Well that's enough of that.
The weekend before Thanksgiving... I think... is when the following events went down:
Koko head
16 mile run
Kayaking
Boom.
Friday Kelsey and I wanted to do Koko head crater, a really difficult and athletically demanding hike. We got off the bus about a mile or so from the start of the hike, but it wasn't that hard to follow the giant mountain to get to where we needed to go.
Once we got there, this was the view:
Yeah. See how it just kinda escalates in the middle and becomes instantly steep as shit?
But we weren't scerred (...or scared, if you're a regular person). We started the hike and it wasn't that bad. I wanted to make it up at a decent time, so I didn't stop to look around. Besides, the view was going to be the best at the top anyway.
The trail turned into a bridge at one point:
Frightening. I couldn't trust my muscles to keep me from falling through the cracks. How people literally run up and down this beast is beyond me. It's actually quite terrifying when you get to this point. Especially with those few loose boards. It's called maintence repair, Hawaii. Get on it.
I'll admit I was sweating like a man and my quads absolutely burned throughout this hike. But we made it to the top in 20 minutes, which was actually pretty good. Imagine being on an intense stair-climber for that long. It's not really enjoyable.
But the view at the top was completely worth it.
Kelsey and I then proceeded to goof off for 45 solid minutes taking pictures. Here's the evidence:
You really don't understand how long it took us to get a good picture of both of us in mid-air. Lots of setting the 10-second timer on the camera, running into place, and jumping too early, late, or having a ninja turtle neck and/or 80-year-old-lady-cottage-cheesy-looking legs.
Unattractive.
The hike back down was scarier than the hike up. One false step and you would tumble your ass all the way back down, and I'm sure that's not a happy ending. Kelsey could kind of trot down the stairs but I was Cautious Carol and took my sweet-ass time.
One thing's for sure - by the time I got down to the bottom my legs were shaking a bit. And then it was a solid mile walk back to the bus stop.
Solid.
And we were gonna go run 16 miles the next morning? Kthanksbye.
But Saturday morning we woke up at 5:45 to get ready to run. I was actually anxious and excited to get on this run, because my parents had just left the week before and I hadn't been training as much as I needed to, so this was a test of my endurance.
And I actually survived! It took us 3 hours, and when we got back to the apartment I put my feet in the bathtub with some ice-cold water and didn't move for a half hour. Then I attempted to stretch but instead cursed my body and feet for not cooperating. Thankfully my knee and hip flexor that had been causing me problems earlier were not hurting.
Score.
Then Kelsey and I took fat cat naps and had a giant brunch.
Sunday we had to get up early again because all 3 of us (Kelsey, Janelle, and I) were going kayaking with some RAs as one of their mandatory programs they needed to put on. We met at 8 in the morning and got the van loaded up and were on our way. There were about twelve of us altogether.
We loaded into our kayaks in one of the bays of the ocean. Kelsey and Janelle were in a 2-man kayak, and I was in a single because, let's be honest, I probably would have gotten pissed at and killed whoever was in the kayak with me for making one wrong turn.
Of course, curse my luck, right as I sit in and get situated in my kayak, a wave comes to tip me over, and I fell right into the water. Literally 5 seconds after getting in the kayak. And everyone saw.
Lovely.
But whatever, I got right back in and paddled away from the shore. Kayaking through the ocean was actually pretty cool. My only previous experience with kayaking was in the lake in Virginia where there was no water movement of any kind. And that was kinda lame. But kayaking in the ocean was a lot more interesting.
Spoiler alert: I didn't fall anymore after the initial spill. So don't get your hopes up for another accident.
We kayaked to the opening of and up through one of the small rivers that was close by. Towards the end of our journey inland, the river got incredibly small, sometimes barely even big enough to fit one kayak through. We had to go through tree branches and other shenanigans and pray we didn't get stuck and hold up the rest of the group.
At the end of our journey, there was a tiny rope swing. Kelsey and I got out to try it. The water, first off, was freezing!! Secondly, it was muddy as shit, and it had been a while since I had mud under my feet in between my toes, so I freaked out (only momentarily). The rope swing was definitely not as fun as we thought it would be, but it was entertaining to witness some of the guys attempt backflips and hopelessly fail.
That day was really fun. I wish I could have brought my camera and take pictures, but it was too risky of getting wet.
Oh, did I mention it absolutely poured on the kayak? Good thing I was already wet from my spill into the drink, so I was laughing while Kelsey and Janelle were crying over getting wet.
Joke's on them!
But really, it was a fun day. I'm realizing that these kinds of adventures are coming to an end, and it's getting so sad! Literally three weeks from right now I will be in the air on my way home.
It's so bittersweet.
I'm going to try to have as many more fun days and adventures while I'm still here. Because once I'm gone, I know I won't be back for a long, long while... if ever. And that's such a sad reality.
What am I doing blogging?? I should be out doing something fun!! Or sleeping - since it's 11:30 at night
Womp =/
Aloha!
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