however, was spending my sweet 16th on a cramped, crowed airplane. But I was ok with that, as my family and I were on our way to Hawaii. It was an eight hour flight but the sight from the window of the plane itself was enough to make the trip worth it. With my face plastered up against the tiny window I could see the infamous white sandy beaches, where the gorgeous blue ocean rushed up to meet the people. The tall palm trees danced in the unnatural wind the plane created as we began to land.
We landed on the island of Oahu. The first shock to us was that the airport was mostly open air! There were several passages that had roofs but for the most part we through the airport in the bright sunshine. We claimed our baggage and drifted out with the other travel weary passengers and discovered that no matter where in the states we were, the cabbies would always be crabby.
We stayed in downtown Oahu, which was an interesting mix of old Hawaiian culture and new western culture. We arrived at about four in the afternoon and the streets were bustling, and when we returned to our hotel room at about eleven, they still were. It seemed that Oahu was trying to steal Vegas’ title of the city that never sleeps. Hawaii is known as the land of aloha. A place where everyone is friendly and willing to help. This can not be true for all Hawaiians but most of the people we met were very friendly. They offered directions and ideas on where to find the best local cuisine. Some would smile at us and tell us some fact about the island that the tour guide might leave out.
I had been interested in the sport of surfing for a few years before we travelled to Hawaii and as a consolation prize for having to spend my birthday on the plane, my parents were willing to let me try my luck. I think I’ll remember my first ride on a wave till the day I die. There is nothing like surfing. I think it might even be better than being in love. I learned to surf at the Waikiki Beach Break. Four other people and myself were taught by a local man by the name of Earl and his rag tag companions. They showed us the moves on the beach first and after what felt like forever, let us paddle out into the line up. The water was surprisingly warm as we fought our way against the waves in order to ride their predecessors. The first time I took off and stayed up, I was hooked on surfing. I made it almost all the way to the beach before the wave died out from under me. I then fell rather ungracefully into the seething constantly moving ocean. When I successfully rode my third wave and was paddling back to the line up and young boy, no older then 10 paddled up next to me. “You’re doing great!” He told me and gave me a thumbs up.
Also on Oahu, we attended a luau. It was fantastic way to gain insight into the Hawaiian culture, even if it was a bit commericalized. The dancing food and music were all tradtional. We even saw how they catch the food and prepare. They had tents set up for people to make their own leis, which is harder that it looks.
We traveled to Maui to see that it too was rather westernized. What was interesting here was the fact that the towns shut down rather early. Also, for whatever reason not all the streets have lights, like over head lights to see in the dark, not stop and go lights, so nagivating back to the ship was…interesting.
One of the coolest things we did in Hawaii was walk on old lava, basically at the base of the still active volcano. It was insanely hot. My brother did not go with us and my mom had to turn back. My dad and I were the only two out of our family who got to the end of the trail were actual hot lava was carving its way down to the ocean. It was breathtaking, quite literally. The old lava we were walking on was very very sharp and loose, so it was dangerous to walk on. At one point when we stopped for the rest of the group to catch up, I leaned back and ended up cutting the back of my leg. It wasn’t a bad cut and it wasn’t as if I threw myself against the lava behind me, but the rocks were just that sharp.
Hawaii is no doubt the land of aloha, if you ever need to be convinced that humanity isn’t has horrible as it seems, you don’t need to go any further away that the white sandy beaches of Hawaii. The people will greet you as if you are their long lost friend, and you might just find yourself becoming a new friend to these fantastic people.
