The Big Hunt:  A True Story

 

It all began when Sam, a thin, black lab with a beautiful, shiny coat and blue harness,
dashed past me and charged out the door.  He was loose in the neighborhood!
We started looking for him by riding in our blue van until we spotted him;
then, we got out of the van to chase him, two nine year olds, running up and down
the streets as he ran to every house, sniffing and marking his territory.
Every time we caught up with him, he charged toward us,
turning to run away before we could grab him.  He made it all the way to the highway! 
I almost cried because we were so scared he'd get hit by a car. 
I was relieved when he turned around and headed back into our neighborhood, but
I couldn't believe that we were chasing a dog, rather than a dog chasing us!
At the top of a steep hill, he ran behind a green car and disappeared! 
We got back in the van to look around the entire neighborhood,
shouting out the open window, "Sam!  Here, Sammy boy!  Time for Treats!"  
We had to find him before the dog catcher got him and locked him away!
Next, we decided to look in a nearby neighborhood and found him digging at the park.
We jumped out of the van, again chasing him.  Again, he was too fast and eluded us. 
We followed him throughout the park until, finally, he ran into the open door of the van.
He panted.  After the hour of hunting and miles of running, we were all exhausted. 
When we got home, he rushed to his water dish for a long, cool drink before
begging for a treat, wagging his tail and gazing at us with loving, dark brown eyes. 
Unable to resist his adorable look, we gave him a treat and let him curl up with us;
our sixty-five pound lap dog sighed with contentment, his head resting on our legs,
as we crashed on the couch to rest before writing this tale.  The End  -Laina

Alaina is ten years old and lives in Kansas City, Missouri with her family.  Laina likes to color, play with friends, swim, travel, play soft ball and swing.  She is on the Lee Summit Xtreme Gymnastics Team.
 

  Homeschooler Sails Around The World...
Southern California teenager Zac Sunderland is heading toward home in his 36-foot sailboat, with just a few more weeks and about 3,000 miles left to go before he becomes the youngest person to sail around the world alone. The 17-year-old expects to arrive at Marina Del Rey in the Los Angeles area sometime in mid-to-late June. Zac was 16 when he left Marina Del Rey on June 14, 2008.
Zac has spent his whole life on and around boats. His father was always fixing up boats and using them for family cruises before selling them. A sailboat was literally Zac's first home, and a three-year family cruise was a formative experience during Zac's preteen years. An experienced young sailor who had already logged over 15,000 sea hours, Zac spent all of his savings to buy a 36-foot sailboat named "Intrepid" for the circumnavigation trip. His father, a shipwright who also runs a yacht management company, retrofitted the ship with sophisticated communications, safety equipment, a water maker, and many other custom upgrades.
Zac is the youngest American sailor since 1965 to attempt a solo global circumnavigation. That was the year 16-year-old Robin Lee Graham departed Los Angeles, but Graham did not finish his voyage until the age of 21. Graham's book, Dove, was one of Zac's inspirations. Zac will sail west from Los Angeles on approximately the same course as Graham, but plans to complete his voyage while still 17 years old.
The record for the youngest solo circumnavigation since Robin Lee Graham has been held by an Australian, David Dicks, who was age 18 years and 41 days when he completed his voyage in 1996. Zac Sunderland won't turn 18 until November 29, so he should easily beat that record. Zac is also following in the footsteps of another hero and friend, Jesse Martin, who completed his own solo, nonstop, and unassisted circumnavigation at age 18.
The eldest of seven children, Zac is a homeschooled straight-A student. He brought books along to study on board so that he could finish his high school education during the 40,000-mile journey. "I have all my books with me. I have one more year to finish at high school and I have to send back my tests (via e-mail) to my mum. She's going to grade them and make sure I am doing well."
Zac will have plenty of projects to keep him busy when he returns. He would like to write a book and he also plans to put together a documentary using footage from the eight video cameras aboard his boat. Included in the footage is a pirate ship circling his sailboat between Indonesia and Australia. Locking himself behind the bullet-proof glass of his cabin, he made a call on his satellite phone to notify authorities, who sent a plane that presumably scared off the pirates.
Zac has stated, "My dad says cruising is 80 percent hassle and 20 percent fun, but somehow that 20 percent outweighs the 80 percent. When you're in port and it's like a beautiful day and you've worked so hard to get somewhere, it makes it all worthwhile."
The Sunderlands estimate that Zac's entire trip will cost $150,000. While Zac used his own money to buy the boat and was able to sign up some sponsors, he's borrowing the rest from his parents. Unfortunately, his dad's business has suffered because of the recession, and the family has been sinking further into debt as a result of all the extra expenditures.
Coincidentally, another contender this year for the record of youngest solo circumnavigator is 17-year-old British sailor Mike Perham. At one point on their respective journeys, the two adventurers happened to have a chance meeting with each other in Cape Town, South Africa. Mike left on November 15, 2008, aboard a sleek, fully provisioned 50-foot racing yacht named after a sponsor, "TotallyMoney.com." He had planned on sailing nonstop and completing his journey in only four months. But he was plagued with breakdowns and his plans to sail nonstop came to an end when he was sidelined for more than a week due to problems with his autopilot.
Visit Zac's website: