Headed Out West is a travel blog by Sports Information Director Shawn Smith chronicling his experiences during men's and women's basketball trips to Seattle, Wash., Milwaukee, Wis. and Honolulu, Hawai'i.

Headed Out West: Part 12 – We have come to our last day in Hawai'i. Today was a relaxing day as all of the games were over and it was just time to enjoy Hawai'I and the scenery.
We headed out around 7:30 a.m. on a North Shore adventure, boarding a bus and heading for the other side of the Island. We had a lot of fun activities that we could do through the adventure, like surfing, stand up paddling, kayaking, snorkeling, but the weather was not our friend on this day. It had been absolutely beautiful the other days of the trip but today it decided to rain most of the day.
We did however get a great tour of the rest of the island from our tour guide Acie, who did a great job. We got to drive through the town of Haleiwa and other North Shore communities and got to see actor Jackie Chan's house. We then headed for Sunset Beach, where a surf competition was set to take place that day. It was incredible to see the size of the waves and how blue the water was. It was absolutely breathtaking. The team enjoyed their short time at the beach.


We then boarded the bus again and headed for the Waimea Valley, where several movies and tv shows have been filmed over the years like The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Lost. It was beautiful to see the scenery, which was so different from the beaches. It was a lot of vegitation and hills and was amazing. We then hiked and reached Waimea Falls, which were just breathtaking, a common theme of the day. The girls and several of the staff members including myself, jumped in the lake that the falls flowed into and were quickly greeted by the icy cold water, which felt good but was definitely cold. We then made it over to the falls where several girls jumped off the rocks and enjoyed their time. It was great to enjoy the beauty of this valley and the falls.



After we were done, we headed back over to Haleiwa, where the girls got to shop and walk around the town a bit. We had hoped it would clear up and we could stand up paddle in the afternoon.

We then boarded the bus again and headed back to Honolulu. Acie shared his connection with the band Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder, as his brother-in-law has been in the band for the last 10 years or so, and he was actually going to go over and fix Eddie's jeep as the band often comes to the North Shore during the winter. Most of the team had no clue who Eddie Vedder or Pearl Jam was, but us adults thought it was a pretty cool story.

On our way back to Honolulu and Waikiki Beach we were treated with some pineapple ice cream at the Dole pineapple plantation. It was absolutely delicious with fresh pineapple in it, as well. We then got back to the hotel and killed some time before we had to leave.

We boarded ours vans with drivers Tony and Leigh again, who have been absolutely phenomenal hosts during the trip, and headed for the airport.
It was been an absolutely phenomenal experience for myself, the staff, and the girls, getting to see a different culture and different sites that we can't see normally in the continental United States. It was a once-and-a-lifetime experience.

Well, tomorrow, look forward to my last blog of the crazy journey I have over the last few weeks. We fly out at 10:00 Hawai'ian time tonight. I look forward to sleeping as much of the trip I can. For now from Hawai'I, Aloha.