The Elon University men's and women's tennis teams are in Hawaii as a part of the Elon Commitment to its students achieving a global experience. Check in on elonphoenix.com to view the daily updates of the program from its athletes on the overall experience. Be sure to also check out posts and updates on the team's social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
 
Elon women's tennis junior Erica Braschi reflects on the second day of the global experience, which included a hike on the Makapu'u Point Lighthouse Trail and visiting Sandy Beach. Click below for the Adobe Spark version of the story.





Day Two (March 19)

 

It is day two in Hawaii and I'm glad to say the jet lag is finally wearing off. After an early breakfast this morning at 7 a.m., we headed to the University of Hawaii for tennis practice. The intense two hour hit helped us get ready for our big match on Wednesday and the tropical weather reminded me of growing up playing tennis in Puerto Rico. Our practice time flew by and before we knew it, we were on our way back to the hotel to get ready for a hike up the Makapu'u Point Lighthouse Trail. The 45 minute drive to get there didn't feel long because of the beautiful scenery we saw along the way. Great big mountains, winding roads, and the bluest water I have ever seen all made up the picture-perfect trip to our final destination to see the lighthouse.
 

Our two mile hike took over two hours, but only because we stopped so often to take pictures. You'd think that it was us girls holding up the hike, but the guys were - as they so accurately describe it - acting "Hollywood." I couldn't really blame them though, everywhere I looked the view was absolutely breathtaking. My favorite part was when a parasailor floated so we yelled for him to get into the background of our picture and he turned around just for us, which was hilarious.

To complete an amazing hike, we got to see Humpback Whales rising to the surface and diving from a distance. I only wish I was close enough to get a picture!
 

Next, we headed to Sandy Beach only to find out that the currents were too dangerous for us to swim. We later found out that it is nicknamed Break-Neck Beach because of how rough the waters can be. Good thing the locals were kind enough to warn us not to head in the ocean -  I bet they could spot that we were tourists from a mile away. We decided that it would be best to head back to the hotel and relax at the nearby Waikiki beach instead for the remainder of the day.
 

We closed out our day with a team dinner at a local restaurant. Our table buzzed with conversation of retelling our day's activities and anticipating our schedule for tomorrow. We have another early morning practice which calls for a 6:45 a.m. wake-up, so for now we're all headed to bed to get ready for another big day.

A hiu hou,
Erica Braschi