Kauai Vacation!

Wednesday Morning Curtis Hansen and I flew from Oahu to the island of Kauai. We were as ready to leave Oahu as a Penguin is as ready to experiment with Mexico. We needed to get out and out we did get. We rode in the back of a buddy’s pickup down to the airport at 5 in the morning. After a 30 minute flight, we landed in Kauai. It looked the same as Oahu, only less people, more mountains, and tons of roosters all over the place. It was also a much greener land mass because it rains every morning and evening without fail.

After pickup up our rental car we went straight to Wal-Mart. We already had a tent, but we needed to get a tarp and food for our camping extravaganza. We loaded up there, and then stopped at Costco for some more bare essentials. Our food choice was pretty slim and let’s just say that Mom would have worried if she saw, but what Momma don’t know won’t hurt her…right? Our food choice for the next four days was Costco muffins and a protein shake for breakfast, trail mix and granola bars for lunch and some canned spaghetti O’s for dinner. Our microwave didn’t fit in my carry on, so we heated up the food with my Leatherman. (that’s a joke, you can’t heat up food with only a Leatherman, we tried)

Let me first explain the island. It is shaped like a circle and the road goes 90% all the way around. Thus, you cannot drive all the way around the island.

Our first destination and camp spot was at Waimea Canyon. It is also known as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific. Seeing these photos ought to help you understand why. It is gorgeous. There were a lot of lookout points along the road, and we didn’t see any trails that led down into it, but they could have been there. We just enjoyed driving every twenty feet and taking another photo. It just got better and better. The frequent rain makes it really green.

At the end of this road, is our campsite. Koke’e State Park. It sits at 4,000 feet elevation. It is the highest point in the entire islands of Hawaii. Had I known this, I would have packed appropriately. I’ll explain later. Koke’e State Park is very secluded and quiet. It reminded me of the Uintahs because of the altitude and quiet feel. After getting there, we learned of a hike just up the road and we went to it. It was called Kalalau Lookout. I’ll let the photos do the talking.

We hiked along the ridge that took us near the other side of the lookout. It was a really cool hike. Shear drop offs to the left and nothing but thick jungle on the right. It would rain on and off all throughout the hike. I got used to it. It was a pretty unique experience.

After the hike, we went back to the camping area to set up camp. It got dark at 6:30 so we had to move quickly. Our camping experience was awesome. Our camping supplies consisted of:

A tent

A tarp

Bamboo beach mats to sleep on

A damp towel to place on the bamboo beach mats

Thin blankets

A pillow

Flashlight

We got camp all set up and realized it was only 6:45 pm. We had the whole night ahead of us. Ha ha, and nothing to do. It was raining and too dark to do much. So we sat in our tents, turned on some reading lamps and read books. I had borrowed a book from my English Professor entitled Silence by Shusaku Endo.  As we read we both got pretty tired and fell asleep around 7 pm. We were pretty worn down because of the flight, racing around in the car, and hike we did that day, so it’s understandable.

We awoke and were super charged and ready to go for another day. It was still dark outside, so we checked our watches with an expectation of it being around 4 in the morning. Lo and behold, it was only 11 pm. We only slept for 4 hours and we had the whole night ahead of us. Ha ha. We had a good laugh. We were both pretty cold at this point. We put on the light jackets that we had and curled up into little balls hoping to conserve as much heat as possible. We’d been living the dream in a climate where blankets were frowned upon for the past three months, we didn’t think in the slightest we would be cold in Kauai, but we were. 

Because I was so awake, I decided to read some more in my book. Around 1:30 in the morning, Curtis woke up and looked over at me. I was still reading. We had a good talk and over some Costco trail mix.  After that, I went to bed; we had a long drive and a lot to do the next day.

In the morning we picked up camp, ate some Costco trail mix and a muffin and hit the road. We stopped at a cool lookout point and said goodbye to Waimea Canyon.  As we stood around getting good photos, we heard a gun fire off in the distance. Our first instinct was to duck and get out of sight, but then we realized no one would want to kill us, so we laughed and looked for the culprit. There was a hunter down in the canyon. Bore hunting is famous in this area.

Two and a Half hours later and we were on the opposite side of the island at the Kalalau Trailhead. This is a famous hike because of Hanakapi'ai Falls and Beach. It was the coolest hike I had ever been on. It was pure Jungle. On top of that, it was along the Na’Pali Coast. This coast is famous for being secluded, no roads, and very beautiful. There are really steep cliffs all along it. Most people see it from Helicopter tours, but we dove right into it while hiking. It rained on and off throughout the entire hike, which was kind of funny because there was no cloud in sight. We had to wear these cool hats, obviously, because it made us look more official.

This is just a photo of a lookout we stopped at along the road. Pretty Amazing!

Half way up the hike is Hanakapi’ai Beach. This is a secluded beach surrounded by steep cliffs. No one goes into the water because it has a really dangerous current. There is a tally kept on a wooden sign just off the beach that labels the amount of deaths. We counted about 85 people. It is pretty crazy. It was beautiful though and I got to meet a Monk Seal. They are extremely endangered and native to Hawaii.

Then we left the coast and went inland to find the 300 foot waterfall. The trail got much more intense as we crossed streams, and fallen trees. It was really cool. We found bamboo trees, a cat, and strange fruit, but no wild life.

 The waterfall was the most beautiful one I had ever seen. It was super tall and poured down a tropical cliff. There was a swimming hole underneath and we couldn’t resist. We were sweating like crazy and really needed to be refreshed. Getting in that water was just as bad as jumping into a Uintah lake. It was absolutely ice cold. We got in and swam to the waterfall and back. I thought I was gonna die on the way back because I couldn’t breathe. I swear my lungs shrunk 5 times their original size when I got in.

We headed back to the car to eat our much needed thanksgiving meal. We had bought a special kind of peanut butter that was mixed with Jam. It eliminated the need of a refrigerator. We both thought this was a genius idea, until we took a bite. It was horrid. It tasted terrible. I barely got my sandwich down before I just had to throw in the towel. I don’t know how, but Curtis muscled down another half of a sandwich.

Right next to the trailhead is Ke’e Beach. It is pretty famous for snorkeling. We gave it a shot. We saw some really cool fish and enjoyed being in the water. I couldn’t believe where we were at. The Na’Pali coast has got to be one of the most beautiful places in the world.

That night, we camped at Haena Beach. This campsite was pretty shoddy.  There were homeless people everywhere and it was noisy all night. Before setting up camp, we decided to eat our thanksgiving dinner. Based on what we had for thanksgiving lunch, it couldn’t get much worse. I grabbed my Leatherman and we had a nice cold can of spaghetti O’s. It was like eating heaven from a can. Ha ha. It rained and got windy and just wasn’t like sleeping at the Hilton. My back can only take so long with no pad, so I read most of the night and tried to sleep while listening to music, but it didn’t work out too well.

The next day we spent at Hanalei. It is a small surf town with lots of shops and small restaurants. We also drove to a lighthouse and did some snorkeling at Anini Beach. We didn’t see much sea-life, but we did get to see a sea turtle.  This campsite was much better than the last. It was really quiet and hardly any wind. It did rain, but we stayed dry for the most part. I did get a lot of reading done through the night, but I got at least 5 hours of sleep, which felt amazing.

Our last day on the island was probably one of the funnest. We met up with some friends from our ward who were on the island as well. They were staying at a million dollar house on a golf course. One of them lived here in Kauai and took us to some local sites. Our first destination with them was Kipu Falls. This is a place that only the locals know about.

We drove down some country road and parked by a break in the weeds that revealed a small trail. It was muddy and not well traveled. We walked in about a quarter mile. The weeds were above our heads and folded inward, which made us crouch as we walked. This knocked some of us off balance and a few of us fell onto our kiesters because it was muddy and slippery.

As we came around the last corner, I saw what appeared to be a miniature dream world. My first thought took me back to DisneyLand. It was a waterfall that poured into a good sized swimming hole. The waterfall was about 20 feet high and it folded over massive rocks jetted out over this water hole. It was gorgeous. It reminded me of DisneyLand because everything seemed perfect. The rocks seemed to be handpicked to fit perfectly along the cliff as stepping stones to the other side. On the far end was a tall tree that spread across half of the water hole. There was also a really long rope swing that could be used for the small and tall. It was too good to be true.

We played on the rope swing and jumped off the waterfall for a couple hours. I couldn’t get enough of it.

We met some other people there that were from BYU Hawaii as well. It was cool to meet them and have some fun.  All dreams do come to an end and we left. Our next site was Spouting Horn. This is a unique arrangement of Mother Nature. There are air tunnels in this volcanic rock formation right on the coast. Because it is right on the coast, water flows into one end of the tunnel and shoots water out the other side. It looks just like a Geyser found in Yellowstone National Park. It was cool to watch the water spurt out randomly.

Then we hit up a small beach for a couple hours to finish of the day and wait for our plane ride back to Oahu. I don’t know what else to say, other than it was one of the funnest and most rare experiences in my life to have done this trip. We literally just camped and hung loose all weekend. I figured it wouldn’t happen again anytime soon because of the location and situation of it all. Curtis and I get along really well and just basked in all the glory. It was definitely a trip worth remembering.  I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. I know I did!

If you read this entire blog, then you will win a prize. It was a pretty long one. Ha ha! Enjoy!

We got in!

I must be doing something right because I have been so blessed this week. There were a lot of things going on this week for the re-dedication of the Laie, Hawaii Temple. I began seeing these blessings Tuesday evening. I had been grievously sick most of the weekend and into Tuesday. I had asked Curtis to give me a blessing Tuesday morning because things didn't seem to get any better. I had a very important biology exam to take that night and I knew I needed all the help I could get. I had caught some sort of flu or something, because it kept me from focusing my mind, which prevented me from studying. I got really worried because of my exam, but luckily, I had studied a lot in the past few weeks in preparation for this exam. Thank heavens I didn't wait until the last minute to study, because I wouldn't have been capable. 

The blessing that Curtis gave me was a great help and reassurance. When it came time to take the test, I just said a prayer asking for special help because I felt I had earned it by living right and studying a lot beforehand. During the test I felt terrible. I thought for sure I was going to get 40% or worse. To my astonishment, when I looked at my grade, I got a 72%, which is really good for that class. I immediately offered a prayer of thanks because I knew I did not get that grade on my own. I spoke with my Biology Professor and he congratulated me and told me that I am still ten percent above the class average, so that is some more good news. 

As the week went on I began to feel much much better. When the weekend came, I got sick again and it kept me from having too much fun. I slept most of Friday night and all day Saturday. We watched Harry Potter Saturday night and really enjoyed that, even though the theater was the size of a rich man's game room. It was pretty small ha ha. While at the movie, I got a text from a member of the bishopric of my ward and he wanted me and some of my roommates to assist in moving the furniture back into the temple after the dedicatory services. What a rare opportunity!

Sunday morning we went to the early morning Dedication services. Only bishops and stake presidents were aloud to be in the temple for the dedication, the rest of the members were in stake centers around Hawaii. Truly a remarkable spirit there. After the services ended we went directly to the Temple parking lot to help with parking. As the next session was about to begin, we decided to walk up to the temple doors and see if they could squeeze us in. Yet again to my astonishment, we got in! They had folding chairs every where they would fit all throughout the temple. We stayed in the lobby and watched the session on a plasma screen. I never got to see the Prophet, but I did get to be in the actual temple as it was dedicated. That was enough for me.

After all that, I went back to my apartment and collapsed on my bed. I had gotten weak and sick and needed a nap real bad. I woke up just in time to head to the Temple to help move the furniture back into place in the temple. I knew I was sick, but I wouldn't let that get in the way of this rare occasion. On my way over to the temple I had forgotten completely of my illness. Serving in the temple was incredible. We went into every room, carrying alters, benches, lamps and anything to every single room. The most astonishing thing about this experience is when I entered the temple after it had been dedicated, I noticed it had a completely different feel than it had when I went through the openhouse. It was a much more solemn and heavenly feeling. Something I hadn't felt in a while. I love being in the temple. I got to go from the very tip top of the temple to beneath the pipes and water valves in the basement. It was a very neat experience and I will remember it for the rest of my life. My name will be going on the church records for having assisted in this event. We signed a paper. It wasn't until I was walking home that I remembered that I was sick. I am coughing a little now and sneezing a bit, but I never once even thought about it in the temple. What a miracle!

Curtis and I are planning our trip to Kauai this coming Wednesday morning. We are really excited. It is going to be an intense adventure.

Have a great day!

He Ain't that Old

Happy Being-Born Day Dad,

I just realized that you never got a nick name. Mine was Clamp while building the house, and Corey eventually got Corkles. But then again, Dad is a nickname as well. But not just a nickname, I see it as an honorary title. I cannot wait until I can have the privilege and honor of being called Dad.

 A funny, yet meaningful, memory that I have with dad is one during my baseball era. I didn't like baseball much. It was hard and horrifying for me. Every time i stepped up to the plate, i would start shaking and close my eyes hoping that I could just walk to first base. I was so worried that the pitcher wouldn't know how to aim and would hit me. ha ha. I laugh now, but i sure wasn't laughing then. I rarely swung because of fear. And every time the umpire called out "ball", I could hear my dad above all others in the crowd say, "Good eye son." I didn't have a good eye, I had petrifying fear! My Dad cared for me and wanted me to feel like a winner.

I have a lot of fond memories with my Dad, but I don't think any of them are as impactful as the days of working on the house. I learned more of my father through those years than any other. Mainly because I saw Dad when he was stretched and pulled farther than I had ever seen him. I will never understand how he did it, but he just kept working. We tried to end the days when the sun went down, but rarely did that happen. The sun went down, and we got the extension cords and lights all over the place. It was a very constructive time on the house, and in my own life. Thank you Dad for showing me what it meant to actually WORK. When Corey and I got too tired to function, he would let us go to bed, but he would keep truckin'. My Dad doesn't let his body make decisions. If a job isn't done, it isn't done. He is going to finish it. I will never forget the day we stayed up until 3:30 in the morning preparing the driveway for concrete. Corey and I had to wake up at 5:30 or so to help dad top it off and then soon after leave for a Lacrosse tournament. When we got up, Dad had already been up. I wondered if Dad even slept. I doubt it.

There are literally hundreds of experiences i could share from working on the house, but I will change to memories of pleasure.

From Dad, I learned how to vacation. My favorite vacations are of course Lake Powell and then Motor Cycling Moab. When country music turns on, my first thought goes to yelling "Kenny!!" through the unfinished house, my second thought goes to long dirt roads in Moab. There is nothing like going to Moab on a bike that your father helped you restore. My little Yamaha is the greatest investment I have ever made. Not because it was a great deal for how well it runs, but for all the time it gave to me and my Dad. We worked on that bike a lot and now it runs like a little climbing demon. There wasn't a hill that bike couldn't summit in Moab. The only thing that held it back was my skill level. ha ha.

I remember on our last Moab trip, Dad gathered us boys around the campfire and taught us how to be Men in the Priesthood. He told us how much he loved our Mother. That means a lot to a boy, to know that his father loves his mother. I am grateful that I have a dad that can do that. Not only teach the word of God, but also to live it. Thank you Dad!!

On a more recent note, I remember seeing my Dad at the airport when I left for Hawaii. Even though my Dad didn't think it was the best decision for me to come to Hawaii, he questioned it a little, he still supported me because he knew that I knew it was the best thing for me. He gave me a father's blessing at home and then we said goodbye at the house. Then at the airport Mom turned into a waiting parking lot. Why? Because my Dad wanted to say goodbye to his Son!! That made me so happy to see you there Dad. I knew that your job was pressing you like a tomato, but I also knew that family always came first for him.

When I call home, Dad tells me how much he misses me living with him. I cherish the days i had living at home with him. We never missed Monday night football. Always played basketball Tuesday nights and often worked on my bike in the garage. He was there when i needed him. He let me use his boat! what kind of a man let's his son take a boat out on the water with other college kids? My Dad, that's what kind of man does that.

I love you Dad. And I miss you so much. I will be home soon! and I will give you a log awaited birthday/thanksgiving/your-my-

dad hug.

A Night in Waikiki (Why Key Key)

Dear Cold ones,

I cannot believe all that has transpired this week. I will speak little of what happened at school because that is boring and short-lived. it is necessary that you understand that I have been in study groups all week preparing for a Biology exam. I got little sleep and am still un-prepared for the test on tuesday. The answer to your question is yes, i did manage to get to the beach a few times during the week. I feel it's an obligation for living in Hawaii. If i didn't, i wouldn't be respecting this great land mass.

My roommate and I were really excited about the open house for the Laie Temple. Our neighbor is less active and living with his girlfriend. we had befriended him as we walked through his backyard to go to the beach. He got to be pretty friendly with us and we felt we should invite him to go to the temple open house. so we gave him a pass along card of the Laie temple and invited him. it was really cool. we felt like missionaries again. after all, we were mission companions for a few months. 

The openhouse went really well. For some reason, My buddy and I were asked to be the coordinators of the parking assistants. We got to drive our own golf carts and tell people what to do and give rides to the patrons. it was a really neat experience. we met people from all over the world. mainly from this island, but most of them were not members. Really Cool Experiences. I heard that Lavell Edwards was here, but I did not see him :(  We were so good at it that they asked us to come back to the parking lots on the day of the dedication to run the assistance then as well. I am really excited for that because there will be general authorities everywhere. I am so blessed to have so many opportunities like these.

Now for Saturday night. I don't want to make anyone jealous, but I was in Waikiki saturday night. it was incredible!!!! I wont take too much time to explain because the photos can accomplish that. I will say that my roommate and I sat on couch cushions in the back of a small pickup for an hour to get there. more comfortable than you'd think. My friend's parents came to Hawaii to visit her and she invited us to hang out with her and finish up the hotel room expenses. so we went down and went to the Hilton Hawaiin Village. It is right on the beach and the main road of Waikiki, Ala Moana. we enjoyed chilling on the pool deck that was on the second floor. It overlooked a much larger pool on the main floor and the entire Waikiki. Unfortunately, the sun was setting and we had to watch it slowly sink into the nautical abyss. The sky changed from a baby blue mist to a gary golden spray. All of the while a live band jammed away sang the night away. Incredibly beautiful.

After the sun set, we went back to the hotel room and changed into our evening attire. we walked along the streets window shopping surf shops and trying to find a spot to eat. thanks to many Kenny Chesney country songs, i wanted to fulfill a life-long dream of eating at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. After some persuading, my fellow compadres folded. It is the coolest restaurant i have ever eaten at. The theme is underwater. the floor is blue with fancy painting that makes it look like flowing water. around the edges of the walls is crusted sand and the walls look like beach caves. there were artificial waves that rose and curled over a few of the tables. The most impressive feature of this restaurant was the artificial overlook. it was a wall of tv screens that changed every two minutes. the image on the tv screen was an overlook spot of famous locations in Oahu. such as Sunset Beach, Shark's Cove, etc. I had been to most of the spots. the image was so clear and massive that it looked as though you were actually looking out onto the beach, or into the sunset. it was video as well, not just a boring photo. you could almost feel the ocean spray when the waves crashed.

The food choice was pretty good, but the atmosphere is what made the experience worth while. My roommates challenged me to a nacho eating contest. The nachos were called Volcanic Nachos. It is a huge plate of various color chips topped with chili, cheese, black beans, avocados, sour creme, jalapenos, and probably much more. the waiter challenged us to eat entire plates. we only got about half of them eaten each, but it was a fun challenge.

another cool experience to finish off this weekly email is a family man playing his electric ukulele. his two little daughters were sitting on chairs just off to the side coloring in their drawing books while his ukulele rang through the city. 

My Emails Home from September 12, 2010 - November 7, 2010

November 7, 2010

I am now officially scuba dive certified! It was so worth the time and money that I put into that. It was so much fun. Yesterday was the last dive that I’ll be going on while I'm living in Hawaii. It was so intense. We went to a place called Electric Beach. They call it Electric Beach because it is next to an electricity plant. It expels water into the ocean and the water is quite warm. The pacific oceanic fishies like the warmer water so they gather around the pipes and play in the warmer water. The pipes run along the sea bed about 200 yards out from the beach. The pipes are huge, about 15 feet in diameter and right next to each other. I would have taken a picture of it, but our Wal-Mart camera started acting like it was from Wal-Mart and broke :(  

When we showed up at the beach, there were a few sail boats and catamarans just hanging around the bay. Quite a few Dolphins came over to those boats to see what was going on. It was cool to see them popping in and out of the water. They weren't jump completely out, but it was cool to see them splashing around. From shore we saw an endangered specimen. The Monk Seal is going endangered and is indigenous to Hawaii. We saw one off shore. It was huge and surfacing for a little bit. I was told that is extremely rare to see. 

The certification process was pretty easy; we mainly got to do some underwater exploring. The visibility here was incredibly. It was 100+ feet. There aren't many places in this world where you get the kind of visibility. The photos I attached were from another guy that had a legit underwater camera. He was nice enough to take photos and videos of us. 

This week was really good. I had a lot of extra time, which went directly to studying biology. I have been really blessed with good friends and roommates. It was a little cold, so I got to sleep with a blanket. That was a miracle. I slept so much better with that blanket. Because it got a little cooler, 76 degrees, I started getting a slight cold and feeling sick around Thursday. I knew that if you have a stuffy nose or any type of congestion then you can't scuba dive, so I started praying with all my might that I would be healed! And I was, I was completely fine by Saturday morning. What a blessing!

One big instance of the week, and I can't believe I almost forgot, was that we went to COSTCO!!! To give you a heads up on how significant this is, my roommate and I have been eating nothing but peanut butter sandwiches and hotdogs the past week because we have very little food. We are too stubborn to spend buckets of money at the local grocery store. There was a girl in our ward with a car that we befriended and she offered to take us to Costco! This type of generosity is never overlooked. It wasn't just a trip to Costco for me; it was a trip to Disneyland. Every time I walk in those wide open doors, I feel like I’m going home. It was so much fun. We had some pizza that only costed $10 instead of $20. 

One of my roommates ate something weird and was throwing up all over the parking lot at Wal-Mart later that night, which was really gross, but it spiced things up a bit. ha ha. Literally. 

I love you all. Hawaii is amazing. Curtis Hansen and I decided to just go to Kauai and rent a car and camp. It will cost a lot less and we can stay there for a couple of days and just tour the beaches. It will be a really chill Thanksgiving!! I love you all. Enjoy the cold, or I’ll have to come home and enjoy it for you.

Ocotober 31, 2010

This week was a blast. I wasn't expecting much to happen for Halloween because i usually dont get that into it. It is also weird having halloween and it is super sunny and sweaty outside. so it had a bit of a different feel. I want to clue you in on a couple funny stories. I dont have too much time this week, but I have 3 things i want to inform you of.

1. Pre Calculus
2. Ants
3. The Haunted Lagoon

I have some great news. there were two parts to the PreCalculus midterm and I got 100% on one of them, and 98% on the other. It felt really good. My grade was sitting at an A- before i took the test so i knew that if I wanted to get an A in the class, i would have to ace the test. I knew i could come close, but I also knew it wouldn't be easy. but i worked really hard and i got great results. So I am really happy to see my hard work paying off.

Now for the ants. My roommate and I bought a ton of milk duds because they were on sale. They were in cartons of about 100 and they were on sale. I bought two cartons. Friday afternoon, I got home from a long day of studying and wanted to celebrate with some duds. so i opened a box and grabbed a few, then set it back down on my chest of drawers in my bedroom. 20 minutes later, my sweet tooth overcame me and i went back to the box for more. As i approached the box i saw microscopic movements all over the place. I opened the box and found hundreds of ants all over my duds. My precious duds :(   i ran into the kitchen and dumbed the box onto a paper towel and immediately sorted out the good from the contaminated. I was able to save most of them, but had some heartbreaking casualties. Then it occurred to me that my other box could be in danger. No sooner than later i heard a shreak from my room and my roommate screamed "Cliiiiiiiint!" i prepared for the worst. I darted back to the room only to see a lone box on my "chester drawers". I slowly approached my box and to my horror I saw microscopic movement yet again. I took a close look at the box and said haughtily, "ha ha, they'll never get past that glued seal." I hadn't opened that box yet. I decided to open it anyway just to be sure. but my hope was in vain. I opened the box and saw twice as many ants as i saw in the past box. I saved what i could and experienced innumerable casualties. The ants had won. At this point, the ants were all over my belongings on the chester drawers, thus i could not unleash my ant killing spray. i watched them slowly disintegrate and march in unison off my desk. It was a depressing sight to behold. 

Friday night, my roommates and I didn't really have any good costumes, but we went to the school dance anyway. I just put on a BYU shirt and hat and called it good. People thought i was Bronco Mendenhall, so i guess i lucked out ha ha. it was a fun dance with a lot of people. 

Saturday night was the best night of Halloween. The Polynesian Culture Center has a Halloween celebration every year. We decided to volunteer for it because we needed a way to celebrate Halloween. From 6:00 pm until about 11:30 we acted as Zombies in the PCC. It was a blast. they have a really nice set up. the guests ride in canoes that hold about 20 people. they go really slowly down an eary canal that is surrounded by zombies and haunted homes. (resembling a haunted polynesian village) It is really a nice get up. My roommates and I were zombies. My character was a zombie with a pet gargoyle. My arm went up into a gargoyle and I acted like we were talking to each other. it was pretty fun. We were painted completely black and they gave us wigs and raggedy clothes. It was a long night, but i just basked in the moment. when else do you get to spend your halloween as a gargoyle carrying zombie. 

I am doing really well. Hawaii is amazing. Because of the money issue, we wont be doing the advanced scuba diving class. if we do anything it will be flying to only Kauai for a couple of days. We'll see how things look as it gets closer. but I love you all and hope you had a great Halloween. 

October 24, 2010

I did it; I went scuba diving this week. It was so much better than I thought it ever could be. This week was one of the busiest that I’ve had out here on happy island. I had two tests to prepare for, Pre-Calculus and Biology. Both pretty tuff classes. On top of that, I had scuba certification classes that went from 6-10 pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. It was totally worth it because on Saturday, we had two dives. Thursday is when we learned how to dive in a pool. We got to get up close and personal with people's hair and band aids at the bottom of a pool. This made me excited to get out in the ocean where I got up close and personal with fish and coral. ha ha. 

Shark's Cove is known as one of the best places to scuba dive because of all the wildlife. It is in a protected area, so there's no hunting or harassing. This means the fish aren't afraid of you and come really close. I won’t go into too much detail about the entire dive, but I must tell you at least some so you can understand how exhilarating this was for me. We had been diving for about 15 minutes. I was trying to get used to the weightless feeling by floating upside down 30 feet under and doing front flips, back flips, side flips when our instructor told us to follow him. We swam over a reef that was about 20 feet under and swam over the top of a few canyons. He stopped at a canyon that went down another 10 feet and swam to the bottom of it. He then called two divers at a time to go to him. He obviously wanted to show us something cool. He made the sign of a small shark. So I went on down, and lo and behold, the light from his flashlight was on a 4 feet white tip shark that was swimming in circles in a small cave. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. At that point we were about 30-35 feet deep. Where else in the world can you do this? I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to scuba dive. I still can't believe I’m in Hawaii.

Other than that, not much has happened. I got 95% on my math test!! Which is good to hear and I have yet to take my biology test. I'll probably take it on Tuesday. I have been going to group study sessions and things so I should get a better score than last time. This biology is just so foreign to me. 

October 10, 2010

This week was had its ups and downs. School is very difficult. I didn't do very well on some important tests, but later found out that I was above average on those tests. This means that this semester will be really tough and I’m going to have to study extra hard. I have really been putting a lot of effort into my biology class already, but my test scores aren't really showing that. I met with my professor and he is going to help me do better in that class. His tests are way too intense for a beginning biology class. That will do it for the downs.

Now the Ups! Yesterday was a very good day. We had to wake up around 6:30, which is very early for a Saturday morning. Our Elder's Quorum had a service project at the temple. We helped with some weeding. I love serving at the temple. It is always much more rewarding than I anticipate it's going to be. While we were weeding, there was an older man that was a temple grounds keeper that walked around with trash bags and such. He said, "I'll bet you've never weeded before, how do you like getting your hands dirty?" I was a bit shocked that he said that, and with gusto in my heart I proudly retorted, "Actually, I grew up on a farm and have been weeding most of my life. I have a rather green thumb you could say." ha ha. We had a good laugh and then talked a bit the town I lived in and such. I am proud of where I come from and love showing it off. Not many people can say they grew up with horses and cows in their back yard. I can, and I will boast. (Thanks Mom and Dad).

Service wasn't the only thing I rendered yesterday. After the service project I and a couple of my roommates went down the street a few blocks to a couple missionary's house. Every Saturday around ten they take a bunch of college students to the beach and teach them how to surf. Well isn't that convenient. FREE SURFING LESSONS!! They provide the boards, the fun, and the sun. This older man was really funny and perfect for his calling. As a missionary, he was to spend time with college students and helping out church education system out here. Is there a better way to bond with someone, than by teaching them to surf? I think not. He is an old, tanned American that knows how to surf. He was really funny and chill. The boards they provided for us learners weren't too fancy, but they worked. The board I learned on was missing the nose, it was a taped up square ha ha. So if I didn't lean back enough, I would flip forward and eat sand. Yum.

While I was surfing, I got to take a board out farther to catch a few of the bigger waves. On my voyage out there, I saw something a little odd. I thought I saw a massive bolder coming to the surface. It had a light brown hue. I slightly panicked as it continued to rise (I watched jaws a week ago). When it got to the surface I saw this bolder had arms and legs. That’s when it dawned on me, it wasn't a bolder, and it was Giant Sea Turtle. It was really cool looking. Dark green skin and a massive tan shell. It was the coolest thing in the pacific. I got within ten feet of the beast. I am not sure if it came up to say hi, or if it needed air. I assume he wanted to say hi because I had on such a nice swimming suit. 

The thing I did not know about surfing is how tired you get out in the water. Once you get past the breakers, you are so tired that you can’t swim fast enough to catch any waves. Fortunately I caught one wave, but it was nothing to brag about. By the time I stood up, I was riding a massive 40 foot pipe. ha, jk. I stood up, and then the wave died down. I hope to go again next Saturday and pick up where I left off. We weren't the only people at this beach. There were lots of people of all ages surfing. It is known as the beginner’s beach. I saw tons of little kids that were riding the waves like no one’s business. I was jealous. 

Today is going to be a great Sunday, I can already tell. The ward is starting to make a lot of preparations for the temple open house. I am really excited to go through the temple here. It is so pretty. I also learned that for the open house, there will be over 150,000 bottles of water and over 300,000 cookies. That ads a whole new excitement to the adventure. 

Into the Sunrise

I was born as an ordinary person in an averaged size city in a normal home with regular parents. There were no extraordinary instances in my life that brought me fame, and jam-packed wallet has never followed me around. Some might say that I’m an average Joe trying to get by in this world. If you passed me on the street, you’d forget you saw me within a few minutes. I’m nothing special. But I have great ambitions for this life and the one hereafter.  Though I may not seem like much now, I have a lot ahead of me that is going to shape and mold my destiny. Much of this creation process has already begun. Some life changing experiences resulted because of my own decisions, and some came due to others. The fact that I am a regular Joe has never crossed my mind. I know that I can make a difference in this world, and I know exactly what is required in order for me to do so.

            A few months ago, I purchased a book entitle, The Alchemist. Had I known the great impact it would have in my life, I might have picked up a few extra copies to share with the ones I love. Paulo Coelho, the author, defined a Personal Legend as something, “you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is. At that point in their lives, everything is clear and everything is possible. They are not afraid to dream and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives” (Page 21-22). This is the exact thought that comes to my head when I think of my own Personal Legend. What do I want to do with my life, and who am I taking with me? I have had all sorts of dreams throughout my childhood, just as any regular person, but it takes a true champion to take a dream and turn it into a reality.

            My Personal Legend is to raise a family in a happy home. To the untrained eye this may seem quite simple and ordinary, but for what I have in mind, this is going to take a lot of gusto and hard work. There are a lot of little pieces that need to fit just right in order for me to achieve this. Brother James Ritchie, a professor at BYU Hawaii, taught me that, “If I can get up early, work hard, discover my strengths and get prepared to be used, then I will beat out my competitors.” The thread that my Personal Legend hangs on is my own effort. If I fail to do any of these steps, then I might as well throw in the towel. The achieving of my Personal Legend rides solely on my shoulders and no one else’s. Santiago, the little boy in the Alchemist, realized that he had to leave his sheep herding way of life in order to discover his great purpose in life. He could have stayed in his quiet little town, but he didn’t. He chose to get out of his comfort zone and make something for himself. I plan to do likewise. You will never have a miraculous success story if you stay within the walls of your comfort zone.

            In order to have the happy home that I desire, there are a lot of little things I will need to accomplish, such as receiving a bachelor’s degree in communications from Brigham Young University. I won’t be able to settle for less when choosing my eternal partner in life. She will need to share the same Personal Legend with me. If not, it will become a stumbling block for me. My wife will need to love the Lord more than me and be willing to show that same love to our children. The final aspect of my Personal Legend is to become financially secure as an Advertising/Promotions Manager for a successful company. Amazing things will happen all around me as I pursue this Personal Legend. Paulo Coelho wrote that, “when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too” (Page 150). I hope that my pursuit will not only improve my life, but also the lives of those around me.

            The road will be long and, at times, a little gruesome. Paulo Coelho counseled that, “Ever search begins with beginner’s luck. And every search ends with the victor’s being severely tested” (Page 132). I will need all the help I can get along the way. That is why it is absolutely essential that I surround myself with uplifting people. If I am not uplifting to others, then it will be very challenging for me to find people like are to stand by my side.

            Discovering a Personal Legend is not easy, but is the very means whereby miracles are born. Everyone has something they yearn for. Something that they know they must fulfill in order to be truly happy. I am fortunate enough to have found mine at such a keen moment in my life. I have already begun my trek across the desert of accomplishment. With the end in sight, I will be able stay optimistic and avoid all feelings of fear. It is when I take my eye off the horizon that I begin to fear and tremble. I won’t let myself do that. I am going to make it. 

October 3, 2010 (Late Night Surprise)

Hello friends and family,

I have added a few new people to my emailing list. It is not out of neglect that it took me this long to add them. It is because I have been a little side tracked by going to the beach. So I apologize if this is the first email that you have received from me while I have been in Hawaii. I would also like to write a special note to all of those who have been getting my emails:

Hello, I regret to inform you that you have not written me back (most of you). I have gotten small notes from people on the opposite side of the planet (Switzerland) but have gotten almost nothing from the rest of you. There will be no immediate punishments; however, I will promise you that special hugs are granted to those who write me back. I want to call you each every day and tell you how awesome it is, but the time difference and my busy surf schedule makes it a little difficult, so I have resorted to writing emails so that you can be more jealous of my paradicical life style! So please write me so I know what is going on in your lives.

On a happier note, I am still in Hawaii! This week has been much better than the last in that I was sweating the entire time. It rained a couple of days and it made for a great break from the heat. However, that did not keep us from the beach. I did not get to the beach every day, but we did go at least 5 times. I love going to the beach, there is nothing like it. And the waves are starting to get really big and it makes for an eventful day being whirled around like rag dolls. 

A funny thing happened to me Friday night. My roommate and I had met a couple of girls from our religion class that like to go to a famous beach on the north shore. The beach is called Sunset Beach. It is famous for the mystical sunsets as well as the home to the infamous Jack Johnson. These girls go to the beach with a bunch of other guys and girls almost every other day. They invited us to go with them Friday night. We didn't get to the beach until after the sun had set and it was rather dark. I was not used to the late night waves, but was excited to give them a shot. We didn't go too far out in the water because you can’t see anything and we wanted to be safe, so we played on the beach and in the breakers. Our favorite game to play as a group was Crack the Egg. The objective is to stay in the shape of an egg the longest, but here's the catch. You must sit where the waves break. The waves must have been 5-7 feet tall. Well over our heads when we sat down. And we would all sit in a line. Then a breaker would come in and crash us to pieces. The last person to be in the egg position wins. Most of the time the breaker would pick us up and roll us up the beach about 10-15 feet. No serious injuries and a lot of fun! Definitely worth trying next time you come to Hawaii. 

The other activity we pursued at this late night extravaganza was skim boarding. This was more interesting because I ate it a lot. The shore was steep so you didn't have to run that fast to get moving on the thin water, but we ran as fast as we could so we could catch air on the in-coming waves. Our form of skim boarding had been slightly modified for comfort and adventure. We would hold a boogey board in our hands and ran at the waves. Once we got enough speed we would jump and land on our knees and slide 20 or so feet into huge breakers. If you hit the wave just right you would launch into the air and escape from being obliterated by the wave. Most of the time I wasn't so lucky. For the most part, I would be a little early and would crash straight into a 6 foot wall of unfriendly water. Ha. My shoulders were sore after a while, but I lived. The worst part was when you slide on your knees; your feet hang off the back and drag in the sand. I didn't know it was happening at the time, but the excessive dragging of my feet scraped off a few layers of skin on the tops of my feet. I didn't realize this until I got to the fresh water showers and my feet felt like they were on fire.

One last event happened at the beach that night. Just before heading to wash off at the showers, I decided to take one last dip in the ocean. I got out there and just swam a little when I felt I slight flick on my buttocks. I think. I don’t know what it felt like. But shortly after the flick I found myself running on shore with quite the surprised look on my face. I had been stung by a jellyfish on my kisser. Ha. It stung quite a bit believe it or not. The best thing to do when that happens is to rub wet sand on it. Well I did, but my friends just kept laughing at me because they couldn't believe it. they had all been stung many times already on other beach trips, but I hadn't been stung yet, so when they found out that I finally got stung, they were happy. We had a good laugh. It didn't hurt too badly, but it stung for the rest of the night.

I don’t want to bore you too much with my amazing adventures on this pacific island, but I am loving it and I love all of you. Conference was amazing. I was able to watch it at my apartment because we have cable. I had to wake up pretty early to watch it though. I was surprised that only I and my roommate woke up for it. The rest of the flat mates slept in.  The two most stirring talks for me were by the Prophet and being grateful and the "stupid cow" story. 

I Never Missed a Day (September 26, 2010)

Talofa means "hello" in Samoan.

How are you all this fine week? Things continue to go pretty well on the Happy Island. I get busier every day with school. But for a some odd reason, no matter how many things I have on my plate, I always have time to go to the beach for an hour every day. This week was perfect. Our usual day schedule is school until 1 pm, then a quick lunch and a trip to the beach at 1:45. We get back from the beach around 3:00 pm and then we do homework the rest of the day. It is a really tough life, but I’m getting used to it. 

Something funny always seems to happen when we go to the beach. This week was different because the waves were really small. We took a skim board that we found at our house. A skim board is a miniature surf board that you throw in front of you in shallow water and you run and jump on it. We got pretty good at it, but we crashed a lot. The funny thing about skim boarding is you never know what is going to happen when you jump on the board. If you run and jump and your feet are too far forward, the nose of the board will dive into the ground and you'll launch forward and eat sand. That happened to me a few times. My favorite is to watch my roommate does it. He will jump on the board no matter which direction the board is facing. Normally with him, the board will drift a little sideways and he jumps on it anyway. Because he is riding it sideways, he loses balance pretty quick and his arms make window washing movements as he slides uncontrollably. Curtis, my roommate, was riding it and his front foot slipped off the board and he sprained his ankle. He is doing better now, but every day is a new adventure. The only thing I don’t like about it is that every time I fell, I would fall on the exact same spot on my leg. So I only have one injury, and it gets hit every day, ha ha. But it's all good. Nothing serious. Curtis also got stung by 3 jelly fish this week. Both of my roommates keep bugging me because nothing bad happens to me. I must be protected :)

Well I have been in Hawaii for about 16 days now. The things I am beginning to miss the most are food variety and blankets. I yearn for cold weather. All we sleep with is a top sheet. That’s it. We fall asleep lying on top of our bad, but wake up with a sheet on top of us. I miss being able to bundle up in blankets and lay on my side, but if you lay on your side here; you'll wake up dripping with sweat. You have to sleep sprawled out on the bed. Ha. It’s a fun adventure. As far as food goes... I have a protein shake for breakfast, sometimes accompanied by cereal, hotdogs or sandwich for lunch and sometime of pasta for dinner (top ramen, mac and cheese, or spaghetti). Not much variety there, but we're trying. Food is really expensive out here.

Last night was one of the most social nights I’ve had out here. I did homework all day and then went to a small b-day party for my roommate. The women’s volleyball team is supposed to be really good out here, so we went to that and I was very impressed. They really were incredible. That was a lot of fun, but it didn't last very long because we dominated the other team. I met up with some friends from the mission and we went to a Tahitian Club social/dance. There was a girl from my mission there. She lived in a city next to where I was serving. It was really cool to talk to her and get French out of my mouth. It had been a while. She invited us to stay and dance with them. It was kind of hard to dance to Tahitian music. It is a different beat. So I probably looked like a giraffe at a zebra's party because I couldn't "get with the groove" ha. But it was a lot of fun.

Then we went to a place called The Point. The Point is a part of town that is on a peninsula. There were a few parties on this street and we checked them all out. The location was really cool. Each house had a back patio that overlooked the night sky and the ocean waves that crashed against the steep cliffs. It was awesome. The parties were cool, but definitely a little too "hip" for me. There were tons of freshmen/high school kids just dancing to loud music and I and my roommates were not too into it. We did meet up with some friends there, but it didn't last long. I liked just chilling on the patio and watching the waves.

My ward is getting better. I was set apart as the Sunday School President. I am excited about this calling. I had a lot of fun with it in Ogden before I left, and I’m glad to be able to serve in the same aspect here.

I love you all so much and look forward to hearing from you. I wish I could call you all individually and tell you these experiences, but the time difference and class schedule do not allow. Have an Awesome Week!

Clint

PHS, to answer some questions:

A long board is a skateboard, only longer. It is my mode for transportation and amusement. One of my roommates averages one solid wipeout a week. Ha. He just scrapes his elbows up a little bit, but he's getting better.

I am about a fifteen minute walk from the school, but only five minutes if I take the long board

There are five people, four geckos, 3,847 ants and 3 cockroaches in my apartment/house. Just outside the house walls we have about 27 chickens that wake us up every morning with their cocka doodle doos. I am so tempted to just go out and catch one so I can add more chicken into my diet :) 

September 19, 2010

Aloha everyone,

We have decided to name our apartment "The Shack". The name fits the place perfectly. We cleaned it really well this past week and we like it a lot more. The only problem is that it gets dirty really fast. So we'll be cleaning on a regular basis. 

My life has not been as exciting since the past email because school has officially started. It was a really good but busy week. Monday was definitely the hi-light. My roommates and I went to the North Shore for the last day of the rental car. We went snorkeling in a place called sharks cove. Here we were able to see a ton of pacific like fish. They were super colorful and all over the place. A lot of people go to this sport for snorkeling because it is a secluded bay that is surrounded by rocks. This makes it very clear and pristine. We were able to get up close and personal with many fish, but most importantly a good sized octopus and sea turtle. Definitely two animals I was not expecting to meet that day. It was quite the adventure. The water is really warm (around 75 degrees) and never gets cold. 

After snorkeling we went to a tiny surf village called Haleiwa. We looked in ever store looking for the best priced long boards. It would be my form of transportation for the next three months. All the boards we looked at were pretty expensive, roughly 150-180 dollars. But the last store we went to had a really nice board for only 99 dollars. This made me really excited. So I bought it. When I went to the cash register to pay, the lady said, "it's your lucky day, this board is on sale for only 70 dollars!" My roommates overheard and decided to get boards too. I told them that they could probably strike a deal. While they were pondering the subject, we noticed an accent in the way the lady spoke. It sounded a little French. Long story short, she is from Paris and we had an amazing conversation with her in FRENCH. She hooked us up with 3 long boards for $150 and I got a free t-shirt. It was a great day on the north shore.

So now all I do is long board to and from school and enjoy living in Hawaii. It is still pretty hot around here. It stays around 83 degrees, but it is really hot and humid right now and we just sweat. We have gone to the beach every single day this week around 3 o'clock. It is just too hot not to. We body surfed with our goggles on. At first it was all fun and games, but then one of us lost their goggles. I am proud to say that I am not the one that lost my goggles. It was a roommate. They came off in the wave and were never seen again. We continued to ride big waves for about twenty more minutes when my roommate suddenly stood up and had no goggles on. Ha! His eyes were big and wide with a very shocked and furious facial expression. A small snorkel mouth piece was the only survivor and he was not happy about that. We had a good laugh about it, but I was just happy that I came off conqueror. We left the beach and headed back for home to study. 

The next day we went to the beach and took body boards with us this time. We loved the crystal clear water and the incredulous waves. I love Hawaii for that reason. Then I decided to try the body board out. My roommate decided to try out my goggles and I body boarded. Well, as I was walking towards the beach packing up my gear, my roommate yells, CLINT!! And I looked back and saw no goggles on his head. I looked at his hands and saw now goggles there. His head was down and he was scrambling through the water. Yep, they were gone. I wasn't too happy, but he said he'd get me some new goggles. At least I didn't lose them. 

Nothing really big happened this week, but I'm still in Hawaii and loving' it. I had an interview today and am going to be the Sunday School President. This'll be fun because I just finished setting up the Sunday school in my last ward before moving out to Hawaii. I am beginning to like the ward more and more. I spoke in church and a lot of people seemed to like it. It is a very international experience to live in Hawaii. Americans are definitely the minority. I love you all and Maalox!

September 12, 2010

Aloha! I made it safe and sound. It is a beautiful Sunday morning and I am so proud of myself for sleeping until the sun came up. Yesterday Curtis and I woke up at 4 in the morning and just sat in our beds talking until the sun came up, but our bodies are adjusting and I think we are pretty close to Hawaii Time now. 

I think I’ll just give you the run down from Thursday night. For my last night I was able to watch the first NFL game on a massive HD TV with Dad. That was awesome! However, I took it for granted. I really miss watching sports. We don’t have any TV channels for the moment and I really wanted to watch the final US Open Tennis Match, but I don’t know when or how I can watch it because someone forgot to pay the cable guy this month. Ha. I wish I was joking. (Let me just say I am not the one responsible)

Friday morning dad gave me a father's blessing. Dad then left for work and Mom and I got my things together and went to the airport. To my surprise my father met us at the airport as well as Corkles (Corey)! (Thank you guys for coming).

The plane ride was long and miserable. I basically sat there completely awake and ready to go for 6 and a half hours. Not to mention the layover in Phoenix. But we made the most of our time by taking weird photos with a girl that sat next to us. 

Friday Curtis and I hopped into our rental car and drove to our apartment. We have been extremely blessed with finding our way around. To save 25 bucks a day I decided not to drive and have been deemed head of navigations :)   I usually realize how lost we are and boldly make statements like, "Turn here," or "that was our exit!" after which we will make the next stop and find out that we are exactly where we needed to be. Especially with finding our apartment. That was just awesome. The whole time we felt like we were lost, until we stumbled upon our little shack. What made driving the most fun was the fact that it gets dark at 8 pm. 

The apartment is terrible, big, and dirty. But we'll manage. Every time we get discouraged we say to the other, "Oh wait, we're in Hawaii". That phrase accomplishes miracles. 

Saturday Morning Curtis and I decided to take advantage of the car and drive to Honolulu for the day. Our only goal was to purchase food and supplies at Costco and Wal-Mart. On our way we noticed a sign that said, "Pearl Harbor memorial". We decided to stop by and see what it's all about. It was an incredible site. I am so glad we found it and were able to spend so much time there just reading the plaques and taking pictures. As I looked at a big black Japanese suicide torpedo I realized that everyone around me had planned this trip to Pearl Harbor for months and maybe years, whereas Curtis and I saw a sign on the freeway and just decided to check it out. Ha. I thought of Grandpa Maw and Grandpa Calder a lot while I was there because I knew they had served in World War II.

After Pearl Harbor it started to get pretty hot, so we decided to go to the most ideal beach on the planet called, Waikiki Beach. Ever heard of it? ya, it's amazing. On the way there we stopped at a shopping center to get some grub. There were more Asians than footprints at this mall. No kidding. The food court was all Chinese restaurants and no place to sit. Then we headed to the town of Waikiki. It took us about 45 minutes to find parking. Before heading to the beach we walked around all the stores, including Margaritaville (Jimmy Buffet). There were so many things I wanted to buy, but I withheld. If I had more money, I would have gotten about 18 surf shirts and a long board. There are so many things I want, but now that I am living on my own, I really need to be more frugal.

The beach was awesome and the water was an incredible 75 degrees. It felt sooooo good. I just sat in the water and watched Curtis debate whether to hang up on his "honey-bun" and get in the water. Eventually I yelled at him for being so anti-Hawaii and he hung up and we had some fun. Ha ha. Gotta love Hawaii. 

I never felt truly at home until I got to Costco. The pricing on food is not that different at Costco, but everywhere else they rip you off. So it was nice to get so much there. We then went to Wal-Mart and picked up little things and then headed home. It was an incredible day in Hawaii and I loved every minute of it.