Colorado State University Athletics
On the road with the Rams: Postcard Honolulu day two
8/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 24, 2007
After a long day of travel everyone had a chance to get cleaned up and head out for a bit of exploring. The area around the hotel is beautiful and full of shopping. Most people headed right for the beach. The water is as warm as it is beautiful. We headed into the ocean for our first of many tastes of the warm water while we are here.
Dinner was a treat. We went to Dukes, a restaurant that is literally on the beach. With fresh local seafood and specialties it was a great first night dinner. After the orders were placed everyone headed for the salad bar. The pineapple took a pretty big hit as everyone got their first taste of the island's bounty.
After dinner the water was perfect for an evening walk. Most of the team went to the beach briefly before heading out to wander through the shops and try to stay awake long enough to make the new time zone work better for us.
Breakfast was at 8 a.m. (which really felt more like noon) with more fresh pineapple and other fruits. The first papaya that many people had eaten was passed around as well. A two hour study period was the next item on the agenda. After the study hours, the team met in the lobby for the first practice session in Hawai'i. The gym is not that far, distance wise, from the hotel but with traffic things get a little long.
We waited for Michigan to clear the floor then had a good practice session. The team is starting to really click and we started to get adjusted to Hawaii's court and humidity. The Stan Sheriff Center, nicknamed "The Stanley" was renovated in 2004. The arena seats 10,300 fans and they are hoping that it will be full for the weekend's event.
After practice the fun began. We loaded into the vans and headed for Hanauma Bay to do our snorkeling adventure. After a video and a warning about the do's and don'ts around the reef we started our trek down to the water. You wouldn't think it would be so long until you remember that the bay was formed from a volcano. We made it to the water's edge, picked up the gear and headed out to the water. There was much laughter as the team made its way to the water with the long fins on.
Once out in the water people started seeing the amazing beauty of the marine life under the bright blue water. There were yellow convict tangs, Humuhumu Nukunuku Apuaa (Hawaii's state fish) and green sea turtles (Honu) amo ng the varied marine life. At least three of the endangered turtles were spotted by different members of the team, though Tom still has yet to see a sea turtle in the water despite being the most experienced snorkeler in Hawaii's waters.
Dinner was at a 1960's inspired diner that played a variety of clips of dancing from the movies. The theme was Hawai'i in the television era and it was a fun place. Tonya, Crystin, Amanda and reluctantly Jo went up and sang Grease with the waitresses. The night was fun and proved that "The King" still rules in Hawaii. Elvis, who made the Hawaii Islands a destination point for much of the world with the movies he filmed here, is still very much alive today.
Aloha for now and look for more postcards from the trip.
Media Coverage at the Asics Challenge: The Rams will play three matches in Honolulu with all of them broadcast on KFVE Channel 5. All matches can be seen on www.hawaiiantelmedia.com for a fee. In addition the Rams' Saturday match with Hawai'i will be on ESPN Radio 1420 AM and also available on www.sportsradio1420.com. Live stats coverage for all matches will be available on www.HawaiiAthletics.com.
