Hawaii for Spring Break, Day 2

Brandt woke early again today, but not until 5:30am.  I am hopeful that the trend continues and he'll wake closer to 6:00 or 6:30 from now on.  We shall see.

Beach time today was spent at Hanauma Bay, snorkeling and playing in the sand.  I was super excited about taking the kids snorkeling and purchased gear for them for Christmas.  We have been to the rec center several times to practice so that it wouldn't be a completely foreign experience when we went.  The bay is a nature preserve and a very popular tourist site.  It's popular because it's so easy to see lots of fish; the water isn't very deep, the reef forms a barrier so the water is relatively smooth, and 400 different species of fish live in the bay.  It's a lot of excitement in a small area.

Because we've been waking so early, we got a good start to the day, arriving at the bay at 8:00am.  You are required to watch a video at the visitor's center before you're allowed to go down to the beach, but the view as you wait is great.  The video explains how the bay was formed, what you need to do to stay safe, and how you can't touch the reef or the fish.  Then you have to descend to the beach level.  We walked down, but with all the stuff we hauled with us, we took a shuttle back up.  Totally worth $1.25/person to not have to haul everything up the really steep hill.

There were already people on the beach, but it wasn't as crowded as I imagine it gets later in the day.  We all geared up and got right in the water as soon as we arrived, but unfortunately, the kids didn't last very long.  They had a hard time getting the hang of the whole thing, and being in deeper water made them nervous.  Kent and I each took a child and swam with them, but they gave up a bit too quickly.  They claimed they just wanted to sit in the beach chairs.  Yeah right.

 

Kent and I did get out and do a lot of snorkeling.  The fish were abundant and we saw lots of different varieties, though certainly not 400.  I was delighted to have the waterproof camera, but I took a lot of pictures and didn't realize until two days later that there is an underwater setting that would have likely rendered the pictures a bit better.  Oh well.  Live and learn.  We did see lots of convict tangs, so named because they are white with black stripes, some surgeon fish, blueline snapper, butterfly fish, reef triggerfish, very brightly colored Christmas wrasse, Moorish idols, and my favorite, the redlip parrotfish.  They have a peak-like mouth they use to scrap the coral and feed.  We saw a really big one that I followed for a time because I just thought he was so interesting.

After the kids had played in the sand for a while, we took them back out snorkeling, but we used the boogie boards to help them.  The kids lay down on the boards with their snorkels and masks, put their faces in the water, and then we moved them around so they could see the fish but feel like they were a bit more controlled.  They really liked that.  Brandt said to me, "I thought snorkeling was going to be exciting but not fun.  But it's exciting and fun."  Yes.  Yes indeed.

After we had been at Hanauma Bay for several hours, had played in the water, seen the fish, dug in the sand, we began to pack up to go.  Brandt said to me, looking out towards the ocean, "When are we going to the beach?"

What?!  I gestured around, pointing at the sand between our toes and the waves lapping up on the shore and said, "Look around Brandt.  We are at the beach.  We can't get any more at the beach than we are this very moment."

Convict tang

Almost all of the coral on the beach side of the reef is dead and black.

It isn't pretty at all.

Here is a tiny bit of something alive!

Convict tangs

Sailfin tang

My finger is over the lens of this picture.

It's a new camera, I was underwater, and trying to figure out what was going on.

I'm including it because I like the threadfin butterflyfish underneath Kent.

It shows just how close the fish really were.

My favorite--the redlip parrotfish.

Beautiful color and such an interesting beak mouth.

After getting back from the beach (about a five minute drive from Brenda's apartment), we cleaned up, had some lunch, and went for the activity of the day.  We have a Thanksgiving Point annual membership, and one of the perks is that we can get in free to similar museums throughout the country.  This afternoon we went to visit the Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, a museum established to house the extensive collection of Hawaiian artifacts and family heirlooms of the princess, the last descendant of the royal Kamehameha family.  It was expanded to include millions of additional artifacts, photographs, and documents.  

A charming picture of Brandt nose to nose with an Easter Island type moai.

A less charming picture of Brandt picking the same moai's nose.

What a boy.

The building itself is spectacular and the collection is very impressive.  We saw native instruments, ceremonial capes, hats, and collars made of bird feathers worn by the royal family, masks, weapons, baskets, and many other artifacts.  We saw a very interesting exhibit about native birds that are now extinct and species that are nearing extinction.  We went to a star show in the planetarium, most of which I tried to sleep through.  Blythe kept elbowing me so I would stay awake until I eventually told her to knock it off and let me "rest my eyes" if I wanted to.  We finished off with a visit to Sweet: A Tasty Journey, an exhibit about candy and real life Willy Wonka candy makers.  Visually it was a fun show, with interesting facts and displays of candies popular now and decades ago.  The only let down and huge marketing flaw in the exhibit was that they had no place to buy actual candy.  Hugely gross oversight on somebody's part.  We would have bought old school candies, M&Ms, and rootbeer barrels by the pounds if they had only had them for sale.  Alas!  We did, however, manage to find a shaved ice place on our way home.

The interior of the original museum.

Three levels with displays cases lining each level.

The huge whale is a suspended from the ceiling, and on the rail side you can see the skeleton.

Brenda and Blythe studying the inside of the whale.

Blythe trying for a lick of a jelly belly creation.

A gross food fact.

Brent and Brenda live in a very nice area of Honolulu called Hawaii Kai, in a gated community with houses and apartments.  They live in a small but lovely two-bedroom apartment on the third floor.  There are two pools in their complex, as well as a common area with a bar-be-cue grill.  We had a delightful evening poolside dinner, with marinated steak and chicken, fruit, and a corn and bean dip with chips.  The kids swam, we adults talked, and we all enjoyed the lovely temperature and fragrant air.  It was relaxing and warm and a thoroughly pleasurable evening.  Brent talked about possible next postings and Brenda and I began planning our family trip to Namibia ("Ha, ha," says Kent).  Blythe wanted to be in the hot tub but was too sunburned to tolerate the hot water.  We are all sunburned.  We reapplied sunscreen several times throughout our time at the beach, but sun after so much sun yesterday just added to the redness, in spite of our efforts.  

Day two of our trip was as marvelous as day one, and we've got fun stuff to do tomorrow.  Here's to our Hawaiian vacation!

Sunburn proof.

Hawaii for Spring Break, Day 1

Brandt woke this morning at 4:00am.  I knew this was going to happen.  He is a naturally early riser, and his internal clock was telling him it was 8:00am, very late sleeping for him.  I had prepared the night before by getting out the book we are reading together, so that we could sneak out of the bedroom and have something to do until the rest of the world woke up.

We read several chapters, but then I suggested we go out and walk around Brent and Brenda's complex.  Out we went in our bare feet and pajamas.  I didn't want to wake Kent and Blythe trying to find clothes or flip flops, and it was still early and dark outside, so I didn't think we were likely to run into lots of people.  Even at 5:00am, Hawaii is beautiful.  The air was cool and smelled fresh and everything was greenly lush.  We talked and walked and only saw a security guard drive by in a golf cart.  Apparently a mom and boy wandering around in pajamas doesn't look very suspicious.

When we got back, it was pretty close to six when Brent and Brenda got up.  Kent and Blythe were up before 7:00 and we were able to get started with our day.  When Brenda had asked what we wanted to do when we came, I told her we wanted to hike and go to the beach.  So first thing, she took us on her favorite hike, the Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail.  It was a short drive from her house and then a not-too-long-or-too-steep hike to a beautiful overlook where you can see a lighthouse.

The kids were great hikers.  Shortly after we started, Brenda said, "The sea is very calm, and although it is late in the year, we might see whales if we look closely.  Watch for their spouts."  Not two minutes afterwards, at the first overlook on the trail, we saw whales!  There was a small pod of four and we could see them off and on the whole way to the top.  They came around the tip where the lighthouse was, and so even at the top we saw them spouting many times. How cool is that!  From the top we also saw Rabbit Island and another smaller island the kids named Bear Island.  We saw interesting birds, lots of cactus and other flora, and just enjoyed being in the sun and watching the ocean.  Ah! The ocean!  Blythe hiked with Brenda.  The two of them raced off ahead of Brandt, Kent, and me, and beat us handily to the top.

About our hike, Brandt said, "It was awesome! But tiring. And fun also."
Blythe said, "It was the greatest!"

 

Near the beginning of the trail.

I love that you can see the volcanic crater behind my shoulder.

I wish I remembered what they called that one. 

I need Brenda with me as I blog.

 

 

First whale sighting.

That spray is from a blowhole.

Trying to get a close-up view of the whales. 

They were hard to see because they were moving,

 but we could easily see a fisherman on his boat.

 

The lighthouse for which the Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail is named.

It is a working lighthouse.

The grey spot in the water is the whales.

We weren't really seeing them up close and personal.

 

The view from the top.

Rabbit Island in the back, "Bear Island" in the front.

At the top with Rabbit Island in the background. 

 

After our hike, we did a bit of planning.  We looked at the week, what we wanted to do, and how we could best see and play.  We set up a schedule that was pretty much activity-beach-shaved ice or beach-activity-shaved ice, with the option of having the shaved ice between.  Kent had said we could stay five or six days.  I decided on six, but didn't count either travel day nor Sunday because you can't really get out and play on Sunday.  So we mapped out our week, made good plans that worked well, and then, having done our activity portion of the day with our hike to Makapu'u, packed lunch and headed for the beach.

Brenda took us to Waimanalo Beach.  It was so beautiful.  The water was warm, the sand was soft, and the waves were perfect for boogie boarding.  We stayed for several hours and boogie boarded most of them.  It was so much fun.  The waves weren't so big that they knocked the kids over every time, but they were big enough that you could ride them fast and pretty far.  Brandt was especially good at it.  Blythe got tumbled early on and sort of gave up, though she did play in the water.  When we weren't swimming or boogie boarding, we dug in the sand, building a large volcano with a deep moat surrounding it so it wouldn't be washed away by the waves.  There were very few people on the beach as it is on the east side of the island, well away from the touristy part of Honolulu.  It was relaxing and fun and we were delighted we had more beach fun on the schedule for tomorrow.  The post swim shaved ice was delish!  The only downside to our outing was that we all got sunburned.  We sun screened lots and lots, but our white, pasty, winter skin was apparently stunned by all the sun it suddenly received, and we all came away with red faces, shoulders, and legs.

That's Kent.

He's swimming.

This is Brenda.

She got tumbled by a wave.

Our fellow beach goers. 

See how few?

That's Rabbit Island, the same one we saw from our hike this morning.

Swimming siblings.

Is there a nicer place to catch up than floating in the ocean?

 

Headed out to catch some more waves.

As Brandt and I were out in the water boogie boarding, he said, "I love this!"  

My sentiments exactly!

While Brandt and I did a bit more boogie boarding, Brenda and Blythe took a long walk down the beach.

While they walked up and back the same distance, Blythe's walk was twice as long.

She danced around, running in and out of the water, looking for bits of coral and other interesting things.

They talked about growing up, artists, and sea things.

What a great aunt Blythe has in Brenda.

On our way home, we stopped at the Halona Blowhole.  It was formed by lava tubes that run to the ocean, and when the surf is right, shoot a spray of water up to 30 feet in the air.  We were there at a pretty good time because we did see several large sprays.  The coast by the blowhole is very dangerous but very beautiful.  Watching the waves come pounding in was mesmerizing.  

 

 

We were tired after our active day and the time difference.  I had asked Kent if we could get a water-proof camera before our trip and he didn't warm to the idea.  However, as we were in the ocean today, and he was swimming with Blythe, I said, "This would make a super cute picture if we had a waterproof camera."  He thought I had wanted the camera only to take pictures while we were snorkeling, but realized we could use it for much, much more.  So after we got home, Brenda and I cleaned up a bit, then went to Costco for a waterproof camera and foodstuffs for the week.  We picked up delicious Thai food from a local restaurant, and enjoyed a relaxing evening talking.  Unfortunately, Brent had to work late, then couldn't get home in the bus or find a taxi, so we were in bed before he was home.  After our early, early start to the day, an early night was very welcome.