Sledding down hills on what?????????

When someone talks about sledding, what do you think of?  Do you picture kids going down a snow covered hill on a sunny afternoon.

Or do you fondly remember the rushing down  the hill as fast as you could, the wind blowing in your face and you holding your breath hoping you wouldn't fall off?

You know, it does not snow everywhere.  There are lots of places where it only snows once every 10 or 12 years or high up on the mountain but never down on the lower elevations.  Never!

I visited a museum in Honolulu a couple years ago and I was amazed.  Apparently, the Hawaiians built sleds of some sort so they could fly down a specially prepared slope just like you do on a snowy hill.  That just took my breath away.

I could not believe going down a hill!  Without snow!  It was awesome. They prepared the slope by setting down a foundation, covering it with dirt or soil and then topping it off with grass or leaves.  The sled was quite narrow so it required a level of skill to use. 

W hen I was a child, we slid down hills by finding the gully just after a rain storm and using the mud to propel us.  After a single trip, I was usually covered head to toe in mud but I never stopped after one time.  I usually continued until I was cold, dripping, and looking like a walking muddy Pigpen from Peanuts.  My mother usually hosed me off when I got home.  She refused to let anyone in with that amount of mud on them!