July 5--The AYSO Ohana

We got to Kapiolani Park a little before 9. The parents from the Diamond Head and Honolulu teams were already beginning to set up the picnic. I met with the coaches of the two teams, and was told that they had planned a rotating scrimmage--we would play a short game against Diamond Head and then Diamond Head would play Honolulu and then we would play Honolulu. Then we would eat.

As usual, we started off slow, but improved in the second half against Diamond Head. Then after watching the two Hawaii teams play, we had another tough match against Honolulu. Our difficulties in scoring continue.

Then, the real fun began. The local families laid on a spread of local delicacies not to be believed. From roast pork to salads, from donuts to ices to fruit, Soon, all of the girls on the three teams, and Adam, were sitting under the trees, laughing, sharing jokes, stories and screen names. And the adults mingled, chatted and shared stories, mostly about our kids. It was really a special thing to see. It was if they had known each other for years. It was a great example of what they call the AYSO Ohana here.

After a while, the local girls started to leave, and we all changed and walked across the park to the beach. The Pacific was beautiful, and we swam and enjoyed the beach. Soon, three of the girls from the Diamond Head team showed up and joined our girls in the water. After a while, Adam started a beach soccer game, which was ended by the lifeguards, so they moved off the beach to the grass and played for nearly an hour, without any coaches forcing them to.

When that got boring, one of the Hawaiian girls suggested that we needed smoothies, so we loaded up the vans and went to the Health Bar for what were legitimately great smoothies. We bid goodbye to our new friends and returned to the hotel for showers.

Dinner was supposed to be at the International Marketplace, but we couldn't find parking, so we returned to the hotel and had a nice meal at the Cheeseburger Waikiki restaurant next door. Fatigue hit hard, and we went back to the hotel for a relatively early night.

Tomorrow will start with a 7am practice, followed by breakfast and a driving trip around Oahu. Then, we will figure out something.