I spent the last two weeks in Kauai and Maui with Jer and his family. We saw lots of pretty things. We saw things that fly and things that swim. On a boat in the ocean, we saw manta rays and dolphins and big green sea turtles.
I got sun burned bad on my shoulders and the tops of my feet. The skin blistered and peeled off. I also got a big bruise on my thigh. It swelled up and turned purple.
On Maui, we hiked into the Haleakala Caldera. A caldera is a volcanic crater. The last time the volcano erupted was in the late 1700s. It was cold and I was thirsty. It didn’t take long to hike down, but it took a long time to hike back up. We saw horses. People rode them up the trail. There were clouds everywhere and they blew across the trail until Jer’s family disappeared. Then the wind shifted and the entire crater opened up and I saw the walls which were lined with red and brown and gray rock.
On Kauai, we kayaked in a river and hiked to a hidden waterfall. I was in the front of a kayak with Jer in the back. I never kayaked before. I held the paddle shoulder-width apart and then alternated each arm. It hurt my wrists. We tied the kayak to tree roots sticking out of a muddy hill and jumped into the water. I handed the dry sack to Jer. I had to take off my flip flops because they got sucked into the mud. I changed into sneakers so I could walk in the jungle. The waterfall was pretty. There were lots of other people there too. We ate sandwiches that I made and watched Jer’s dad sit under the waterfall. The water hurt his head because it came down so hard.
We almost died on the Road to Hana. We saw a black sand beach and we hiked to the top of the Fagan Memorial and saw all of Hana from very high. I got blisters and had coconut milk ice cream in a cone. I never eat cones, but I did there because it tasted good. We saw Charles Lindbergh’s grave. He flew planes. He went to Maui to die because he thought it was pretty.
On the way back from Hana, a tour bus came close to our van. We were on a one lane road. On the left of us was a wall, and on the right was a cliff. Our tires hit the small rock ledge and made a big noise. The tour bus inched past us, so close we couldn’t open our doors. I looked down and there was nothing because the ground was far below. Our driver edged forward and the car made another big noise. When the tour bus passed, the van didn’t work right. It had a flat tire. We were four and a half hours from our hotel on twisty jungle roads. There were no bathrooms or restaurants and the traffic had to stop. It was scary. The tour bus driver showed us a turnout and we parked. Everybody stared at us. Some people got out of their cars to see what happened. I sat on a rock and watched the others look for a spare tire. It was hot and I was sunburned. A park ranger drove by and asked if we needed help. I said yes. He helped us put on the tire because he was nice. Then we were able to drive to the car rental place and ask for another van. I got hives on the backs of my hands because I was so nervous.
One day on Maui we found a pretty beach. It had white sand and red lava rock and turquoise water. It was fun to swim there. The water was warm, but it was always windy. We went to another beach and there was a sign that said there were sharks there so we left.
Every morning I shot the sunrise. At least the first week I did. The second week I took photos of the sunset because of where our hotel was located on the island.
On Kauai, I saw a lighthouse. The sky was dark blue and so was the water. A bird, a booby, attacked Jer’s mom and she fell on her knee. It bled. We went in a cave and I took a picture.
One night we watched TLC on the television. We saw, “101 Things Removed From the Human Body,” and “I Am My Own Twin.”
On Maui the windows had shutters on them. Big brown shutters and not all of the windows closed. It was because of the trade winds. The wind made my hair tangled. Once it even took my hat and I had to chase it down the road. Somebody laughed at me.
We saw rainbows. They were very bright.
I went snorkeling in the ocean off Ni’ihau. It’s called the Forbidden Island. I’ve never been snorkeling before. The deckhand said I had big feet and gave me fins to use. They soaked the mask in baby oil so it wouldn’t fog. I jumped in the water and looked down. There were lots of fish, all colors, and the coral reef went down just like a cliff. I felt weird looking down like that and breathing through my mouth piece. I liked the black fish with the white stripe. And then I saw a Hawaiian monk seal. They’re endangered, which means you can’t touch them. It came close but I didn’t touch it.
There is a fruit called the noni which is used to cure lots of things. It is ugly. It looks like a fat squished caterpillar.
There are lots of chickens on Kauai because there aren’t any mongooses. I saw mongoose on Maui. They look like squirrels. I ate a papaya. I didn’t really like it. I had a local platter at McDonald’s. It had rice, eggs, spam, and Portuguese sausage. It was okay.
I liked the aquarium on Maui. It was fun. I thought it was better than Sea World’s Shark Encounter. My favorite part was the sea turtle tank. They poked their head out of the water at us. There were Hammerheads too, but I took too long and didn’t get to see them.
On Kauai we drove five miles down a dirt road to a beach called Polihale. The sand was white and behind it was the Na Pali Coast. I took lots of photos of the waves. The water was warm on my legs and I got wet.
The Fern Grotto was nice. We went out on a boat like the Disney Jungle Cruise and then saw a place with lots of ferns. They grew out of the rocks all along a natural alcove. People get married there. There are good acoustics.
My swimsuit said life guard. My black board shorts turned brown because of the chlorine in the hotel pool.
There was other stuff too, but I’m sleepy and it’s time for bed. Sweet dreams.
