The week of Thanksgiving, I spent my time in Oahu, Hawaii. This trip was one of the best trips of my life. I feel bad b/c i honestly was not excited for this trip. I felt as if it wasn't going to be any fun. This trip was sponsored by the band. My best friend in band wasn't going to be able to go. I wasn't looking forward the work I would have to make up...I look back at my pre-Hawaii feelings, my cold feet if you want to put that way. I was a jerk. My mom forked out over 2K for this trip & I just sat there being the most ungrateful person alive. I am so sorry.
With that said, here is the anecdote of one of the best weeks of my life:
Day 1 (sort of):
We had to be at school @ 1 am Sunday night. I took a nap earlier in the day so I wouldn't be too tired that night. I stayed up & watched the GMA's. I danced to Kanye West's Heartless. At about 10 pm I received a text from Cori that said, "Does anyone have butterflies?" It hit me, I was going to Hawaii. Suddenly I became excited. I finished loading songs onto my i-pod and packed a couple of odd end things. The time came. It was time to go on my trip (As I'm typing this I still feel butterflies). When we arrived at school, my parents got out of the car & into the freezing 30 degree weather. There were 4 travel buses parked in front of the school. The first person I saw was Carnela. We went to the bathroom & we stayed in there for like 10 minutes so that she could charge her cell phone. We came out & I (as well as my parents) introduced myself to my flight chaperone. Then Cori & Jessica showed up. I got so hyper. I couldn't wait to get on the bus. Mrs. Hall gave one of her famous lectures that she dragged on for about 10 minutes that could have been said in 5. One of the parents said a prayer of safety. Then it was time to get on the bus. I was really excited by then. Me & Cori sat next to each other w. Jessica in front & Nick and Sebastian in the back. It was time to go. They turned the lights off on the bus & the bus began to move. My Mom & Dad stood outside squinting their eyes to try to see me. I turned the light of my cell phone towards my face & waved at my dad and mom, who was blowing kisses at me. Within seconds we had passed the school. It had begun. The ultimate vacation. I finally received the feelings of exhiliration that I had searched for but couldn't pull from the bottom of my heart. I was so excited about Hawaii.
On the bus i listened to my i-pod, attempted in vain to take a nap, blah blah blah. Then we got to the ATL airport at like 3 am. It was fricking cold outside & it was slightly raining. The thought of Hawaii's warm weather began to sound better & better. As I said earlier it was 3 oclock & I still had 4 more hours to go until my flight. So we checked in our luggage and headed for security. I took off my sho
es, my jacket and my backpack and put that junk along w. my carry on into one of those little crate things. It went into the little x-ray machines and suddenly all the security guards begin to whisper among one another. "What is that? I can't tell?" I was freaking out. What the heck where they seeing in my bag? "Do you have a heart pump?" asked one of the security guards. "Yeah I carry one of them everywhere I go," I sarcastically thought to myself. Then I simply answered nope. "It's a camera bag!" said one of the other security guards. Suddenely I relaxed. They thought my camera (pictured to the left) was a bomb or something. Then one of the guards began to search my bag by hand. Trying to calm me down, he started small talk. But all I wanted to do was get the heck out of there. Finally he gave me back my stuff & I could put my shoes back on. As I was recollecting my self, Mr. Rosche came over & teased me about how I almost ruined the trip. Needless to say I was glad to get out of security.So by now it was like 4 or 5 something. We went to Quiznos (which I hate with a passion) and got some breakfast. It came to like $9 for a disgusting parfait (the blueberries tasted like lemons) and a bottle of water. Then we sat & waited for our flight. I took pictures of random things & sent them to my family to keep myself entertained. I was really bored & considering that I hadn't had much sleep in the past twenty four hours I was pretty hyper. Finally it was time for us to board the plane.
We were so excited when they finally called our name to board the plane. Not only was our flight ahead of schedule, but instead of the planned flight from ATL to Memphis to LA and then to Hawaii they had arranged for us to fly from ATL to Salt Lake City and then to Hawaii. We were extremely excited :) Then just to add to the excitement Lil Jon walked right past us. It was hilarious. He is so short! He had his dreads loose & his typical sunglasses on with a white flanel tee & a pair of black dress shorts. He was walking real fast and sneaky like (he probably couldn't believe that no one had approached him for his autograph). I was just beside myself. In disbelief. I sorta just froze as he walked past. Then I was like
OMG I JUST SAW LIL JON! OMG! OMG! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
haha. Then he walked past us again. This time with whom I am assuming was his wife & daughter. I couldn't believe it. & then we boarded the plane.
It was a wopping eleven-hour flight to get from Ga to Hawaii. We stopped
for a short amount of time in Salt Lake City(pictured at left). On the way to Salt Lake City we sat next to the Louisville Girls Basketball Team. They were very entertaining to talk to. One of the girls promised me a shout out in the NCAA, but we'll see if that happens. Then there was also
some guys basketball team and boy were they FINE :) Little did I know that my whole Hawaii trip would be filled with fine basketball players. Salt Lake City was amazing. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous. It was also really cool to actually see Salt Lake via plane. On the second half of our plane ride (from Salt Lake City to Hawaii) I sat by Carnela Wiley. We entertained ourselves by rocking out to our music, taking pictures, complaining ;) etc. Needless to say we were ecstatic when we finally saw Hawaii and not the Pacific Ocean.
Then we finally made it to Hawaii. The dream had become a reality. The Hawaii airport( pictured at left) was gorgeous. There was all sorts of greenery arou
nd the airport that made it gorgeous
. We were soooooooooooo excited to arrive at the hotel and just have a really good time. However, our luggage wasn't quite ready to arrive (this would not be my first encounter with luggage problems). It took about an hour and a half for our luggage to catch up with us & arrive on the belt. In the meanwhile, Cori, Nick & I took pictures to entertain ourselves. Then it was finally time for us to get on the bus & go to our hotel. When we finally got on the bus it was about six. The sun would go down in about forty five minutes so the lighting was gorgeous. I think that that bus ride was one of the most quietest bus rides. Everyone was just taking in the beauty of Hawaii. I was really surprised at how much of a city Waikiki was. It was a lot different from other beach towns. There were a lot of brand name stores (Bulgari, D&G etc). It was like the stip on Cancun multiplied. haha. We passed the beach. It was so neat. There were people on surf boards, but they were in calm water. They had long sticks that they used to push their surfboards around like canoes. There were lots of people jogging along the water. It was truly paradise. However, one thing that was pretty shocking was that the beach wasn't as crowded as I imagined it. Everything was so peaceful. Everyone was just moving along, minding their own business. It was like the world was at peace. It was truly paradise. I wondered why it was so peaceful. Perhaps it was because it was the evening. Who knows... We got to the hotel & had this speech (blah blah boring). Then we went to our rooms. Omg the hotel was soooo nice. & the beds were so comfortable ahh :) Then we went & got something to eat & we ate lunch on the terrace.
for a short amount of time in Salt Lake City(pictured at left). On the way to Salt Lake City we sat next to the Louisville Girls Basketball Team. They were very entertaining to talk to. One of the girls promised me a shout out in the NCAA, but we'll see if that happens. Then there was also
some guys basketball team and boy were they FINE :) Little did I know that my whole Hawaii trip would be filled with fine basketball players. Salt Lake City was amazing. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous. It was also really cool to actually see Salt Lake via plane. On the second half of our plane ride (from Salt Lake City to Hawaii) I sat by Carnela Wiley. We entertained ourselves by rocking out to our music, taking pictures, complaining ;) etc. Needless to say we were ecstatic when we finally saw Hawaii and not the Pacific Ocean.Then we finally made it to Hawaii. The dream had become a reality. The Hawaii airport( pictured at left) was gorgeous. There was all sorts of greenery arou
nd the airport that made it gorgeous
. We were soooooooooooo excited to arrive at the hotel and just have a really good time. However, our luggage wasn't quite ready to arrive (this would not be my first encounter with luggage problems). It took about an hour and a half for our luggage to catch up with us & arrive on the belt. In the meanwhile, Cori, Nick & I took pictures to entertain ourselves. Then it was finally time for us to get on the bus & go to our hotel. When we finally got on the bus it was about six. The sun would go down in about forty five minutes so the lighting was gorgeous. I think that that bus ride was one of the most quietest bus rides. Everyone was just taking in the beauty of Hawaii. I was really surprised at how much of a city Waikiki was. It was a lot different from other beach towns. There were a lot of brand name stores (Bulgari, D&G etc). It was like the stip on Cancun multiplied. haha. We passed the beach. It was so neat. There were people on surf boards, but they were in calm water. They had long sticks that they used to push their surfboards around like canoes. There were lots of people jogging along the water. It was truly paradise. However, one thing that was pretty shocking was that the beach wasn't as crowded as I imagined it. Everything was so peaceful. Everyone was just moving along, minding their own business. It was like the world was at peace. It was truly paradise. I wondered why it was so peaceful. Perhaps it was because it was the evening. Who knows... We got to the hotel & had this speech (blah blah boring). Then we went to our rooms. Omg the hotel was soooo nice. & the beds were so comfortable ahh :) Then we went & got something to eat & we ate lunch on the terrace. Day 2
So we woke up in our nice hotel room. We got dressed and walked to Burger in Parad
ise for breakfast. The name of that restaurant tells it all. The restaurant was right across from the beach so there was an awesome view. They had this guava juice for breakfast that was delicious (It makes my mouth water just thinking about it.) When we came back from Burger in Paradise we went out onto the terrace. The night before we hadn't realize how much we could see from our view. To the front of us were mountains. To the left was the beach & to the right were more mountains. There was so much green around. It was gorgeous :) Although none of the views were directly in front of us it was still gorgeous :) Then it was time for us to go to the Dole Plantation.
ise for breakfast. The name of that restaurant tells it all. The restaurant was right across from the beach so there was an awesome view. They had this guava juice for breakfast that was delicious (It makes my mouth water just thinking about it.) When we came back from Burger in Paradise we went out onto the terrace. The night before we hadn't realize how much we could see from our view. To the front of us were mountains. To the left was the beach & to the right were more mountains. There was so much green around. It was gorgeous :) Although none of the views were directly in front of us it was still gorgeous :) Then it was time for us to go to the Dole Plantation. The drive to the Dole Plantation was amazing. The scenery...breathtaking. Our tour bus driving was pretty hilarious too. The mountains were so big & green. There was this golf course there that was absolutely gorgeous. The beach was awesome. We drove past the area where they shoot Lost. We drove past this set of apartments where this guy was arrested on dog the bounty hunter. It was all very exciting. Then we drove past this one like area thats considered sacred to hawaiians.
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