Snorkeling with a turtle in Champagne pond

Today we went snorkeling in Champagne pond. The pond is actually really warm because it is heated by the volcano. We woke up late so it was to late to go to Kona where the pretty fish are so instead we went to champagne pond. We first went and got our supplies at the store where the guy suggested this other place down the rode. We drove for about 45 minutes until we came to the to the start of the hike that we had to take to get to the pond. After walking for not even 5 minutes, a truck came down the trail so we moved to the side and let them pass us. The people in the truck stopped after they saw us and got out of their truck. They told us that if we went to this other place we would arrive much quicker. They said if we kept taking this path it would be 45 minutes to the pond and back. My mom and dad decided to go with there directions so we turned back. We drove about 5 minutes before turning into this private neighborhood where we went through the walking area and wandered around the neighborhood for a long time, we even ran into these other people that were looking for the pond. They didn't know where it was either so we decided to go back because we didn't want to get lost. On our way back we ran in to these other people who told us the were going to Champagne pond and said if we followed them they would show us where to go. We followed them and came to this big pond where we snorkeled for a long time. I didn't even have to get use to the water it was so warm. We saw puffer fish, saddle wrasse, and a giant sea turtle that was laying there and every so often it would pop up to take a break. We watched it for a long time. Finally we left and went to Borders, a book store and we each picked out a book and then we went to get ice cream. I picked a drawing book and spent almost the rest of the evening drawing. Then we went to bed.

Green sand black sand, and some wind mills!!

Today we went to the southern part of the island to sea the most southern part of the United States and go to some beaches. We left a little late but then drove for hours until we finally arrived. We saw tons of windmills, most of them weren't working, but a few were running. The ride didn't seem that long because me and my sister were drawing most of the time so it seemed to us like 45 minutes. At the windmills there were cows grazing and me and my sister named one daisy because it was an orange, yellow color. We went on to try to find the green sand beach which my dad said had real green sand. To get there we had to hike on part rock, and part mud and dirt. The hike was like 2 miles and I was wearing flip flops so me and my sister were behind the rest of the family, not my mom though because she had to stay home to work. Finally, we arrived, we had to hike down a huge cliff to get there, you couldn't fall because below there was sharp lava rock. When we got down the hill I noticed that the sand was actually green. Normally you see a tan color of sand but this sand was literally green! My brother and my sister and I climbed up another part of the cliff which was really fun because it was made of sand. We would go as high as we could and then jump and land on the soft sand where we could slide down the hill. My sister and I also climbed up on the ledges of the cliff and ran through the water. Since we had left our bathing suits in the car when we would run through the water, are clothing would get wet and we would ignore it not thinking of how cold we would be when we got out and had to walk back to the car. When we were done playing we hiked back up and saw a whale flip it's tail up out of the water. When we got back we started to drive again. This time we were going to visit another beach but this one, instead of green sand this beach has black sand. First, we were going to make a side stop to the southern most point of the United States. We stayed there for a few minutes, knowing that this was as far as the united States went southward. When we did leave we make it to the black sand beach just in time. It was getting dark. We walked along the shoreline for a while until me and my brother saw a giant sea turtle just laying there. At first we thought it was dead then when my brother got up close to it it's eyes opened. While my sister and my dad were using the restroom, my brother sat 2 feet from the turtle and started talking to it. My brother says he swore the turtle could understand him. The water at the black beach happened to be freezing cold but we decided to go in anyway because we were really hot from the car ride over. Finally I dove into a wave and got use to the water. Me and my brother played in it, as for my sister she said she was use to it but after she got knee high she wouldn't go in any further. When we finally left we were all really cold because of the water. When me and my brother and sister started singing for fun, my dad rolled down the windows because we wouldn't stop. We begged him to roll them up but he said he couldn't because they were broken. We didn't believe him, but it turns out the were broken. When we did get back home we worked on our reports and went to bed.

Mauna Loa

Today my mom had to work so my dad took us up to Mauna Loa which from the sea floor is taller then Mt. Everest. Mauna Loa is the tallest volcano in the world and produces the most lava. On are way we stopped to stretch out since it was a long way up Mauna Loa. We stopped at this small hiking trail which my brother and sister walked barefoot. Me and my dad raced to the top which lead to a giant cliff that was made up of loose cinder which was eroding away. My dad after begging that it was already a path finally let us go down the cliff of loose cinder. Thats when I took off my shoes and let my bare feet sink into the squishy sand like cinder as I went down the hill. Finally, we finished and decided to keep going up the mountain. We stopped at the visitor center where we watched a movie about the telescopes up on Mauna Loa. My dad says Mauna Loa has the largest telescope in the world. When we did finally get to the top it was really hard to breathe because of the lack of oxygen. We couldn't even run or we would feel dizzy and have to lay down on the sand. There was even snow at the top of Mauna Loa, thats how high it is. It reminded me of Ohio the feel of snow, it was just a little warmer. We got to see the telescope in it's huge silver case. The way back down seemed like forever but finally we got down and went back home.

Hiking the active volcano

Yesterday we just arrived on the big island of the Hawaiian islands, we ended up staying in a very cool house in volcano (which is a town near Mt. Kilauea). The next day we went to Mt. Kilauea, an active volcano to hike. When we got to the volcano we went into the visitor center and saw a movie that showed real lava flowing and it showed the water flowing into the ocean. When the lava flowed into the ocean steam would spit up and form a huge cloud. It also saw the bench where one day the chunk of land would be there and the next day it would be gone. We walked outside of the visitor center and saw a big model of Mt Kilauea and the man there said that eventually the hawaiian island will go under sea level. We then drove to the steam vents where steam was just pouring up because apparently when rain water goes down into cracks the heat from the volcano heats the water so it is boiling and the water evaporates and rises up to form steam, the steam would burn you if you went to close to the cracks. When we walked a path a little past the steam vents we saw a huge steam vent with a really deep whole that had grass growing in it, when you would look into it the steam would blow in your face and it would smell like sulfur. Next, we were originally going to the hike around the crater of the volcano but due to sulfur gasses the trail was closed so we ended up hiking one that went straight through the steam vents. We took a trail that was going downhill through a kind of rain forest path that had these weird, exotic plants along the edges and on each side there was a huge drop off so we couldn't get near the side. There were places along the edges that stuck out so you could look over the cliff and see below were it was all lava rock besides the steam vents coming up everywhere. There was a huge cliff on the other side of the giant drop off and ditch that had a face that looked like a huge eye on the side of the cliff. When we got to the bottom we first had to walk on a lot of huge pieces of lava rock which were formed into these weird figures. While we were walking we went by this huge cave that was outlined with moss. There we stopped for a break so we could get a drink and see the cave. Me and my brother went up on this huge pile of lava rock and found this really cool lava pieces that had like a rainbow color on them. Me, my brother, and my sister all went up and stood in one of the steam vents. The steam kept clouding up around us and making us really hot. Me and my sister ventured up on this other pile of rocks and we found this rock that had a bunch of ridges in it and little points that were sharp and it felt like they were molded into the big piece of lava rock that they were stuck to. As we kept moving along my brother and my dad stuck there fingers in one of the steam vents and got burned (you don't see me and my sister doing that). Finally, we got to the end of the big ditch and started are way up, it was much easier coming down. When we did get to the top we found a path that said the lava tube so we went down the steep path to this bridge that lead to a cave. We went in the cave and for a while they had lights on both sides then when we got to the end they had stairs going up to the light but if you went forward the cave kept going in pitch black. We had brought flash lights so we went in. The only thing you could see while you were in the cave was the light from you flash light which didn't shine very far so beyond your light you could see nothing but darkness. It was really scary when we went past some fallen rocks because my dad said that the rocks fell from the ceiling so I was staring at the ceiling the whole time and almost tripped. Finally we got out and got back to the car. It was still early so for the rest of the evening we just relaxed. 

The Maui aquarium by Amelia

Today all of us slept in late because we were all tired from the long hike in Haleakala volcano. When we did get up, we decided to stay inside for the day because we were all sun burned from the hike in the sun. Finally we came to a conclusion, we would go to the aquarium. We would get to see amazing fish and reefs and sharks, but we wouldn't be in the sun. When we arrived we got these audio tour remotes and as we went along we could type in the number on the signs and listen to a brief description of what we were looking at and some facts about it. We saw many different kinds of fish and a moray eel that kept opening it's mouth and closing it, like it was showing off it's white teeth. As we went on we came to the sea turtles. The sea turtles would float around the water on their bellies looking like they were having the best time in the world. Next, we went to a tank with really shallow water and it was surrounded with rocks, about table height, so you could walk around and touch the starfish, sea cucumbers and sponge. We then went down some stairs into an underground sight of the hammerhead sharks. The sharks would just swim around moving their tails because apparently their tail acts as a second heart. When we were done looking at the sharks we came to the tunnel which lead inside and they had these games that involved whales, dolphins, and fish. Finally, we came to a big room with a clear glass window so you could look under the water at giant fish, stingrays, and even a tiger shark. The man there gave a speech that we listened to for about 15 minutes before moving on to the real tunnel. The tunnel was like a tube that had 3 sides that were clear glass so you could see stingrays floating above you while a shark is going on one of the side walls. After we got out of the tunnel we went to the gift shop and I got my name painted on a piece of paper by a guy that turns the letters in your name into some other thing in Hawaii, like inside the A in my name he painted a seal. When we left we went and saw whales leaping out of the water and flipping their tails up into the air as to say look at me. Finally, we left the aquarium and drove back to Haiku and had a cook out. We watched a movie together and then gradually went to bed.

Hiking Mt. Haliakala

 Today was the most fun, and tiring day in Maui. We went hiking 13 miles in the inactive volcano on Maui called Mt. Haliakala. When we started down the mountain it was just a sandy path, because of all the ash, but soon the ash that we were walking on turned into us walking on hard dried up lava rock. Me and my sister, Isabel, kept running ahead of the others and talking while the rest of my family were a long way behind us. I took pictures of the amazing view as we went along. The whole time we were hiking, you could see clouds that were level to you. After a long hike we got to a huge cliff and the path up it was zig zag so it would go a long way one way then it would switch and go the other way all the way up the cliff. At some parts there was nothing between you and the drop off. We made a method that we would stop and take a break every 5 every time we would switch and go the other way on the zig zag. When we finally got to the top we were all exhausted, and tired. We made our way to the car and road down to Polli's, a mexican restaurant. We finally went home and almost straight to bed. 

Dad arrives in Maui and a poem

Finally, after 5 days my dad arrived in Maui. He had been gone at work and he had to meet us in Maui. When he got here we went to the books store and picked out a few books then we went to Polli's, a mexican restaurant. When we finally got back to the house we rested there for a little while before meeting some unfriendly neighborhood kids. After we rested we went to Baldwin beach to go swimming. We rode waves and swam out pretty deep with my dad while we floated over waves. My mom took pictures of the sunset over the mountain which turned out to be a Lunar eclipse. On the way home my mom and dad realized that the gas tank was running low and they had left their wallets at home. We ended up having just enough gas to get home and to the gas station. I also wrote a short poem called the Gecko.

Gecko

By Amelia Staats

     I am a small lizard

stuck to the wall

I'm sticking on tight 

so I will not fall

I'll hang from your ceiling 

You'll cry out Wow!

what could it be

but a tiny gecko.

                                                                    

Poems

Day and night    

by Amelia Staats

Fast asleep the moon calls out

go to bed don't yell or shout

run so fast inside your dreams

if you don't you'll surely scream

sleep until the mourning rays

when your in a spinning daze

come get up cries out the sun

the day has just yet begun 

you've been sleeping all the night 

Get up i say it's nice and bright

everything is all awake 

take a look at the crystal clear lake

Night has come look at the stars

you can see the planet Mars

Go to sleep calls out the moon 

the sun will wake you up so soon.

The piano

By Amelia Staats

When I sit down to the piano 

my fingers do a dance 

the flip the hop they even twist

they dip they dive they prance

as soon as I take a seat 

My feet go stomping to the beat

they go on pounding on the floor 

which makes me want to play some more.

Hiking, lavender, poetry

We are on our first vacation since the start of our new home- schooling experience in Hawaii. After two days at the beach and a whale festival we were ready to take our first hike. We were originally going to go hiking on a trail threw the red wood forest on Mt. Haleakala but the road was closed so we decided to go back down to a lavender farm that was a little ways down the hill to have tea and scones. There was a tremendous view from the mountain side, you could see the city below and the lavender farm. When we got to the lavender farm the sweet smell of lavender was immediately dancing around your nose. The lavender plants were in nice, neat rows up and down the hill. When we got inside the shop all you could see was lavender. There was lavender soap lavender tea even lavender scones and chocolate. We found seats overlooking the rest of the mountain and got some lavender tea and scones before leaving. We continued down the mountain and apparently went the wrong way and ended up in front of a hiking trail which we decided to hike since we didn't hike the other trail.  We ended up hiking down to a spring with a waterfall and giant rocks covered in moss. The hike back up was a lot more challenging since the spring was down a really steep slope and it had taken a while to get down. Finally we got to the top and hiked back to the car. We drove back to the town of Makawao where we ate ate at a mexican restaurant called Polli's. When we got back to our house in Haiku, we were all tired and wanted to relax. After playing cards with my sister I wrote a poem called Live in the light. 

  Live in the light

 Swim in the sunshine

sparkle in the sky

cough as the puffy clouds stroll by.

Run in the rainbow

wish in the woods

fly like a flock of feathered birds.

Flutter in the forest

beam on the beach

keep stretching your joy 

as far as it can reach.