Thursday 9/3- It was very dark when we met at 4am at the front of the school and whereas I expected the kids to be half asleep (like I sure was) they were actually wide awake. Their anxiety and desire to begin this amazing trip was felt amongst everyone present. From one of the vans, music radiated and it semed like XC was having a morning party. Off we went for a smooth drive to LAX. Thanks to Mary Beth, our SUPER HAWAII ORGANIZER our check in process was very easy and getting all 26 kids thru security and to our gate was a breeze. The designated seats were practically almost perfect. I don't know how she did it but all her planning paid off as the majority of the kids got to sit very close to each other. The flight did not seem so long as several of us decided to play the online plane Trivia Game, that Coach Kinder seemed to dominate, watch movies, play music or get some homework done. Getting our rental vans only took about 30 Minutes and then we were off to our temporary home, Waikiki Sunset. After our plane ride and settling in we were all pretty hungry so we headed to Waikiki Beach area and finally got to sit and enjoy the beautiful Hawaiian oc ean as we ate. After some Beach time the kids went off to do their pre-meet running routines. Both teams ran alongside a beautiful canal where we could observe male and female crews canoeing along. After some intense teamwork of unloading all the teams groceries and placing it in our main "dining room" the kids enjoyed some delicious pizza for dinner. Our team meetings took place and then we were all ready to get some rest.
Friday 9/4- At 7AM the kids were up and ready to head out to the Arizona Memorial. Every athlete came to the team "dining room," to prepare sandwiches and lunches to take for our day excursion. At 7:30am we were on our way to a very historical and very somber site, Pearl Harbor. I was very impressed with our athletes as they each tuned in to the video we saw and the presentation that described the horrible attack on Pearl Harbor. All of our kids were so engaged and I was very proud that they all learned something meaningful about this very sad event in our history and they all came out of this experience knowing and understanding what happened on that terrible morning. When we walked on to the memorial there were no jokes at all. Our kids paid tribute to the brave men that lay beneath us with much respect. Afterward, we continued on by visiting the museum and we had the incredible opportunity to meet 2 survivors of the USS Arizona. The kids lined up to meet them and get their autographs. Some of them were lucky to get some pictures taken with them. WOW were these two men the sweetest! Off we went to explore the "Pali Lookout." We enjoyed a beautiful ride up the mountains and could not believe our eyes when we parked and got to look down at such a breathtaking view! We all had a team picnic lunch and some were fortunate to taste Mr. Jacobs Pineapple :) Off to the right we walked on a little path that from the looks of it only seemed like a road to walk down but as we approached it the heavy wind literally pushed us back to our original position. It was so windy that coaches were losing hats, girls were losing sandals and some of the boys had to hold on to some nearby polls just to try and stay still. Oh and yes....our hair was flying! What an amazing site and extremely FUN experience for the kids. The boys took a little adventure route and Coach Flores got stung/bit? by a black bumble bee. That was not fun but Coach got some advice from some friendly locals and after some additional icing was able to jog later that day. Next, we headed to James Campbell HS. We were an hour early and headed to Ewa Beach for some relaxing time. Another beautiful white sandy beach! Wow! We then headed to the school to meet Coach Greg and his team. How friendly is the Hawaiian community? Their kids jogged the entire course with us to make sure we did not get lost. Their athlete told us "we wouldn't want you to pay all this money to come race at our meet and get lost." They showed our kids the Hawaiian spirit and our kids were so impressed. For several of our athletes it was their first time in Hawaii and they did not know about "aloha." We headed back to our "home," and the kids got to enjoy some pool time. Meanwhile, our amazing female chaperones were cooking a great spaghetti dinner for the kids. Everyone came down in an orderly fashion to pick up spaghetti, salad, bread and drinks and then head back to their rooms to eat. Coaches hung out in the dining room patio. We sang HAPPY B-DAY to Claire and Steve as they blew out the candles on their individual cakes. So we had cake and ice-cream for dessert. After our team meetings we settled down to get some rest for the following day.
Saturday, 9/5 -At 6:45 am our kids were at the lobby ready to go. We kept the girls in one van and the boys in another to make sure they were all focused on the task at hand....to succeed and have a great race! As we arrived we could see all the teams walking and settling down in the shade. We were all excited....our first meet! First race jitters were surely present but Coaches pumped their athletes up and gave them the confidence that they were going to do great! The first race of the day was the Girls JV race. We had a group of three running close to each other and the first mile looked good but then the second one looked even better. Brianna Gillum led the squad by finishing second in the entire race. She was followed by Nadine, Christina, Tori and our only freshman who came on the trip, Claire. All of these girls were in the top 20 and received a medal. They also earned the 1st place trophy. Next up were the JV boys.
Ryan Jacobs led the Panther boys by finishing 5th. Following him were Leo Alcaraz (9th), Dylan Burgal (13th), Clayton Muro (24th), Martin Severhill in 30th place, and Ryan Clark in 57th. The boys also received the 1st place trophy. Following the JV Boys came the Girls Varsity race. Following our leader, Michelle Cruz who placed 2nd, came our Panther Pack that was composed of Courtney Corradetti (6), Annie Taylor (10), Griselda Rivera (12), Vanessa Floyd (14) and Courtney Brennan (20). Every Varsity girl earned a medal and thus also took home the 1st place trophy. These young ladies fought as a team as they overcame each individual battle over their competitors.Boys Varsity was the next race up and they took a trophy home as well as they placed 2nd. After Graham's finish of 5th place evolved another panther pack Steve Maher (10th), Jeremiah Englehardt (15th), Tyler Lavenuta (16th), Gabriel Jacobs (18th), Derek Degroot (20th), Adam Arnold (33rd). Overall, this was a great way to start the season!After many team pictures we divided into groups and headed out to subway. We had a team lunch and then headed to another amazing site, Kailua Beach. The kids got an opportunity to swim in yet another white sand beach. They spent hours in the water or sun bathing and you could hear thei laughter and cheer from afar. Our Coaches and Chaperones also enjoyed the clear ocean waters of Oahu. Coach Flores spotted a Sea Turtle that quickly swam away. We headed home and got washed up for dinner. Our parents cooked up an amazing Mexican Dinner that included ground beef, beans, homemade rice, guacamole, sour cream, grated cheese, lettuce and of course tortillas. Coach Flores got a chance to help out in the kitchen by dicing up tomatoes and cooking quite a few dozen packs of tortillas for all the team. It was delicious! We had fresh cut watermelon and pineapples as well. Coach Kinder led the team on an evening walk on the boardwalk. There were several street performers that caught our team's attention, "The Bird Man," "The Glass Man," and "The Musical guys with the neat shirts." The kids got to spend some time in the international market and then we headed back home. A lot of kids were tired and ready to call it a night.
Sunday 9/6 After the kids had an opportunity to sleep in they got ready to head out to Hanauma Bay. Again they prepared lunches to take with them. We arrived at Hanauma Bay, another impressive and amazingly beautiful site. We all watched an introduction video that explained the formation of Hanauma Bay and the preservation efforts in keeping this natural habitat alive and strong. The video explained snorkeling rules and helped our kids understand how important all the living organisms at this location are to the hawaiian community. It was so fun to see our kids experience snorkeling for the very first time. Some of them were a little afraid but once they got the hang of it they were swimming along spotting a variety of fish. We were able to spend a few hours at the bay but then clouds and light showers took over. We left the bay earlier than we anticipated but overall had a great experience there. Some of our chaperones kept swimming along in the rain having the time of their life :) When we got home the kids got some pool time and then got washed up for dinner. Tonight we ate out at Cheeseburger in Paradise! What an awesome team dinner. Mr. Jacobs and Mr. Burgal collected and organized all orders so that when we got to restaurant we could just get our orders in. Mr. Burgal was a pro waiter! We had a very pleasant dinner and enjoyed MUD PIE for dessert. The kids loved it! We went on a team stroll down the boardwalk again and did some shopping at the international market. Getting back to our home around 10:00pm the kids enjoyed 30 more minutes of free time before room check. Coaches asked kids to be packed by tonight as the following morning was going to be a busy one. Our last night in Hawaii :( Everyone agreed it went by so fast.
Monday, 9/7-The Boys went off to an early morning run while the girls headed out to explore Diamond Head. We had seen this site from a distance during our entire trip but did not know what to expect up close. We arrived at the parking area and had to go up an approximate mile hike. Our ladies tried to jog up but there were many other tourist trying to walk up as well. The climb was intense as it was mostly all uphill but it was definitely worth it. Unfortunately Coach Flores has trouble with tunnels and there were a couple of unexpected ones on the way up. Coach Art, Kinder and Mike took over and got the girls to the very top. After reviewing the pictures that were taken at the top of Diamond Head the views were nothing but spectacular. Every direction you turned to was another amazing picture to take. We headed back down and toward Waikiki Sunset to get washed up and head out to the airport. The kids grabbed some breakfast and brought all their belongings to the lobby. We could not leave Hawaii and not have the famous "Malasadas," (hawaiian donuts). In a rush, we stopped at the very famous, "Leonards," and picked up 3 dozen donuts to share between the boys and girls. This was a great Finale to an absolutely amazing trip. Off we went and had a safe trip back home :)
Thank you to all who participated and to all who made this experiece what it became.
The memories will last forever! Coach Flores
