Ahh . . . A Kid's Life! (Part 3)

My three main characters in The Hawaiian Island Detective Club are thirteen years old. They’ve grown up in a small town surrounded by pineapple and sugarcane fields, beaches, tropical vegetation, and amazing surfing waves. Ever wonder what it would be like growing up in Hawaii?

My niece, Nicole, grew up on the Big Island and is going to share a little about her life as a kid in Hawaii. This is Part Three of my interview with Nicole. Look back to last week’s Monday and Thursday posts for Parts One and Two.

Aloha, Nicole! Mahalo for sharing with Life in Flip-Flops readers!

Share with us a favorite memory as a kid.

At a young age I remember going to Mauna Kea Beach. It’s been on the travel channel as one of the top beaches to visit. It’s more like a bay, with calm waters for swimming. I loved playing in the sand and water with my dad. He used to pile sand together in mounds and then formed letters to spell out my name. Took him a long time, but it was very cool.

A favorite “hang-out”?

In high school we would go to Waipio Valley. You have to drive a four-wheel vehicle to get down the roads into the valley. Once you get there, you see fields of Taro which is used to make poi. There’s a black sand beach where wild horses run free. At night my friends would play ukuleles. We’d sing and talk story for hours.

Did you and your friends ever get into mischief? If so, tell us a story.

The end of the street where I lived backed into a huge pasture. Even though I wasn’t supposed to, I’d hike into the area with friends. Sometimes we’d swim in the ponds (which probably had lots of bacteria and bad stuff.) I remember racing home and throwing my wet clothes into the washer before my parents came home.

One time on one of our hikes we came across a cow. Maybe we were too close to its baby or something, but it charged us. We ran and climbed over a barbed-wire fence to get away. We were all cut up, but that was better than getting trampled by an angry cow!

What do you really love about Hawaii, especially the Big Island?

I love that The Big Island is the only one where you can be in the snow. My home backed up to Mauna Kea, and I remember seeing the beautiful white covering the mountain. I was about twelve or thirteen when I first got to be in the snow, as you have to weigh at least one-hundred pounds to go up the mountain because the air is thin at that altitude, and kids could possibly pass out.

It’s so cool how you can be in the snow, and then in less than an hour later be at a sunny, warm beach! The Big Island is the only place you can do that.

Anything else you’d like to share with my readers?

In Hawaii, May Day is Lei Day. Every year it’s a huge state-wide celebration involving every school-aged child on the islands, and I loved it!

Mahalo, Nicole!

Don’t forget to check back on Thursday for more information on one of Nicole’s favorite celebrations—May Day! Then check again next week on Monday and Thursday to see her favorite recipes!!

Also, keep up with my blog, as I have baked, and will post, three different recipes for guava cake. Nicole and I both love it. Yum!

Until then, it’s a life in flip-flops!

Cheryl