While on Penn State's spring break trip with the softball team, Athletic Communications intern Maegan Azpiazu will be submitting several installments at GoPSUsports.com to keep Lions fans up-to-date on all the team's action. The Lions look to improve on their 7-3 record Monday night when they face Hawaii at 11 p.m. ET.

Penn State Softball in Waikiki, Hawaii - March 6, 2006

Aloha! The Penn State Nittany Lion softball team is continuing it's competitive schedule while enjoying spring break in Waikiki, Hawaii this week. Today is the team's first game so the Lions have been using their free time to relax, spend time with family and friends and adjust to a five-hour time difference while recovering from the 11-hour flight.

After a four-hour bus ride to Newark, the team boarded Continental Airlines flight 15, non-stop to Honolulu. The flight was very long, although it went faster than I had expected. We were given two small meals and a snack over the duration of the flight, and most of us had snacks, as we were advised to bring them by the coaching staff. Each seat on the plane had a personal television with about 10 choices of movies and TV shows, a lot of radio station choices and video games. The plane was a lot bigger than what the team is used to, as the seats were lined up seven across, making take-off a little more bumpy than normal. Once we were in the air it was pretty much smooth sailing, including the landing. Most of us had no idea we were even close to the ground since it was dark (about 7:30 p.m.) when we arrived.

The hotel where we are staying - the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel - is across the street from the beach and from most balconies you can see the clear and bright blue ocean with mountains in the background. It is gorgeous and pretty warm, although very breezy at most times. Palm trees are everywhere. The strip that the hotel is on is full of stores and restaurants, so there are plenty places to shop, sightsee or to grab a bite to eat between games.

Yesterday morning, the team went to Pearl Harbor. We were shown a 20-minute video about the events leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor then were taken by boat to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial. The memorial is a white structure whose roof dips in the middle to symbolize initial defeat but overall success, as I was told by left fielder Jen Williams. The memorial also has a wall of all the names of those who died for their country in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The U.S.S. Arizona is still under water and the memorial is built over it. It was kind of eerie but is a very important and interesting piece of history.

Many families and supporters have joined the Nittany Lions in Hawaii. The trip has been great so far, and the team is having a great time with their families and teammates. Tonight is the first of at least eight games for Penn State on this trip. First pitch vs. the Rainbow Wahine of Hawaii is 6 p.m. Hawaii time, 11 p.m. EST.