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Day 5: Soaking up the Last Moments on Kauai

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The group really bonded on this trip, and after five days together, it didn’t feel like nearly enough. Each night, we circled up in the pavilion and let conversations flow until it was time for bed, everyone asking to stay up just a little longer to stretch out those final moments together. Today was our last day on Kauai before returning home, and the morning felt bittersweet as we cleaned out the yurts, packed our bags, and loaded the vans one final time. I think all of us wished for just a little more time to do more, see more, and simply be together. Our final adventure on the island was mountain tubing. On the way, we stopped at Wailua Falls to take in one last waterfall. Waterfalls felt like a theme of this trip, each one reminding us of the island’s incredible natural beauty. At Kauai Backcountry Adventures, we geared up with helmets and gloves and climbed into an open-air vehicle that carried us deep into the rainforest. We learned that we would be floating down old sugar can...
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Day 4: Hanalei Surfing, Shave Ice, and Lots of Waves

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The girls were woken up by Annie this morning and the boys pretended to be asleep. Mr. Piercy then came in like a military drill instructor and “helped” the boys wake up. Breakfast was gnarly, muffins, granola, bagels, croissants, and bananas. Then, we changed up our van line up and drove about 45 minutes to Hanalei. Here we were met by three surf instructors (Phoenix, Bodie, and Jackson). Waves were small but everyone was able to stand up. Then, we went and jumped off the pier. Maggie and Yoona kept getting pushed off the pier by Makoto and Alaka’i. We convinced Ms. Paulekas to showcase her diving skills (she is HPA’s dive coach). Then, we went into town and had a few hours to shop and choose where we wanted to eat. A lot of us chose Hanalei Burgers, while others went for açai bowls. We met back up and were treated to either shaved ice or ice cream. We left around 3:30 and drove to Anini Beach. At the beach everyone jumped in, some carried in beyond their will (Yoona, Maggie, and Sant...
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Day 3: Ziplining, Smoothies, and Beaches

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We started the day with tasty pancakes made by Mr. Piercy. To our surprise, the pancakes had strawberries, blueberries, whipped cream, and even Nutella. After we prepared sandwiches for the day (sadly, some discovered later that they forgot theirs, which were probably eaten by the wild chickens), we hopped into the car and took a short stop in Kapa’a, a nearby town, to get some coffee and check out a local surf shop. With coffee in our hands, we were all excited to take off for the ziplining adventure. After a one-hour drive through the Garden Island, we arrived at Koloa Zipline. We split into two different groups and had to master eight different ziplines in total, sometimes going over 50 mph, which is actually faster than you are allowed to drive a car on this island. On each zipline we enjoyed a new view of this beautiful place, one time a huge lake, another time stunning rainforest scenery. The guides even let us try different positions, like Flying, Cruising, and hanging upside do...
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