Duck’s Adventure

  When we got off of our flight around 5:30 this morning we went straight to the hotel and crashed. Me and Corie had a quick breakfast before falling asleep until 11am. We met the others in the lobby at 12 to go to the Los Angeles Natural History Museum and have lunch there. My knees still really ached from my sunburn so I had to take multiple breaks. Me and Corie first explored the Dinosaur Hall and learned about the different fossils that they had discovered in the La Brea tar pits. Most of the fossils they have found are from before the ice age and the bones of the different animals were preserved well by the tar. Most of the larger animals were wiped out after the ice age while smaller ones survived. We next wandered around an exhibit that talked about the history of LA using different artefacts that had either been saved or found. It included a miniature model of part of LA. Then we went to a cafe there for lunch and it was surprisingly good.  After eating we explored the...

  Today I got sunburned while whale watching. We left Hilo early in the morning so that we could drive to Kona to whale watch. At the beginning of the tour, I wanted to sit on the top, cause ya know, the top. However, this proved a mistake and a poor judgement. The sun was blinding. Even when it was behind the clouds it reflected off of them and the ocean and was so powerful. I didn’t expect the tour to last as long as it did: 3 hours instead of 2. We saw two fins in the first hour, but did not slow down to watch any until the third hour. It was really cool to learn about the whales once we saw them, but I was very drained from being in the sun for a 3rd hour and fighting my very mild motion sickness. We learned about how the calves stay underwater for about 5 minutes and their mothers come up for air every 30 minutes. This made spotting them hard, but watching them easy. We also learned how to tell whales apart. All whales have different undersides of their tail and the different ...

  Today we went to the Tropical Bio Reserve & Garden and a Chocolate Farm. At the reserve we hiked down the boardwalk and explored the different numbered areas. We first learned about the Tahitian Prawns are endemic freshwater shrimp. They are commonly found in streams on the Hawaiian Islands. Along the at we saw many many plants including the Yellow Rattle Snake Flower, Trimezia, and Pink Ginger. At the end there was a stream that supposedly had fish in it, but I wasn’t able to spot any. We zoomed through pretty quickly so that we would have time for lunch. After a long lunch period we went to the chocolate farm. At the farm they spent a lot of time introducing themselves and telling us the origin of how they became chocolate farmers. They then proceeded to show us all around their property and we learned about all the different plants they had. Of course, we learned mostly about Cacaos. We learned about the fungus that infects them, the seeds taste bitter but the outside goop...

  Today the horseback tour on the Kohala Coast was cancelled because there was a rain storm. Our group was still planning on going to zip line in the morning so it worked out anyways. Once we got to the Botanical World Adventures to zip line we checked in and then went to put on gear. We met our guides who were pretty cool and then they drove us to the first zip line. Each zip line that we went on gradually got longer and faster. There were eight in total and all of them were lots of fun. On the third zip line Mimi got stuck and I asked if I could run and jump to go fast. Of course, he said yes and I went zoom. On the way he talked about a type of plant that had a rain defense that involved the leaves drooping down on contact. He also showed us a tree whose leaves smelled like cinnamon and stems that tasted like it. We also tried wild  oranges and guava along the way. On the second to last zip line I raced Corie and won so she had to buy me a donut. The only zip line that scar...

  Today we had to stop at the grocery store again to pick up lunches for our venture into the Volcanoes National Park again. After our second 45 min trip to the park, we entered a different section of the park to meet Dr. Roberts’ friend Dr. Phillips. Dr. Phillips took us around multiple trails located in Mauna Loa. We got to see places affected by forest fires and learn about the different plants that grow back and the ones that survive. Kona trees tend to survive and other trees and a type of invasive grass grows back fairly quickly. The grass is invasive and tends to prevent other plants from growing back after a fire because it grows back so quickly. Seeds cannot penetrate through the grass to grow. A sign along the trail pointed out a native plant called ‘Ala’ala wai nui that is a medicinal plant and has tiny sticky fruit that can travel on birds and insects. Again, I loved taking pictures of all the fauna on the trails. This morning me, Corie, and Ellie finally explored the p...

  Today we went to Volcanoes National Park. After going on a grocery run in the morning and buying plenty of breakfast food at Walmart(including dropping it off at the hotel), we drove around an hour to get to the Park. On the way we drove through a small town and into a rainforest. Once at the park, we could not find parking near the trails that we wanted to do, so we went to the visitors center. There we wandered around the gift shop and exhibit for a little over an hour waiting for the rain to lighten and for parking space. We ate our lunches outside on benches before finally starting our first hike. The 1.3 mile hike was very brief and allowed us to see different sulfur vents. There was so much fog on the deeper parts of that trail that it was hard to see. To get to our next trail after that we had to drive to the parking lot we were waiting for earlier. We then had to park in the overflow and take a trail to the full parking area. From there we walked the lava tube trail. We t...

  Today we drove across the island with multiple stops until we made it to Hilo. In the morning, in Kailua-Kona, we explored more of the resort. There were multiple weather alerts for wind and water spouts that woke me and Corie up that night, so unfortunately the pool was closed. So after a breakfast of a delicious raspberry pina colada smoothie and Hawaiian French toast, we went exploring. Since it was raining we didn’t go too far, but we found a garden filled with a bunch of different plants and a waterfall. After the car was loaded we started our journey to Hapuna Beach, our first stop. On the way we could see piles of volcanic rock that had not yet been broken down. It is an example of primary succession because it is an area where lava has flowed and formed new land. At first it was ever so slightly rainy and the water was on the chilly side, but once the sun came out, the water was perfect for swimming. Before getting in the water me and Corie explored the beach which had mu...

  Today we drove through the mountainous shrubland to San Diego. It was great to see some more snow sprinkled around and Dr. Roberts was taking all of the curbs with confidence. On the way we stopped at a hot springs. We spent lots of time going into the hot pool and then switching to the cold pool. It burned so much in the hot pool that it didn’t seem possible to be in it, but it happened. After changing back into our regular clothes we continued our drive to San Diego. We stopped for lunch at an In-N-Out and I have to the say that it was pretty good. The cheeseburger was great, but the fries were a mix between soggy and stale. Once we got to San Diego, we meandered around for about an hour. We found Christina a new pair of sunglasses, got bubble tea, we wandered around Goodwill, and then finally made it to Long beach. Of course, it was super windy, but seeing the beach was worth it. The kelp that was on the beach was fascinating. On the way back to the parking spot, we stopped at...

  After a decent breakfast, we left for Joshua Tree National Park. We drove to the start of the 6.7 mile hike, a little lost at first, but we made it. At the start of the hike, everything looked the same on the flat trail. Same bush, same shrub, same tree, same flower. This lasted for about an hour before the landscaped changed. More rocks appeared and being able to see the different rock layers was really cool. When seeing the rocks I knew that we were close to the start of the bottom of the steep incline leading to the top. The wind started to pick up and it grew colder. Once on the incline my knees started to hurt and to pop. The trail had steep drop offs and my anxiety from how high up we were grew each turn we made up. That drop off did not help. By the time we made it to the top the wind was at its peak and I was freezing. The cold almost blocked out the view of the park around. It was lunch time though and the lunchable, apple, and two protein bars got me through. One of the...

  Today we got to explore Palm Springs. We left the scary hotel around 10am to walk around the downtown area. On our way to find a coffee shop we got distracted by a silly sock shop. Of course, almost all of us ended up with a new pair of socks. When we arrived at the small coffee shop and art gallery, we were greeted with the smell of wood. The entire place was decorated floor to ceiling with prints and fabric. They had an assortment of vinyls, books, art prints, and more. We next stopped at a crystal shop briefly and then a shop with an odd sign. It said everything in the store was 18 dollars and right away we explored. Two people ended up with shirts. It was then time to eat and me and Corie chose a crépe shop. The light meal was perfect before our steep hike to the tramway. After the meal, we drove to the tramway. During the drive we learned about the change in the climate. We got to see the change from the desert to the shrubland to the boreal forest. As we transitioned to the...

  Today we ate breakfast at our hotel in Los Angeles and then left around 9am to drive to the bottom of the hiking trail to Griffith Park. It was about 40 degrees out and it warmed to about 60 degrees by the end of the hike, so the weather was great. Pictured below, Duck is happily riding in Corie’s bag and ready for adventure. The hike was moderate like reviews had said and was relatively quick. On the way up we passed multiple Peruvian pepper trees(that were not originally native to California) which produce berries that smell like peppers. The berries can be used as a spice or made into an oil. I enjoyed exploring and taking pictures of all the different flora and fauna, especially the red thistle that multiple yellow jackets were enjoying. The red thistle was not surprising to see because it is native to California. The views from the observatory gave a clear view of Los Angeles and allowed us to clearly see the smog layer that is over the city. The thin brown line looked like ...