AAVE Trip BLOG » 2008 » July

July 29, 2008
Thailand #2 - An Amazing Start!

Posted by Chris in : General, Thailand , add a comment

Hi, I’m Nicolette’s mother and would like to share with you an email we received yesterday.

Hi everyone! Hope all is well back in the U.S. Thailand is AMAZING, even though it’s only the first day. We went on a boat ride this morning, through all the little canals. They consider Bangkok the western Venice. Then we went to the Grand Palace and saw the most amazing temples and buildings. We came back to the hotel exhausted but decided to go swimming. Then we went to the MBK mall, it’s supposedly the “teen scene mall”. It was 7 stories with the most intricate canals and hallways woven through it that contained 1000’s of stalls where you could buy everything from La Mer creme, to cell phones, to fake purses, to furniture. There was even a bowling alley on the 7th floor. It was so amazing! Finally, we just got back from dinner. We ate on top of the tallest building in Bangkok. Tomorrow we pack up and head to a River boat where we actually get to spend the night on the boat. Expect postcards in the mail, although I don’t know how long they’ll take to get there.
Talk to you all soon.
Love,
Nikki

Aloha from UH2A!!

Posted by attack in : Ultimate Hawaii , add a comment

Aloha Ohana (family)!!

We’ve all arrived safely in Hawaii and have started our adventure together!! Our first few days have been at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. For our service project we planted native trees in the nettle family (non-stinging of course)!! We’ve learned tons about the local ecosystem and what we can do to help preserve the land. Our second day we rode bikes around an active volcano - most people run in the opposite direction when a volcano is erupting, but we got as close as safely possible for a once in a lifetime experience! Later that evening we drove to the ocean and got to see lava erupting 100 feet into the sky and flowing into the water. What an amazing first couple of days!! The group is really forming a great bond and we are having a blast together. Everyone is looking forward to our hike into Waipio (and then Waimanu) Valley that begins tomorrow afternoon. We’ll be back next week with some pics of our trek!

Aloha!

Kate, Adam, and all of UH2A!!

Ultimate Hawaii 2B - Camping in Paradise!

Posted by foresthoff in : General, Ultimate Hawaii , add a comment

Hello parents and friends!

We have come together as our island family of Maddy, Alex, Katie, Brittany, Felix, Morgan, David, Sydnee, Matthew, Jake, Andi, Sarah and Siena. We have had a blast exploring the tropical reefs of the Kohala coast snorkeling and sailing on an ocean catamaran. Yesterday Captain Kiko took us on an adventure in Hilo bay aboard his polynesian double canoe sailboat. Today we hit up the large white sand beach at Hapuna. Everyday is full of smiles and friendships are growing stronger. We are getting pumped for our next adventure of kayaking as we stay at a Kona coffee farm! We send all our love and aloha from the Big Island!

The UH2B Crew

July 25, 2008
CD3 - Greetings back home — A breath of fresh Colorado air!!

Posted by taylor allred in : Colorado Discovery , add a comment

Wow! What an energetic crew! When everyone met at the airport, it was as if we were instantaneous friends. Couldn’t believe it. All smiles, with many outgoing personalities, and a desire for adventure! Just what we LOVE to see.

Upon departure from the airport, we headed to Cherry Creek State Park for a quick picnic with games. Luckily we beat the afternoon showers, and drove into the mountains and up to Kenosha pass (10,000 feet), where we had our first night of camping. Everyone has a great sense of teamwork, because they are able to work hard and, best of all, PLAY hard.

The first evening, we ate a wonderful spaghetti dinner, and had time for three games of capture the flag! The next morning we all ate cereal with berries. Yum! The earlier risers were able to go on a quick morning jog, but the activity doesn’t stop there! No one could decide which game they liked most, so we played them all: kickball, soccer, AND ultimate frisbee!!

Lunch and horses came with Ralph, the authentic, tall mustached cowboy with chaps. Gotta love the west! We will be camping back at Kenosha Pass tonight, hiking tomorrow, and then doing our first service project the next day. We will be in touch with details soon. Hope all is well at home!!

Lovin’ Colorado!!
The Colorado Disco Crew

CD1 - Final Farewell!! CD#1, 2008!

Posted by taylor allred in : Colorado Discovery , add a comment

Hello to all you beautiful shining campers! I hope you have all arrived safely and are happily rested up and sharing some of your most favorite Colorado Disco summer moments!

As leaders, we sure enjoyed the last few days. We got a “real” taste of what it is like to survive by ourselves in the mountains on our finale backpacking trip up Gold Dust Trailhead, on our way up to Mt. Silverheels . . . With a dusk start, the night hike in was lit by starlight most of the time. We admittedly backtracked during the night, but the path during the daylight was even more gorgeous. The long uphills were a true test of our brute strength as a team, and we were rewarded with a mountain top campsite and sunset, followed by a game of “Zombies”. Truly hilarious!! (Of course, no match for the many versions of “Cream of Wheat”!)

The weather did not hold up for our summit that evening, but our biggest successful challenge came the next morning, on Day 3 of our backpack . . . Young & brave Brant hurt his knee and we all got our chance at carrying him and our 2 backpacks. Wow! Mom and Dad, you should be so proud!! This organized rescue was accompanied by positive attitudes, and followed by . . . showers!

We headed back to Denver and decided to have an Odessey dance party, dinner at the Macaroni Grill, ice cream, and a camp out with bittersweet goodbyes at the airport.

In the words of Jeremy, all I’ve gotta say is, “Te amo!” You all rocked it on this trip, and we cannot wait to hear about what adventures you are up to next! We look forward to seeing many of you back next year, but in the meantime, enjoy school (yes, enjoy it), friends, and family back home!!

Cheers mates!
Taylor, Tara, & Katie
Lovin’ Colorado!!
The Colorado Disco Crew

Bold West #2

Posted by tim.gehring in : Bold West , add a comment

Hello Abbott and all BW2 families,

Our trip rocks! The campers continue to amaze and surprise us everyday.

Katie and Jenna reported that . . . “In Yosemite we hiked up Nevada Falls , the trail was steep & hard, but the view from the top was amazing. After that we found a secluded trail that another group told us about. We hiked on this trail for about an hour and came upon an amazing stream. The best part was that there was a natural water slide made of rocks. It was so much old fashion fun. After that we headed to white water rafting. It was a great time with lots of water fights and awesome rapids through hot desert. The best part of the rafting trip was relaxing at night and camping on the beach along the river. This trip is tons of fun and we don’t want to leave.”

-Tim, Abigial, Katie, Jenna, and the rest of the BW2 wild bunch

Bold Europe #2

Posted by AAVE Leader in : Bold Europe , add a comment

Hello to families back home,

Our first day in Paris finished on a high, literally, as we climbed the Eiffel Tower in time for the sunset and to see Paris lit up by night. This was without a doubt the ‘glow’ of the day, especially for Paige, who had been waiting to see the Eiffel Tower all her life! We fell into bed at our hostel exhausted, but next morning were ready to hit the Champs Elysee and the Arc de Triomphe, enjoying crepes with lots of nutella and making it back to our campsite for a well-earned dinner.

After a long drive day we set up in our new camp in Vaison La Romaine. We spent a great day enjoying a river walk near our base, trying to conserve our energy for the night to come, but having too much fun to really hold back from clambering all over the place! But the highlight of the trip so far has indeed been last night’s hike up Mont Ventoux. Every camper hiked the first two-thirds of the trail, and all but four completed the mentally and physically challenging final ascent. The whole group met at the top, exhausted but exhilarated, in time to see a truly stunning sunrise in a perfectly clear sky. The general consensus from the group was that it was an awesome experience, very challenging but great for the team spirit, and lots of fun. Tonight we are in town for a very satisfying post-hike dinner out, to celebrate.

We’ll e-mail more of our adventures soon!

Anette Brock Mathisen Tvedt, Dan Weisser and Sarah Beer and the BE2 AAVE Crew

July 24, 2008
BW1A is nearing the end but still having a blast!!

Posted by tracy in : Bold West , add a comment

Currently we are in the Bay Area of California. We’ve spent the past few days in the city of San Francisco seeing just about all there is to see and visit; Alcatraz, China Town, Pier 39, Fisherman’s Wharf, Haight\Ashbury and we even rode the famous SF trolley car. Before getting to San Francisco we spent 6 nights in the Yosemite area, where we went on numerous hikes, viewed amazing waterfalls, swam in hot springs and relaxed near some high sierra lakes. We also went to Sequoia National Park and witnessed amazing views, including seeing the largest tree in the world. While in the Sequoia area we spent two days white water rafting on the Kern River, which included class III and IV rapids. It was incredible and the rafting guides were amazing.

Before traveling to Sequoia, our group spent 2 nights in Las Vegas seeing as many attractions as we could that the city had to offer us. Tomorrow we leave for our final destination of our trip, Santa Cruz. While there we plan to go surfing for a few days and see the sights Santa Cruz has to offer.

We Miss Everyone,

Mike, Tracy, and BW1A Group