Jolly June

 June has been a wonderful month! First off remember how I said I would never hike the West Side Cabin again? Well, I did... Now that I met Gavin who loves adventure like I do and Sam has Jansen we decided we should take them up there. We started way too late of course one night after sunset. As we were hiking up there was someone on the bottom with a huge light and mega phone yelling "Hikers on the mountain please come down." I guess these people are worried about COVID-19 or something... so dumb. We did not follow their advice and hiked up. The hike wasn't as treacherous as I remembered it to be. Maybe because in my mind I was preparing for the worst and it wasn't the worst. Jansen was hiking in some hold tennis and puffy socks. I don't know how she was doing. We got to the top around midnight and found tons of other tents set up on the helicopter pad by the cabin. One lady was standing by a tree she looked so freaky. Sam brought his screwdriver so were able to get inside and sleep. We all had a horrible night's rest because someone's phone kept going off all night... The next morning we took off the cabin walls and enjoyed the views before the treacherous hike down. We learned from the last time that we needed to start early or else we suffer in the heat. As we were going down we passed an older couple probably in their 40s hiking up the mountain. Their packs were huge and they were wearing so many layers I could tell they weren't going to make it. Sam felt bad and gave them all his water. The heat was brutal on the way down. Sweat was dripping into my eyeballs and I was trying to go as fast as I could. Once we hit the bottom we ran straight into the ocean to wipe off all the sweat. As we were swimming we saw the couple get rescued by a helicopter... This is definitely the last time I am doing this. 

We went on another fun campout to Kaena Point! We slept on a cement bunker that overlooks the West side of the island. We were sleeping on concrete and cockroaches were jumping on us all night. We didn't sleep at all that night.. We woke up to an amazing sunrise though! 

Sam has had the brilliant idea of camping at O'mega station in Kanaohoe by Stairway to Heaven for a long time. We just hadn't done it yet. We decided we just needed to make it happen before Jansen had her baby! We had to go at night when it was dark so that the crazy people who lived in the neighborhood wouldn't see us. We got there in the dark and O'mega station was so creepy. This building is huge. There are servals ways in and out of the building and each floor is covered in scary graffiti and artwork. Non of us wanted to sleep alone. We played some fun rounds of Butt Clown and watched a scary movie on Stacy's projector before attempting to fall asleep. All night long we were hearing doors open and close. We weren't sure if it was from the wind or what but it was sure freaky... We got some epic photos the next morning though! 

I also celebrated my 23rd Birthday! Gavin and I went hiking and out to eat and to the beach! I had a party that night at my house where we ate Hawaiian Haystacks and Gavin made me the most delicious FunFetti cake! Looking forward to another loop around the sun. The rest of June consisted of cliff jumping of Laie point which I hate doing. Spear Fishing with Trent, Kadee, and Gavin, and attending the temple! 

Big Island!

 Big Island is amazing! Vickie called me one day and said she was signing up for a race on the big island and wanted me to join. Um YES! The race was going to take place at midnight and it was going to be down Mauna Kea at midnight under the full moon! Gavin and I trained as much as we could for it because it was going to be a 15-mile race. I think 15 miles is the perfect distance for a race. We went over a few days early so we could sightsee before our legs were sore from the race. Courtney Gavin and May's cousin flew out from California and we had Nikita tag along. It was once again Gavin and the girls! We flew into the Hilo side and got started right away seeing waterfalls. I mean come on look at this place? It's beautiful! Technically you aren't allowed to swim in these waterfalls but in Hawaii, nothing is really illegal right? 

We did tons of driving on this trip. We rented way too small of a car so all of us were squished into a tiny car we named Susan. With six adults in the car, we were riding low and slow at times. One afternoon we walked through some really fun Lava tunnels and went thrift shopping. We each picked an outfit out for someone and then had a fashion show at the park. It was honestly hilarious. Vickie was modeling a sweet Pizza Hut hat and side bag. Mya had Nicholas cage pants, I had overalls, and Nikita had a snake around her waist. We were laughing for hours. We even wore our clothes to Denny's one night just for fun. We got some strange looks. 

We went to South Point to see the Lava rocks it was death out there. I could see the heat waves above the dark rocks. I can't believe people live out there. We also went to South Point to jump off the terrifying cliff into the ocean. I absolutely hate cliff jumping and I was freaking out up top. I wasn't sure if I was even going to do it. The reason I hate cliff jumping is because it's painful every time I hit the water. I am freaking out so bad I am not thinking about how to place my body. I knew though that if I didn't do it I would regret it for the rest of my life. So I did it and it was scary and I am never doing it again. Everyone else went off like 4 times while I stood at the top. The fun part about the jump was getting out of the water I had to climb a rope ladder to get up. 

We paid to walk around Rainbow Falls one afternoon and it was so disappointing. Not worth the money at all. There are far better waterfalls for free to enjoy on the big island. We enjoyed lunch in Hilo along with a park where we climbed coconut trees. Courtney is a photographer and she captured probably my favorite photo of Gavin and I. We are both climbing a coconut tree looking at each other. I actually love all the photos Courtney took of us. She is so so talented. We also stopped at the Kona temple! 

The night of the race we carb-loaded before getting a few hours of sleep. Since the race started at midnight we were pretty much going to be up all night. We thought it was going to be cold because, on top of Mauna Kea, it snows sometimes. I bought all these layers so that I wouldn't freeze. Turns out I was melting during the race. I think about 30 people ran the race which is not that many. There was one super fast guy in front of me and other than that I didn't pass anyone. Gavin ran with me down the mountain. We were going so fast because of how steep it was. We chatted and watched the sky. Everyone was required to have their own headlamp and reflector vest. It was a beautiful night. Mya and Nikita occasionally passed us with water from the car. They were a great support. When our watches hit the 15-mile mark were were starting to feel totally burned out. We didn't actually know where the finish line was. At the start, they just said you can't miss it. It's a straight shot all the way there. Soon were hitting 16 miles, then 17. At that point, our legs were destroyed from all the downhill. We were crawling to the finish which was a total of 18 miles. I got 2nd place overall 1st for females and Gavin got 3rd overall and 2nd for men. We were awarded with a big wine bottle.. un thanks. We cheered on Vickie and then headed back to our camping spot. By the time we got home at 5am. Our legs were so sore. Gavin and I had our sleeping bag and our toenails couldn't handle it. We couldn't even move.  

The next day we were so sore. We didn't want to lay in bed all day so ee drove up to Mauna Kea. When we got out of the car to walk around the visitors center our lefts were like a board. They were not moving properly. Vickie, Gavin, and I were crawling. I think Gavin laid down and started rolling. We could not believe how sore we were. We ended the night with the most amazing waterfall adventure of my life. Someone told us about Narnia a place with tons of waterfalls. We somehow managed to wobble there where we swam in some of the most beautiful pools of water. This was one of the most magical places ever. I couldn't believe how big the falls were and the swimming pool at the bottom. This is a place I definitely want to come back to. Courtney took so many photos of us she is so incredible. I would love to put the whole album in there but that would be a lot of photos. Here are some of my favorites!