I know I’ve been letting time slip by between posts but that’s just how life is.  I’m sure you understand.

So, while I was in Hawaii, on one of the afternoons that Trey was working, I took a bus tour around the eastern part of Oahu.  I wanted to see some of that lush tropical landscape that you don’t really get to see staying on Waikiki Beach.  I mentioned the tour before when I posted about the surfers.  Our next stop was at an overlook for Hanauma Bay.  Hanauma Bay is famous for its snorkeling.  I had wanted to go snorkeling before anyway, but after seeing this, I REALLY wanted to go.

Yes, that is crystal clear water and you can easily see the reef areas.  Someone even from this height said they saw a fish swimming around the reef.  I’m not so sure, but I guess anything’s possible.

I know this picture isn’t very clear – I shrank the photos a little too much this morning – but it tells you about some of the sea life around Hawaii and in Hanauma Bay.  No, there weren’t any whales in the bay.  Don’t be silly.

When Trey and I went back on Friday to snorkel in the bay, the weather was not as cooperative as it was on the day I took the pictures.  There was a storm front somewhere “out there” in the Pacific causing lots of waves and currents around the island.  Even in the secluded bay area, waves were breaking over the reef and the water wasn’t as clear and pretty.  Hanauma Bay has a video, about 10 minutes long, that everyone snorkeling has to watch.  It tells the story about Hanauma Bay and how it formed and the history of it as a park.  It also warned us to not touch the fish, not feed them and don’t walk on the reef.  The reef is a living thing and walking on it damages it.  Oh, and Trey shared a story about a coworker getting bit by an eel because she tried to touch it.  Yikes.

So we get down to the water and see a line of small waves breaking over some of the reef that’s close to the surface.  We decide to go the other way.  Neither of us are comfortable enough in mask and snorkel to brave waves.  Our first trip out we swam over sand then got to a big section of reef that was, literally, less than a foot from our stomachs.  I’ll admit I got a little panicky.  I kept expecting an eel to come out and bite my stomach.  We quickly made it back to the sandy part where we could stand up and regroup.  We started over and stayed clear of the reef until we were used to swimming with the mask and snorkel.

Oh, the fish we saw!  It was INCREDIBLE!  Big fish, little fish, brightly colored fish, red fish, blue fish, one fish, two — oops, sorry.  Got a little off track by Dr. Seuss.  There was a point, though, where Trey had had enough with the rough water and the waves breaking over his head.  (On a side note, Trey doesn’t always do well with things covering his face – he gets a touch of claustrophobia sometimes.)  So, we left the water and headed back to our spot on the beach.  We had managed to snorkel all the way across the bay so we walked back across the sand watching the others swimming and sun bathing.

After a break, I decided I wanted to go back in.  I was a little more comfortable in the water than Trey and I still hadn’t seen a sea turtle.  During the course of the week, I had heard from several people that sea turtles are seen almost every day at Hanauma Bay, so I was so hoping I’d get to see one.  I went back out over the sand where we first snorkeled and headed to the reef.  It happened to be an area where there weren’t too many people at the time.  After a few minutes, I figured I was done, but then I caught a glimpse of something that wasn’t a fish.  I turned to look back, thinking it was an eel, and saw the front flipper of a sea turtle!!!  He was big, like 2-3 feet across his shell, and just floating along eating off the reef.  There was no one else around me and I was too far to get Trey’s attention so I just hung out with the turtle for a few minutes.  It was AWESOME!  Then we got spotted by a group of about 6 or 8 tourists who swarmed this poor little turtle.  Not so awesome.

After a few minutes trying to keep from getting kicked in the face by a stray flipper I decided to head back to the beach.  I had come to see a sea turtle and I did, so I was good with calling it done for the day.

What an amazing morning!

No, not here in this landlocked state but I was in Hawaii where there is lots of surfing going on.  I love to watch surfing.  Maybe it comes from spending my teen years living on the coast of NC but it’s something that I never tire of watching.  And it’s not just the hot bods either.  It’s the whole concept of dancing on the water on a piece of fiberglass, balancing, shifting, turning, slicing through the waves dragging fingertips along the waterwall behind you.

The famous North Shore is on Oahu, which is the island we visited.  We did not travel to the North Shore this time around because the surf isn’t that big right now.  Now, when I say “isn’t that big”, remember it’s all relative.  I have pictures (which I will share) of surfers riding waves that appear to be about 4-6 feet in height.  If memory serves, that’s good enough surf in NC to skip school and head to the beach – not that I did that or anything.  However, during the winter months of Hawaii, the North Shore gets 30-plus feet of surf.  Now THAT’s big surf.  I have no idea why winter is when the big waves hit the beach but I suppose I could google it and get tons of hits.  Maybe another day.

So, without further ado, here are some surf pictures for your pleasure.

This photo was taken with my regular lens from the top of a beachy cliff.  See those tiny specks?  Those are the surfers.  You can also see how clear the water is and how much coral reef there is below the water.

Then I decided to swap lenses so I could actually see the surfers.  Because what’s the good of watching surfers if you can’t actually see them?

Oops.  Wipeout.  But look, even girls surf!  And in some of the tiniest bikinis I’ve ever seen.  What I’d like to know is when they wipe out, how do their suits stay on?  Oh, wait, that’s right.  Girls are that good – they don’t wipe out.

Doesn’t that make you want to skip school and head to the beach?

Me, too.

Good Monday morning to all!

Yes, I am back from vacation and my body hurts.  Can’t imagine why – something about spending 10 hours on a plane and 4 hours in an airport.  You know, they say it’s easier to travel west than it is east.  Whoever “they” are, they’re right.  After traveling to Hawaii (and sleeping for 14 hours or so that first night), my body’s clock adjusted pretty quickly.  However, I’ve been home now since dinner time Saturday and my body still doesn’t know what time it is.

I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful an experience this past week was.  I’ll have several stories to share including my first impressions of Honolulu, snorkling, eating in a tropical locale (fresh pineapple that’s positively orgasmic), that sort of thing, but I’ll have to gather my thoughts a bit as well as try to catch up with “real life”.  Monkey’s lesson plans have some serious gaps that need filling.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this view from our hotel room.

Instead of writing a narrative of what our days at the beach were like, I decided to just share some of my favorite pictures, because – really? – the days were pretty much the same:  get up, read, go out on the sand with the kids, come in for lunch, go back out on the sand, come in for dinner, go back out on the sand – you get the idea.