I hardly ever sleep past 8:00 and yet this morning I didn't get going until well after 10:00. Partly due to traveling overnight from Honolulu on Wednesday and working a couple of dozen hours on Thursday and Friday. I'm relaxed, but it's easy to see why burnout is a real issue. That vacation feeling won't last long under these circumstances.

My late start isn't exclusively caused by work and exhaustion. Partly, perhaps mostly, I'm missing Hawaii. I miss all those things I love. Talking to my Dad this afternoon I asked him what he missed the most. I think for him it's the smell of salt air. For me, it's the simple pleasure of being able to walk into an ABC Store and buy a can of guava nector for 50 cents.

Well, now all I have are Hawaiian memories. But what a great time! And, of all the memories I think that the most lasting will be my experiences with my son and son-in-law snorkeling. We went out many times. Three stand out.

On the first day we kayaked in Kialua bay. We tied on our snorkeling gear and spent more time in the water looking at fish than we did padeling to get to the right areas. It took several attempts, but eventually we found a great place and saw dozens of fish. I was amazed at how much live is in the ocean. All the guys really enjoyed the experience, but the girls in our group didn't seem interested. Denise, my daughter, joined us for the first outing. Later, she resisted any attempt on our part to get here back into snorkeling gear. Jared, her husband, finally asked if she would be more interested in snorkeling if she could see more fish. Denise made it clear that the major reason she didn't want to get back into the water was because of the fish. She was "grossed out" because there were fish in the water with us.

Later in the week we stopped by Hanauma bay. It's east of Honolulu and is no more than a thirty minute drive from Waikiki. Hanauma bay is a protected area with no fishing and only a limited amount of people allowed each day. I talked to a local who recommended that we go to Hanauma and that we get there no later than 8:00 AM. The parking lot fills up fast and once it's full, nobody else gets in. We got there just after 7:00 and we were not the first to arrive.

Five dollars per person will get you into the park. Also, if it's your first time, or if you don't register at the beach prior to leaving, you will be required to watch a short (9 minute) video to familiarize you with safety and environmental issues. Bottom line, don't get swept away by strong currents, swim with a buddy, and don't step on the coral or bug the aquatic life. Otherwise, enjoy.

We spent several hours exploring the wonders of Hanauma Bay. We saw many Humuhumunukunukuaupa'a, barracuda, bone fish, moorish idols and thousands of other tropical fish. I was yet again amazed at the abundance of marine life in these waters. And the brightness and beauty. I carried an underwater camera and took many pictures. And I was able to swim along with several giant green Hawaiian sea turtles.

My only disappointment was when I saw some scuba divers. We were snorkeling along the top of a wall that dropped away at least 30 feet. The fish were more abundant, and much bigger, in the deeper water below us. We watched the fish, dived to get down to them for a few seconds at a time, and were having a lot of fun. Then a group of divers swam in underneath us. They were leisurely enjoying the area. I could tell that their experience was much different from ours. I felt a twinge of jealousy, just for a moment.

Our third snorkeling experience was in Shark Cove on the north shore. This is small area with even more aquatic life. We swam with a giant turtle that had at least a 36 inch diameter shell. I was swimming in about 10 feet of water looking down when Jared tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up and he was pointing to my left. The turtle was swimming along just a few feet away. Jared manuveured to a point just on the other side of the turtle. I tried to swim away to get into a good position to take a picture of the turtle and Jared. After about twenty feet I turned back. The turtle had followed me and was just three feet away. I tired again, this time going at least 30 feet. The turtle was still right at my side. I gave up and took some pictures, up close.

Later we found an inlet where waves pushed through and had formed a channel that was 6 or so feet wide and 12 - 15 feet deep. Jared and I made our way up to the front of the inlet, fighting the incoming waves. We would stand there and wait for a big wave to come in, jumping into the channel. These waves would sweep us along a hundred feet or more. With our masks on we could see a lot of bubbles and parts of the channel passing by. Whe laughed and laughed and repeated our channel surfing over and over again. We lost track of time and showed up back at the car a couple of hours later. The girls were not as entertained by our adventure as we were. Oh, well.

I loved our snorkeling adventures. I'm hooked. The only problem is that I won't get back to Hawaii for a while and I don't know of any place like it. At least that's close to Utah. And that's why I'm missing Hawaii............
5:04:10 PM    comment []