With the winter season settling in, our girl’s basketball team is working hard to prepare for our upcoming season. Our women’s varsity team members were allowed to travel to Hawaii before our season starts. Both Christie Kilaghbian (12) and Chloe Chang (12), along with our teammates, attended this memorable trip, and we are going to rate some of the many activities we did and the foods we ate to help you plan your next trip to Hawaii.
First, we kicked off our trip with a 4 am wake-up call to drive to the airport. The captains created ways to entertain everyone and start the journey with laughs. We planned the viral “embarrassing T-shirt” exchange. This is like Secret Santa, except you’re only exchanging funny or embarrassing t-shirts for the other person to wear. Before we entered security, we exchanged our t-shirts with each other at the airport and wore them loud and proud for the rest of the flight. Although we got some strange looks from people and airport security, it was worth it because everyone now has a funny memory from the start of the trip.
After arrival, we stopped at Rainbow Drive-In for a late lunch in Honolulu, Hawaii. This small restaurant looked like a gas station, but despite its exterior, the food was amazing and made straight from the heart of Hawaii. They served all the classic Hawaiian dishes, such as their popular Loco Moco plate, spam and eggs, and, of course, spam musubi. It was truly the best meal to kick off the trip.
The next day, we visited the Pearl Harbor Memorial for a great historical experience. Not only did we get to explore battleships and learn about small artifacts crucial to the attack, but we also went to the USS Arizona Memorial across the harbor. This was a deep and heartfelt moment since it was Veterans Day weekend when we visited, but it’s safe to say we learned a lot on this excursion.
Shortly after, we were all craving a sweet treat before heading back to our hotel. After a long debate, we finally agreed on shaved ice. We decided to stop at the famous Waiola Shave Ice located in Waikiki. Their shaved ice was a perfect consistency and provided us with hundreds of flavor and topping options. One critique I have is their portion sizes. The price difference between a small and a large was only a dollar difference; however, they were pictured to be very close in size. This led most of us to get the small size, only to realize it was barely the size of a small styrofoam cup. Nevertheless, it was still a tasty midday pick-me-up, and their ice was worth the hype.
On our third day, we planned to go on a hike to see the wonderful and beachy views of Hawaii. We aren’t professionals, so we found an easy and family-friendly level hike: Diamondhead. Although hikes typically have you walk in a straight line until you get to the top/end, our team bonded and made many memories whether it was seeing the beautiful views, or jamming out to music we played along the hike. The hike wasn’t too steep, but it did have an unexpected cave that we had to go through to get back from our starting point. If you are afraid of the dark or confined spaces, you should take that into consideration. There was also a small section that was straight uphill, which was the most tiring portion of the hike since it was an extremely long flight of stairs. Nevertheless, nothing can compare to the views we saw when we reached the very top. We were rewarded with the beautiful views of downtown Waikiki and the blue Pacific Ocean blending into the island of Oahu.
After the hike, we spent a couple of hours of free time doing any activity of our choice before the luau later in the day. We decided to explore Hawaii’s beaches just down the street from our hotel. Before we stepped foot on the sand, we decided to grab a bite to eat at the local poke shop called “Poke Bar.” The place had a variety of seafood to customize your bowl, including their local style ahi tuna. The combination of warm rice, seasoned fish, and fresh greens made a wonderful lunch while we swam and tanned on the seashore.
Later in the evening, we had the opportunity to attend a very entertaining luau during the sunset. The event was filled with traditional Hawaiian dances along with the traditional music that many talented individuals performed. The love for their culture truly beamed throughout all their performances, especially during the traditional fire dance. The performances were paired with a very filling and delicious Hawaiian dinner that included pork, rice, and a lot of pineapple. After the performance ended, we took photos of all the talented performers. They were extremely friendly, and we 100% recommend you to attend one of these luaus on your next trip to Hawaii.
It was an outstanding experience for all and we will truly remember these memories past our high school careers. Freshman player Bella Lathiya (9) shares, “It was an amazing experience, and I am looking forward to my next four years with the program.” Don’t forget to wish our women’s basketball team good luck this season, and don’t forget to attend our season home opener on December 12th as we face off against Kennedy High School.
