Going Commando!

Doug and I have done so many things the last few days. I started the first half of my scuba certification with a guy named Sammy, who actually turned out to be from Cleveland, Ohio. Scuba diving was an experience! I'm not exactly the best swimmer ( I almost drowned in a Kalahari wave pool one time.....I was like 16 😔), but I got the hang of it and I got to see a turtle that was as big as my body and probably as old as Rob's gram (again she's 104!)

Doug and I also decided to get crazy and drive around the head of Maui. We are driving a Ford Explorer, which is a decently sized car. However, the road around the head of Maui--not a decently sized road. I swear every 10 feet there was either a sign that said "Falling Rocks," "No Shoulder," or my personal favorite "Narrow Winding Road," which by the way is a complete understatement. 

Multiple times I thought we were going to either hit a biker or go right off the edge. Aside from being a bit scary, the views from the road were SO beautiful. There were places to stop along the way, one of which I absolutely loved called "the olivine pools" where we swam in pools of water basically in the cliffs right beside the ocean. Waves crash against the sides of the pools as your swimming and mist you with salty ocean water.  

It's one of those things you have to see and do to appreciate how amazing it is. So I apologize if I did a cruddy job explaining. 

Also in the last couple days Doug and I drove/hiked to the top of Haleakala with friends to watch the sunrise.

We were 10,000 feet up, so we were freezing, but it was well worth it. We took pictures, but they don't do its beauty justice. 

My favorite part of this last week is when Doug, Rob, and I went commando! Okay, we didn't really go commando, but we did do the commando hike. This hike pushed me- physically and mentally. If  you want to test your confidence in yourself or your faith in God for that matter-you go do the commando hike. We started off by hiking up a river filled with all sizes of rocks for a little over a mile. And when I say hike- I mean fall every two steps, smack your shins on rough edges of rocks and cut up your feet and kneecaps. Then come the vines! We climbed from vine to vine constantly stretching and slipping to reach the next. You seriously try not to fall because if you do you're gonna land on straight up rocks. 

Next up is a waterfall you have to climb up. This is where I admit- I got a little scared. Okay...I was terrified. We climbed up the waterfall-in the actual waterfall. Water smacks you in the face and if you fall- good luck getting back to your car. 

We climbed a few waterfalls in all but none were as bad as the first. Next up- more vines and then come the caves. We hiked, swam, and did a bit of rock climbing through pitch black caves with only a small flashlight. This was for at least a mile. Finally after what seemed like forever, we finished the hike by climbing through what looked like a sewer gate to end up at a beautiful waterfall. 

The commando hike was a great experience. It sucked, it terrified me, and it gave me a lot of bruises, but I would do it again in a heart beat! Also, at the end of commando we saw a guy with his friends who actually did commando ... commando. Super funny, because he freaked with embarrassment and screamed for his friends to throw him his board-shorts. All in all commando and the last week or so in Maui have been very memorable times.