Midway Day 1: by Darius Kalvaitis

As the sun came over the lagoon, the majority of PAA participants were dreaming while a few were out and taking in the morning rays and the joy they bring from being in a magical place. When I did finally emerge from the comfort of Charlie Barracks, I found a sight before unseen by my open eyes. Got birds? The numerous birds that I had seen by headlight the previous night were now in plain view! Not just a dozen or so albatross, but more like a hundred dozen on a small lawn outside the barracks. What a sight! All the background information and photos of the Island simply had not made an impact on me like seeing, smelling and hearing firsthand.

After a marvelous breakfast the group headed to the visitors center for greetings from the park manager and basic information for our safety and comfort. It was obvious that we were amongst a community of people that both cared about us and strove to make our stay as wonderful as possible. The ground team on Midway is simply fabulous.

Having come from a more transportation-oriented background many of us were missing our “wheels”. Well, here on Midway we then received our own wheels. Except rather than the four-wheeled variety of transport that thrives on fossil fuel we received the two-wheel type that not only get us there cleanly but also help our health and happiness. Beach Cruisers in blue, silver, black and of course pink were checked out and we were off on a scavenger hunt for the larger part of the rest of the day.

As the scavenger hunt teams (groups of 3-4) departed in exploring the island from tip to tip the atmosphere of freedom ran through our veins. Some groups choose to spend some time underwater and look at fish as large as themselves while other groups investigated the marine debris inside birds that had perished and others even sang love songs to the birds. When we all did return together as a larger group the magic of the day was celebrated and shared.

Then after an evening filled with more action and nature journaling we laid down our tired bodies and stimulated minds to rest anew and prepare for the adventure and learning which we would face as the sun rose again.
photo credits: Darius Kalvaitis