"Most of the games are in the morning so we're going to do some of the historical [tours]," Thompson said. "There's a city of refuge we're going to go visit in the afternoon, a lunch cruise we're going to take — just doing some of the cultural things that they have on the big island."
The Newport Harbor girls' team won't be the only basketball team hitting the road this holiday season.
The Newport boys' basketball team has also planned a trip during the Christmas break. But these Sailors won't need to grab any sunscreen for where they're headed.
The boys' team left Monday for New Hampshire for the Elk Coast Christmas Classic. The team's trip outside of California has become an annual tradition.
"When I got to Newport Harbor 12 years ago they didn't travel on an annual trip," Coach Larry Hirst said. "I got the idea from my college coach who would always plan a trip. I just remember road trips were the times my teammates and I remember the most. We still talk about them when we get together."
While Hirst and his boys are focused on building memories on the road, they have gone about selecting their destination in a somewhat unique way.
"We try to find different 'Newports' around the country," Hirst said. "There's a Newport, New Hampshire and so we called the high school. They said they're small and they were afraid to play us, but they told us that they were playing in a tournament hosted by Keene State University and said 'why don't you try to get in?'"
The East Coast destination required that the boys' team left late on Christmas morning, but according to Hirst both parents and athletes were prepared to make the sacrifice.
"For a lot of these kids, one or two haven't been to snow," Hirst said. "We've been to Alaska and Minnesota. It's nice to see kids who haven't seen cold weather but also to get them out of Southern California. The country is very different east of the 405."
