March 11, 2013

Photo Gallery - Day 5

Aloha Pirate Nation,

Welcome to Honolulu, Hawai'i, and the East Carolina softball team's spring break trip to the Aloha State.

We are now into our fifth day in paradise. Today was a day where we were supposed to play a pair of games and wrap up play in the Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament, but even in paradise it rains and both games were cancelled, leaving the team with a lot of more free time on their hands than originally planned. With so many parents of the players in town, head coach Beth Keylon-Randolph gave the players the opportunity to spend some additional time with them. The coaching staff and I decided to do a little exploring though and took a trip to North Shore, which is famous for its great waves and surfing. It was about a 30 minute drive to get to North Shore and the area is beautiful. Seeing all the waves crash up along the beach was also very impressive. We were in secluded spot so we took the opportunity to walk around and check out everything on foot. On our way back to Honolulu we stopped to eat at Haleiwa Joe's Seafood Grill. The food was excellent (at least my hamburger was). After that it was back to the hotel to enjoy a little downtime as it continued to rain.

Tomorrow, the Pirates will have an off day from games but the talk is the team may practice. Also on the schedule is a hike and a luau in the evening.

With that said, I will turn things over to junior Jill Jelnick to share some thoughts from her experience of spending time on the islands this trip.

"Aloha family and friends!

Today marks the fifth day we have been in Hawaii and although it is raining as I currently look outside beyond the balcony, Honolulu has been nothing short of beautiful. We were so thankful to finally step outside after our 10 hour plane ride and stretch our legs in warm weather. The girls were not only so excited to be in such a wonderful place, but also excited to see what the trip had in store for us.

Both Thursday and Friday the girls and I woke up a little earlier than our normal "sleep-in" time and headed down the escalator to the beach only a couple of steps away. We had fun soakin' up the sun and walking up and down the beach taking in all that was around us. A lot of us couldn't resist the shops either and jumped at the chance of the cute little International Market shops as well as the overwhelming three-story Forever 21. Our excuse for everything so far is...why not? We're in Hawaii!

I think the best treat by far has been the love and support from the local parents and family. The Hawaiian families have been so generous in helping to provide us with food, drinks, gifts, but most of all their love. They have been so welcoming and so kind to the team, coaches, and families and I hope they know just how much we have enjoyed everything.

Although the team would have liked to have bounced back and given Portland State and Hawaii a run for their money, the positive to the two canceled games today is that now we are all even hungrier to play even more than before, so I would watch out for the Pirates the next couple days. We aren't quite finished with Hawaii yet! "

Jill Jelnick