I'm HOME!

I'm back in AZ, back in the heat...(how did I ever live like this?) and back to reality. It's kind of weird not to have people around that want to just play all day. I go back to work on Monday and then a week from Monday I start summer school. Play time is over for me. I made a lot of awesome friends that I know I'll stay in touch with... and got a decent tan. I'm very happy I went but its nice to be back in Mesa with my family and friends.


And contrary to Abbie's blog, I'm not looking to move out just yet. My bed was so amazing to sleep in last night and my shower actually got all the shampoo out of my hair.

Sea Life Park & Stairway to Heaven

On Monday Erik, Heather, Matt, and I all went to Sea Life Park. Its kind of a very very small, not as interesting version of Sea World. They had an exhibit for sea turtles, penguins, sea lions, and a 10 minute dolphin show.
It may have been more worth it if we wanted to pay the hundred bucks to swim with the dolphins but that didn't seem worth it to me... heck I've done that in the ocean with just fins and a snorkel.



Then that evening we met up with a few more people to do a hike called Stairway to Heaven... Not even lying its literally just stairs all the way up the side of a mountain. The group made it about 45 minutes or so and stopped at a platform.

(this is a tricky picture because that's not really the top, it just keeps going)

Me and a three others kept on truckin another 30 minutes to see how high we could get. We made it pretty far up, high enough to be engulfed in a cloud, but ended up turning around because it started getting dark and we knew we had a long hike down. I think if we would have had another 30 minutes of daylight we probably could have made it to the top but I am completely satisfied with where we ended. I think going down was way harder because of the darkness and the shaky, jello-y legs. I am going to be completely sore from the waist down for the next few days. I can already tell

(The fogginess of this pic is because of the cloud)

Waimea Falls and Swap Meet

Friday we went on a hike called Waimea Falls. It cost $5 to get in and the whole thing was paved and was only about a mile and a half there and back. The hike ends at a waterfall that we swam out to and played around a bit.

Then on Saturday we headed out to the swap meet to get some needed souvenirs and then down to Honolulu to do more shopping and get some lunch. I had to buy some new tennis shoes at Nordstrom Rack because I haven't seen mine in about 4 weeks. I have no idea where they ended up.

Its Dark at Night

Jumping off rocks is definitely scarier at night. This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago but we all just went and jumped off that same rock at Waimea in the dark. Do you ever have those times where a scream comes out of your mouth when you weren't planning on it? Its just an uncontrollable urge that happens sometimes when scary things happen. Well I experienced that midway down the jump. Wasn't planning on screaming, but it sure belted out without any warning.



I've also become reacquainted with the love of tennis. I hadn't played since 9th grade but I've played quite a bit here in Hawaii. So if anyone wants to challenge me to a match in 5 months when the weather cools off in AZ, I'm game to play.

She's Gonna Blow!

Lately I've been drinking lots of fluids to keep me hydrated since I know that I'll be out in the sun quite a bit. And with consuming more beverages comes one vital consequence... the need to excrete these liquids. Now my body doesn't like to give me a warning when the need to tinkle comes about, its more like "You better go now or you'll wet yourself". I'm not always in a place where a restroom is readily available and most places around my area don't offer public bathrooms anyways. Sometimes the ocean works cause no one knows whats happening but what about today, when I was by myself and not wearing a bathing suit? I was walking back to my house from this little surf shop but still a good 15 minutes from home. I had to walk across the street to a public beach and find a bush that was mostly hidden from any humans and passing cars and piddle there. I guess I was blessed to have some good friends who showed me that this act can be done at any place and any time and not think twice about it ... (ie. Brittany, Briley, and Deb)

The Way It Should Be

I'm not usually a big movie goer but since I've been in Hawaii I've seen three movies in the theater.

Shrek the 3rd,





Surf's Up.

and Ocean's 13,

All of them good movies but I extremely recommend Ocean's 13, Its a lot like the first one of the series.

Now I'm not just here waisting my money... a student ticket only costs $3.
I watched all three movies for the same price as one regular ticket on the mainland.
In my opinion, movies are way over priced... Hawaii just knows what they're doing.

Good Riddance

My new cheap sandals hurt my feet... so I burned them

Dole Makes the Best Pineapples

Today we were planning on going on a hike but the rain did not stop all day long. In the morning it was coming down really hard but then through out the day it was usually just a light mist of rain but very constant. So instead we ended up going to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. There's not much to do here but see how pineapples grow and shop for things that say "Dole" on them. We always make it fun though with photo opps. Then before the sun went down we went over to Pounders Beach so a few people could do some body surfing and buggy boarding.
This picture is a kid I met here named Cory, I found out that he served in the same mission as my friend Jonny Barnes... its definitely a small world isn't it.

Rope Swings are Funtasgreat!

Today we drove about 40 minutes to a rope swing. The hike down takes less than 5 minutes and it was totally fun. I was the first girl to try it because everyone else was too nervous so I had to lead the way. Everyone ended up doing it and thankfully no one got hurt. I even got to spend a little time with my friend Rob who I met in Hawaii 2 years ago. He moved down to Honolulu and got a girlfriend there so this is only the second time I've seen him since I've been over here, the first was when he picked me up from the airport. I wanted to get a picture with him but my camera battery died right at the end of the trip. I know I'll see him again so its not a big deal.

The Last Sunset of May

Does it get much better than this?