Day 4 Build

This morning was one of the best mornings of my life. Some of you may know that I've been obsessed with turtles since the age of 9, and that admiration is still in my heart. I've always wanted to see a wild sea turtle - I've seen them when I was studying in the Florida Keys while volunteering at the Turtle Hospital, but nothing compares to seeing them out in the wild. Well, today was my day. I woke up bright and early, got on the 5:30am bus, and headed to Kaloko-Honokohau National Park to walk along the beach before the workday began. It was the most breathtaking site I could ask for. A few seconds after the beach came into view I saw my first sea turtle coming out of the water, and then saw another one sleeping on the beach. I started to cry a little bit because my heart was so full. They're such gentle and beautiful creatures; this is what I love most about them. After walking along the beach a little further, I saw several more. Some were just lounging, others were eating in shallow areas. I watched as schools of tropical fish swam around them, and the turtles just minded their own business. Green Sea Turtles are actually vegetarians - only eating algae and seagrass. I wish I could've spent a little more time with them, but I had to get back to the worksite to continue building by 7:30am.

Once I got back, I ate breakfast quickly and got working. At the start of the day I was installing drywall nailing so we could get the drywall and insulation put in. Later on I was doing exterior trim work and caulking the exterior. It was tough to do much more than that today because we had so many hands and not enough work for all of them. Dozens of local volunteers came to help today, which set us back from doing some of the work. It's so amazing that this many people want to be a part of this Blitz Build and volunteer their time, but too much help can sometimes not be so helpful! Tomorrow we have the day off and then it's back to work on Monday where we'll be back in the swing of things and have lots of work to do. We should be getting more interior work done come Monday, so check back then. Unless you want to read about my recreational adventures as well (highly recommended). I'm going snorkeling tomorrow! Fingers crossed that I can swim with some sea turtles - now THAT would have me sobbing of excitement.