Surfers and Snorkeling

On Friday we decided to drive around the island and then do some snorkeling at the end of the day. We first went to the Dole Pineapple plantation which was interesting to see. Then we drove up to North Shore where we had lunch and Hawaiian Shaved Ice at the original stand called Matsumotos. From there we drove past Turtle Bay Resort and near there we stopped to get some fruit from a fruit stand. Michael was able to get a coconut and drink the liquid from inside just like he did when he was a kid. He was so happy. I didn't particularly like the taste. We also picked up some mangos and some sugar cane. From there we continued down the east side of the island and it was raining quite a bit so we just looked at the scenery. Finally we reached Hanauma Bay which is where we wanted to go snorkeling. It was sooo much fun. It had a great beach and lots and lots of fish. And the best part of all is we saw a green Sea Turtle right next to us!!! It actually started swimming to us. What a wonderful way to end the day.

On Saturday we flew out to the Big Island to Kona. The airport had everything outside - very interesting. We then went to our hotel - driving through old lava beds. We even saw a lava tube. Here people take dead coral from the beaches and write their names on the black lava along the road. The grounds at the resort are beautiful and we had dinner last night overlooking the ocean. The volcanos have been active and thus there is a lot of haze in the air or what they call VOG. The winds should start coming in and clearing it up soon.

We have lots of activitys planned here. We are taking a snorkeling cruise on a catamaran which also has a slide to go into the ocean, a dinner sailboat cruise, swim with dolphins, visiting the volcanos, a luau, and hopefully some boogie boarding and more snorkeling.

Aloha