November 2, 2023 | Leg 9, Day 11. 
Newport, California.

How do you write, about moments that leave you speechless? How do you share, about moments that drop you to your knees? If you have the answer, then holla atcha boy, because Thursday was unreal.

Uncle Billy took us to Newport Aquatic Center, it felt like a kīpuka, kai peeps on the wide. `Ohana Wa`a here is ON…THE…WIDE. We got to take this I-dunno-how-it-floated-us skiff to the Back Bay Science Center, where we got an amazing share of this estuary. The work that they are doing with community partners to rehabilitate their `āina is inspiring.

Then we all got a crash course on the saying that “To be a good leader is to be a good teacher.” Orange Coast College hosted us for a Q&A and Lucy Lee held it DOWN! Gotta mahalo brahddah Gene & `Ai Pono Cafe for feeding us not once, not twice, but three times. As well as Newport Sea Base, and the Newport Community for your aloha. Mahalo piha for nourishing our souls.

– Mark “Gooch” Noguchi