Hawaii -Hanauma Bay

We flew to Hawaii on Wednesday, June 17th. It was a very long Wednesday! We left Okinawa at around noon, but arrived in Oahu on Wed. morning at 8am! Time zones are a funny thing. We were very tired, but had a good day. On Thursday (after we started to get over jet lag to a certain degree), we went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. I had been here before with my Aunt & Uncle and cousins, but it has changed some since then. After a presentation describing rules and expectations, we headed down the hill to the bay. They talked about the types of sealife we might encounter and the proper etiquette when dealing with the coral so it would be here for all to enjoy for years to come. We saw slides of the bay before the upgrades (around the time I would have gone with Linda and Tony) as well as slides of the local sealife. They showed us pictures of the sea turtles that live in the area, although I really didn't expect that we would see any turtles. I figured they would definately stay away from the people.

Michael checking out the bay.

Picturesque family pics

Jessy's "Dune buggy" We want one!! He loved bumping through the sand in this massive beast.

Preparing to snorkel.

Greg and Michael snorkeling. Michael originally went out with me, but got scared. He was being pushed and pulled by the current and waves. He was very nervous about that and really didn't want to go. But, when we got back in to shore, Greg took him back out and he was able to get the hang of it and relaxed. He really enjoyed seeing all the pretty fish and coral.

Beach bums relaxing in the sand. Actually, Jessy was playing with the sand. He was scooping up handfulls and watching it fall (literally, watching it fall in his eyes.) He was covered with sand by the time he was done, but never complained about sand in his face. He loved it!

We went to return the beach wheelchair and Michael had a great discussion with the ranger about the types of fish he saw and the ranger taught him the proper pronunciation of the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a fish (and the meaning behind each piece of the name.) It was very cute and very kind of the ranger to take such an interest in Michael who is ever-curious about any animals--land or sea.

Tired, hot, and happy after a day on the bay. (Ready to head out to our next adventure--to the lighthouse!!)