Teen Travel Blog

SUP! I love surfing. Ok, that may be a lie. I should say, I love surfing in WARM water. If you are like me, than Hawaii is the place to be. Pulling up to the beaches around the islands, you see trucks stacked high with boards, short, long and the mix.

After returning to Hawaii after 5  years, It is amazing to see the new popularity of the Stand Up Paddleboards or SUP’s. As the name implies, you stand on these boards and use a long paddle to navigate the waters. These boards are nice because they enable the paddler to catch small waves that wouldn’t be ridable on a regular surfboard. Hawaii is the birthplace of surfing and after perfecting this sport, they have invented another exemplifying their pull towards the ocean. Leave it up to the Hawaiians to enjoy the waves anyway they can.

Students on both of ARCC’s Hawaii trips will have a chance ride with Hawaiians and catch a few waves themselves on the beautiful beaches on Maui and Kauai!

Humuhumunukunukuapuaa is Hawaiian state fish. No, I still cannot exactly pronounce this, but I can say that I saw this rare beauty yesterday. On my day off, our friend Tara at Boss Frog’s on Maui, set me up with a 6 hour snorkel to Molokini Crater. Molokini is THE place to snorkel off Maui. After a morning of service, students on an ARCC Hawaii Service trip will be lucky enough snorkel here with Boss Frogs.

It really does amaze me how bright tropical fish can be. In their native habitat, these fish glow much more than in the doctor’s office tank! The reef was vibrant with colorful coral and schools of fish. In all, I saw over 20 different kinds of fish and even two turtles. It was time well spent and an awesome opportunity to swim with the fish in crystalline waters.

Now I understand why the Big Island is the place to scuba dive on the Hawaiian Islands. The water is BLUE, BLUE, BLUE and crystal clear.

My first morning on the island of Hawaii, I drove down to a small bay by my hotel and took a quick swim in the ocean. The Big Island is very new compared to the rest of the Hawaiian chain and the evidence is in the lava rock covering the landscape. I threw on my swimming goggles, scrambled over the black rocks and jumped in. The sun was just rising and the water was perfect. Once in the water, the rocks turned to super fine sand. As I swam out, it felt like was not getting any deeper. I went underwater and realized that the depth was about 20 feet. The water was so clear and pure, the ocean floor seemed only feet away when it was really dozens. Read the rest of this entry »

Today I met with Alex - he owns 150 acres of land on the east side of Maui and he is a true Hawaiian host. He lives off the land, lives for his land and is giving with his land. When I arrived at Alex’s farm he welcomed me with an arm full of pineapples, bananas and coconuts that were all harvested on his property. I felt welcomed and as if I had grown up on the land he holds so dear.
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Yesterday I was invited by our friends at Na Pali Explorer to join a tour of the Na Pali Coast! We were given a safety briefing and told that we were going to get wet! We all boarded the boat and took off from the Waimea Harbor and headed for the coast. Along the way we saw a huge pod of spinner dolphins and even a few humpback whales. Once we rounded the north shore and got a glimpse of the Na Pali mountains, it was as awe inspiring. The jagged lush coast looked like something in the movies. In fact, Captain Andy, let us know that hundreds of commercials and movies had been filmed on the Na Pali, including Jurassic Park and King Kong.

Here are a couple pictures taken from our tour. If you join ARCC on our Hawaii Multisport or Hawaii Service Adventure, you will not only have the chance to see the Na Pali Coast, but snorkel in the blue waters of it’s shores.

Another update from Regional Director, Brooke Johnson, as she’s scouting locations for our Hawaii adventures this summer!

Known as the Garden Isle, thoughts of Kauai bring to mind lush tropical forests and white sand beaches. Knowing this, you may think that I took a quick side trip to Arizona and the Grand Canyon to capture this shot. This shot was actually taken from the rim of Kauai’s Waimea Canyon. Although Waimea Canyon is only a fraction of the size of the Grand Canyon (it is only 10 miles long and 1 mile wide) it certainly rivals its beauty.

See a photo on Facebook.

Here is a report from Brooke Johnson, an ARCC Regional Director, from her Hawaii scouting trip:

I have to say, I am not a newcomer to beach camping. Having spent the last 6 years traveling throughout Central America, Australia and Hawaii, I have seen my fair share of beach campsites. While some have million dollar views, nice breezes, grassy sites and flat ground, it’s rare to find a plot with all of the above. Needless to say, when my Hawaiian host, Lea, showed me to my site at Waipa, I was speechless.  Read the rest of this entry »

I love walled cities…especially those along the water.  I’ve visited many around the world and I’ve even lived in one…but the best walled city I’ve ever seen is Rhodes, Greece.

If you picture Pirates of the Caribbean meets Disney World you’ll get a sense of Rhodes.  Narrow, cobblestones streets wind their way through the 600 year old town.  Every turn brings a stunning new alleyway or street. Read the rest of this entry »

Every scouting trips has one of those “I can’t believe I’m actually here doing this” moments.  Ours happened today. 

The scene:  Sarah and I are in a huge tent on Turkey’s southern coast, on one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen.  The nearest town is miles away. Inside the tent are huge tanks housing injured Loggerhead and Green sea turtles. Read the rest of this entry »

Central to the Istanbul experience, both literally and figuratively, is the famed Blue Mosque.  You really can’t visit Istanbul without going in.  Sarah and I didn’t really know what to expect upon our visit to the mosque.  Would we be welcomed?  Ignored? Escorted out?  What about pictures?  Shoes off or shoes on? Head covered or not? Would we be expected to kneel?  To pray?

Turns out our visit to the Blue Mosque was a fascinating experience.  It was all a finely tuned process….plastic bags for your shoes, headscarves if women didn’t have, one, pictures ok, visitors remain in the back.  We knew we weren’t going to stand out much when a large group of Japanese tourists rolled through behind us, clicking away on their Nikons, seemingly oblivious to the sacredness of the place. Read the rest of this entry »