s/v Field Trip

I have had a cold for the last few days and I was in need of more medicine. We drove to the pharmacy and while mom was checking out, the lady at the cashier said that there would be a solar eclipse at 2:50pm! When we got back into the car, we told Michael, Dad, and Nana. They were all excited and Michael set an alarm on his watch for when it was supposed to happen. I felt so thrilled because the last time we tried to see a solar eclipse , we had missed it because we had the time wrong. I hoped that this time we would be accurate! To pass time, we all visited the museum in town. The main entrance fee was way too expensive, so we payed for the cheaper art gallery. I was disappointed because the museum was supposed to be well-made with lots of information. However, the art that an American woman did was beautiful. She made batik works depicting village and city life. I think Nana really enjoyed seeing the different paintings and their meanings. After browsing for 30 minutes, I ...

You have to ring that bell, Michael!   That’s what Elizabeth said to me a few minutes ago, before I approached the rock climbing wall at the Festival of Lights at Harvest Baptist Church in Guam.   The setup lady starts to tighten the straps on the harness encasing my legs, and I look up at the rock wall looming in front of me, trying to plot my path. When she is finished, I walk over to the base of the wall, where a guy hooks me onto the line and says, “You’re good to go!” Getting geared up I reach for the first plastic rock jutting out of the wall, then place my bare foot on another below me. I hoist myself up and start to ascend quickly.  Too quickly. My right foot slips out from under me about five feet off the ground, and the contraption slowly lowers me to the floor. I look around quickly, hoping the guy wouldn’t say that was it. Luckily, he had his back turned, so I start up again, more careful this time. About seven feet up, my...

Our Field Trip to Mulu National Park Diary entry by Elizabeth We packed up and got ready for our adventure the day before our plane ride. Our whole family had to fit the clothing and miscellaneous things in Mom’s roller bag and Dad’s backpack. I folded Michael’s, Dad’s, and my clothes the ‘travel way’ that I’d learned from a few how-to Y outube videos. This let us bring more things like all of the camelbaks  (Mom’s fanny-pack, Michael’s small backpack, and my large one). I am glad that we brought these because we used them every day for water and storage. Dad also brought his drone and camera bag (with the Nikon inside) and Mom brought her purse.  When we got to the airport the next day, I was nervous because Dad said the plane was going to be a twin prop! The whole clear in and security check, I was picturing the scene from Hatchet (when the boy was in a single prop plane and crashed)! When I saw the plane, I sighed in relief! It was just like a normal plane but s...

Adventures in the Similan Islands, Thailand View of Sail Rock from below I made a running leap up onto a large rock, and all the other kids were like, “HOW THE HECK DID YOU GET UP THERE??!!”. I have to admit, I was a bit proud of myself! But then I had to wait for the other kids to find a way up!! Yesterday we went ashore to play with another kid boat called Rainbow Safari!! There was this giant rock that had a whole cave behind it, so Niki (9 years), Robby (5 years) and I (11 years) all went exploring behind it. We found a lot of treasure troves full of (sadly) trash and lots of pieces of coral!! Then we walked all the way over the rocks at the end of the smaller island. We found a cave in between two large stones that led far back in a narrow tunnel. We didn’t have time to explore it, because we were going on a hike! We went to this trail that led to an immense balancing rock called Sail Rock. On the path was a massive monitor lizard that quickly scampered aw...

Red, White, and Blue  By Elizabeth Yesterday was supposed to be an ordinary day. I got up early, did chores, finished school, ate lunch, it rained (a lot), etc. Then Dad said, “It's the 4th of July!” Those five words changed that ordinary day into a whole new, extraordinary one.   I suddenly found myself holding a small bottle of red food coloring while Dad stood behind me, telling me how many drops to put in the white, gooey cake mix. Mom was carefully dying her batter blue while another bowl sat, white and un-dyed, on the counter.  “These are going to be the best cupcakes in the world!” I said out loud to the now-red batter. “Matt is going to be so surprised that we made these soon-to-be works of art!”  Even though I wasn't talking to him, Dad answered my undirected exclamation with a chuckle, “We should put a little sign that reads 'Go TRUMP!' on his cupcake! He'll get a kick out of that!”  Soon we were carefully putting a tablespoon of each co...

Battles on the Poop Deck By Michael      I’ve concluded that the birds in Solomons are descendants of the prehistoric Terror Birds.   Which means that they are pests.   I do not want to stereotype, because some birds are nice, but the ones we had on our boat were NOT NICE!      I sighed as another three crow-like birds grappled onto the main tamer.   Mom was cawing, clapping, and yelling for them to get off, but, unfortunately, they didn't go.   The Battlefield            It was the third day in Munda, and we had already about, like, one hundred piles of bird doodoo on the deck.   Our squirt guns came into use for a second time after squirting mischievous cats in Honiara.   They were now BIRD REPELLERS!       We had tried many attempts to rid the little suckers from the boat, but none worked.   ATTEMPT #1:   YELLING  ...