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As a child who never traveled much, and who had never even been on a plane, a trip to Hawaii was as unexpected as it was exciting. As the Pacific passed beneath the plane and the islands approached, I felt a new sense of adventure. From the moment I stepped out of the Maui airport I was expecting an adventure at every turn, and I wasn’t wrong. The journey began with the simple step of settling into our condo and a bit of exploring. As I walked down to the rocky coast outside of the building, I felt the warm ocean air and knew that this was a place of long-awaited tranquility. Sea turtles graced the coast, beautiful creatures I had never seen in the wild before. They rested in the sand with the waves lapping at their shells, surrounded by the beautiful scenery. Sunsets like no other filled the sky with a fiery light, setting the ocean ablaze. Crabs scurried along the rocks as I took hundreds of photographs. The jetlag was strong, causing us to wake up around four in the morning, but the day was only beginning. A trip to the pineapple plantation revealed many mysteries behind the growth of pineapples, and free samples were not declined. Even the landscape found at a place as simple as a plantation had never seemed as beautiful as it did under the Hawaiian sun. Walking around the outdoor mall to all of the interesting souvenir stores, and eating their amazing food, was a great way to connect with the community that we would be staying with for the next week and a half of our lives. The people were always pleasant and the Lava Lava sauce found at a restaurant called Down the Hatch was to die for. The T-shirts that were sold did little to fully capture the beauty that was Maui. The license plates found in Hawaii all have rainbows on them, and for good reason. I quickly lost count of the number of rainbows that would show up along the countryside, adding even more beauty to the already perfect view. Snorkels were a must and we quickly donned them and drove to a beach that was known for its reefs. Hundreds of fish were found in that underwater haven, as well as nurse sharks, moray eels, and many sea turtles. The colors in that reef were something I had never seen before and I was so thankful to experience its beauty in person. Flowers found all around town were bursting with bright colors, and the views of the surfers on the water added a cool silhouette effect to the sunsets. Driving up to the top of Haleakalā at three in the morning was exhausting but so worth it. As the sun rose above the clouds, the sky was filled with a unique watercolor effect of vibrancy. And at 30 degrees Fahrenheit, it was still worth it. Driving down the mountain was slightly more enjoyable than the ride up, and we made our way to a unique botanical garden that had a variety of different plants. Another day we took a helicopter ride to explore even more of the islands. It was such a great experience even though the turbulence was not fun. We saw the areas where they filmed some of Jurassic Park, which added to the majestic views of the mountains. We traveled along the road to Hana and hiked to some interesting places with beautiful views. At one point, while overlooking a creek, I made the mistake of leaving my camera bag open and three of my lenses fell into a puddle. Luckily after resting in rice for a day or two, they were fine. We also snorkeled in the crescent island of Molokini and discovered that we found more wildlife right outside our condo than we did on the day trip. The many adventures of Hawaii showed me a world of things I never thought I would see, and so many experiences I never thought I would have. As the ocean passed underneath us again on our way home, I knew I finally understood the true meaning of the word “adventure”.