Freshman Writing Class

I've always wondered over the years if Andrew and I were making the desired impression on Elisha as we traveled through the country on our adventures into the natural world. We tried to disguise our educational trips and lessons to be learned as family vacations; apparently it worked. I found this out quite by accident when Elisha showed me the first paper she wrote and received a grade for in college. I have her permission to share it. For brevity I have included only the beginning. You will get the point.

The Magic of Nature

I am seven years old as I look across the ocean while standing on the shore of Edisto beach; I know it will storm so I head back through the thick wall of trees that is separates me from the camp site. Everyone is taking down tents and packing up vehicles so we can leave, but even in all the commotion I feel at ease. I open my eyes and I am now nine years old with a snorkel in my mouth and goggles on my face. I am looking down at tropical fish, eels, turtles and the occasional shark. This is a whole new world and in this moment I wish I could grow gills and swim away. Seasons go by and in stead of salty air I am in dense forest and geysers the size of 3 story buildings. Everything around me is so tall and I feel like I am hidden and untouchable. Years pass and I am in open water, 400 feet deep and the only thing between me and everything below is the thin rough blue plastic of my kayak. I take my paddle and move myself along, the creatures and plants below me are lost in depth but against the rocks that I paddle towards you can see starfish, jelly fish, clams and all sorts of Alaskan fish. Just the sight and sensation of the experience takes my breath away and makes me want to remain in place. Experiences like these with nature can be relaxing and stress relieving and they motivate me to try to preserve the earth.

Through out all of trips I have taken, some stick out in my memory more than others, but one thing they all have in common is they make me feel relaxed and at ease, even thinking back on them. I have taken trips all over the country and each one has its own surprises and unique memories. Some of the most fascinating and relaxing places I have been are Alaska, Colorado, South and North Carolina, and Hawaii. Each trip holds something new, like snorkeling, deep-sea kayaking, and hiking in the woods. Experiencing so many different things and seeing so many different places is fascinating. Some of the animals and plants I have seen just seem unreal.

When I was young I was always outside, I didn’t come in until I had to or if I was starving. My parents and grandparents took me on all kinds of trips and I loved every one of them. I specifically remember one we took to Edisto beach. We got up in the middle of the night and a man took us to the beach and showed my dad, step mom, aunt and me loggerhead turtle eggs. He told us how they all would hatch and follow the moon light to the sea. I thought that was the craziest thing I had ever heard, that all of the turtles at once would crawl from the deep nest and follow the moon to their new watery home.

Relocating Loggerhead turtle eggs to a safer location on Edisto Beach, South Carolina

We also experienced a huge tropical storm on that trip. Even though as a child I was terrified of storms, I remember being calm and sitting in the car with my shiny stuffed frog my Aunt Amy had just given me and watching as my dad dove into the tent to keep it from blowing away. I thought it was weird how fast the weather could change because just hours before it was sunny and warm.
Another trip that leaves a print in my mind was the trip my family and I took to Hawaii. We went snorkeling and though I did not stay in the water for very long it was a huge rush. On that trip we also hiked miles to the black sand beach where I was mesmerized by the dark black sand that looked like pepper. It is just so crazy how volcanic ash and the sand mix and create such an amazing scene. It is impressive how things in nature interact and make such amazing colored sands and storms that seem to appear in the blink of an eye. Nature is like a domino effect, everything that happens effects the next thing that is about to occur.

Kohala Coast north of Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii

One of the last trips I was on was to Alaska. We went in July and despite the warm sunny weather in Ohio; it was freezing and rainy on the other side of the country, I thought to myself, “This is going to be an interesting summer vacation.” While we were there we went whale watching on a small boat, hiked through the forests, and saw star fish the size of large dinner plates and by the middle of the week I was exhausted. The people on the cruise ship were being unreasonably loud. I was not excited to get up the next day and go kayaking. Once we got to the location of our deep-sea kayaking trip I was a little more excited. The men that were taking us out in the water were nice and experienced so that made it even better. Once in the long red kayak I realized how excited I was, we took off and I was in my own world, everything around me was so new and amazing, the water clear but so deep you could not see anything until a single light blue orb passed under my kayak, a jelly fish; I was amazed at how close it got. We paddled over to a small island and I got close. I looked at the rocks only to be surprised to see starfish stuck to them and clams, fish and other unidentifiable creatures everywhere. Once back on the boat, headed towards shore for the end of our trip, I realized that I had felt so calm out there in the water and it was definitely the highlight of my trip.

Eagle Islands, Ketchikan Alaska