July 6-The Aloha Spirit Blesses Us Again

I had the girls up early for a 7 am practice. There is a large field across the street from the hotel that is part of a military recreation facility, and they don't seem to care if we use it. The team gave me a spirited practice and worked hard for an hour and a half. Which was followed by showers and breakfast.

We loaded up the vans and hit the road at about 10:30 for an around the island tour. Katharine's college friend Carol grew up in Hawaii and her father had sent us his suggested tour, which we modified a bit. The first stop was the Pali Lookout, a gorgeous spot up in the mountains with an amazing view. It is where King Kameameha won a battle to consolidate his control over Hawaii.

From there, we visited the Byodo-In Buddhist temple, a replica of one in Japan and enjoyed the beautiful building and setting, the koi pond and the large Buddah.

We then drove through interesting scenery and great sea views until we stopped for lunch in a small town, Hauula. There were two places open, next to each other, a Domino's pizza and Papa Ole's, which served local food. Most of the group opted for pizza, but those of us who risked the local food were rewarded with a great, and reasonably priced, meal. And to top it off, apparently because I told them we were a group from NY, the owner gave us a sheet pan full of some of the best banana bread I ever ate as a gift. The aloha spirit blessed us again.

A few more miles down the coast, was the beach house of Katharine's friend Carol's family. We pulled into the driveway and in about 5 minutes were on an essentially private beach with small waves. We all jumped in and the kids used Carol's familiy's boogie boards and had an amazing time, which ended with a little soccer on the front lawn.

We reluctantly left Carol and her husband Peter and continued to head around Oahu. We passed beaches famous for surfers and sea turtles, but neither beach had anything to see, so we continued to the quaint town of Haleiwa, and visited Matsumoto's, universally considered the best "shave ice" place in Oahu. We braved the line for delicious snow cones with flavored syrup. Mine was watermelon, honeydew and banana cream, and was delicious.

By then, we were all exhausted, so we drove straight back to the hotel, through pineapple fields and other great scenery. After another round of showers, we went a few blocks down Ala Moana Road to the Wailana Coffee House, which did not blink at our large party and assigned us a very capable waiter. The Wailana is basically a diner, but one that has kimchi and seaweed in the salad bar. A bunch of the kids had pancakes.

The camaraderie and bonding among the girls has been fun to watch. The car rides have been hilarious.

Tomorrow, we have a visit to Pearl Harbor, team check in and a luau.

Captain's Post 2

From Sara Rod.

Hey parents, Today we started off with an early practice, everyone was still jet lagged but we pulled through it. After we all showered and ate breakfast we went on a island tour, we saw beautiful landscapes such as mountains and amazing beaches. We went to a Buddhist temple which is made without nails!!! In the temple was a giant Buddha and many fish. Then we went to a beautiful beach house which was amazing, the water was hotter and the waves were bigger then the beach we went to yesterday. We were all beat from the beach so we decided we would get shaved ice(it was awesome). Then we headed to the hotel and got ready for dinner. It was a fun day =D!

Pictures from July 6

Apparently bees are a problem at the Pali Overlook



View from the Pali Overlook:


At the Pali Overlook:

Thanks for the bags, Hossein:


The Byodo-In Temple:

On the semi-private beach:



Car ride hijinks:

Dramatic scenery on the way to the hotel:

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.

Captain's Post 1

This is from Sarah F.:

Aloha!
Today was our first full day in Oahu, and it was filled with joy and adventure. We scrimmaged against two Hawaii teams, and lost to both of them but made some new friends! Three girls from Hawaii, named Kapua, Tatiana, and Kristin accompanied us to the beach. It was beautiful and very exciting for some of us who had never been in the Pacific Ocean before. Kapua, Tatiana, and Kristin took us to the local smoothie store called The Health Bar. We had some delicious smoothies--and a very expensive bill. We attempted to go shopping but there was no parking, so we just drove around for a while. We discovered that ABC stores are in abundance--we counted 10 in like 20 minutes. Eventually we decided to go the cheeseburger place which our friendly bus driver recommended after we left the airport. It is right next to our hotel so we may end up there more than a few times if only for convenience. Now that we are back at the hotel, it is finally kicking in that it's VERY early in the morning in our heads. There is some serious jet lag going on and there is in air of hysteria in some of the rooms. We are looking forward to rest of our trip, especially snorkeling and hanging out with our new friends at the waterpark.
Aloha and mahalo,
Sarah

Pictures from July 5

Clouds over the mountains.

Scrimmage against Diamond Head team at Kapiolani Park.

The girls, Adam and their new Hawaiian friends on the beach

We Made It!!

It is 4:16 New York time, and I am getting ready for bed--but I thought you would like to hear from me when you wake up on Saturday. It has been a long day. The bus ride to the airport was long and slow, but the kids seemed to be excited. We had the kind of chaotic check in that you could imagine, and there were other groups, including an AYSO team from Somers, but we made it through.

The kids had some great airport food for lunch, as we attempted to figure out who was sitting where on the plane. Ultimately, we just waited until we boarded, and the flight was like a 10 hour game of musical chairs, as the kids moved around and socialized with each other. Luckily, about half the people on the plane were AYSO teams from Area 3T, and no one complained.

We landed 15 minutes early, and were met by ICES representatives with flower leis for all of us. Our luggage came off the plane quickly, and I went, with a representative from each of our teams, to get a rental van. ICES was supposed to supply a bus, which they ultimately did, after a long delay. The bus made it to the hotel just in time for checkin, a quick change and a run to the beach to watch fireworks.

The hotel seems fine, and everyone is exhausted and excited.

Tomorrow we have our scrimmage/picnic, and the adventure begins in earnest.

Waiting for the Bus to the Airport/At the Airport

Here's one, thanks to Phil:

And a few more, thanks to Hossein:

And We're Off

Here we go.......

Welcome (Back) to the Blog

I hope my recent email gets you reading this. Welcome to new and old (hah!) readers. We leave a week from tomorrow. I've updated the map to include the 18 teams that are in our division. Go ahead and vote in the poll and explore the links.

It's Been A Long Time

I haven't updated in a long time. Too much going on, but here we go.

I've updated the roster to reflect Brittanie's withdrawal and the fact that the team selected Sarah F. and Sara Ro. as Captains.

I've updated the practice schedule and game schedule.

I've updated the National Games schedule.

I've updated the map, again.

I'm getting excited.

The Map Has Changed

Due to drop outs and new invitations. Still, mostly teams from California and Hawaii.

Indoor Practices Canceled

Due to conflicting schedules, we will not have any more indoor practices. Outdoor practice schedules will be announced soon.

Indoor Results

It was a tough night, but I think we acquitted ourselves well, considering that it was the first time we had played together in a competitive setting, that we had never played in the type of indoor tournament like this, and that our opponents were club teams (including the 11th ranked U15G team in NY State). Our results: Lost 6-1, Lost 1-0, Lost 2-0, Tied 0-0. With a little better luck, we would have tied the second game and won the last game, which would have been amazing.

We have lots to work on before Hawaii, but our effort and heart can never be questioned.

Indoor Tournament

We will be playing in the Ramapo Valley Soccer Club indoor tournament on Saturday, March 8 at Rockland Community College.

Our games are at 6:25 pm, 7:40 pm, 8:30 pm and 10:10 pm.

Please be there at 5:45 pm, in the blue uniforms.

Directions and other information have been emailed to you and are available at:
http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=rvsc-tournaments