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 Olivia Lucas writes about Thursday's adventures to Big Island. The day included trying new foods, a long boat ride and snorkling!





Day Six (March 23)

It was another early morning for both teams as we headed to the airport at 4 a.m. to fly to the much anticipated Big Island! We had a quick flight and a short drive to our hotel, the Royal Kona Resort.

With an hour of free time, we all immediately set out to explore the town. Of course many of us spent this time getting our favorite new treat that we discovered we arrived on the islands - acai bowls. After a delicious snack, both teams were off to the first activity of the day.

First up was the speaker Mikahala Roy. We learned a lot about Mikahala's past and how she was tasked with taking care of her family's sacred space. Her claim created a rocky relationship with the Hawaiian government and with the current owners of the hotel where the sacred space is located. She was even kind enough to lead us through her sacred chants and songs while leading us to her Heiau. She left us with kind words and feelings of hope about the future of Hawai'i.
 
 

After the speaker, we had two hours to eat lunch and hangout at the pool before heading out for the next part of the day. The second activity was snorkeling, and I was incredibly excited for this much anticipated activity. The boat trip started off on a high note when we got to ride by a pod of at least 20 dolphins!

Soon after, we were in the water snorkeling at our first stop - and we learned that some of us should stick to tennis instead of swimming. A little later we got back on the boat, and with a few stops along the rest of our ride, we arrived at the highlight of the snorkel trip. We all quickly hopped into the bay and raced to see who could see all of the fish our captain had enthusiastically taught us about. 

 

After a couple hours in the water and a long day, we headed back to meet our bus. Our awesome XL leaders surprised us with Thai takeout as the perfect way to end a perfect day! 

See ya soon!
Olivia Lucas