day four - we hit up the swap meet near the airport. we got a lot of awesome hawaiin baked goods and most everyone found souvenirs to bring home. by the time we were done, we were hot and ready to be at the beach.
we went snorkeling at chang's beach - one of my favorite. it's off the beaten path and a little hard to find, so there's hardly anyone there. and it's right in turtle town - so with a little easy snorkeling, you can see tons of turtles and fish in the clear blue water.
ken's getting good at going down deep!
you can walk a little ways to a black rock beach, and we spent some time giving ourselves hot rock therapy....for free!
my dad was resting his foot while we went to chang's beach. we called him when we left to meet us at la perouse bay. the others wanted to do the same hike jason and i did a few days ago. i stayed back with my mom and dad. we walked around and looked at a piling that had washed up from japan, talked to a local ranger, and explored the tide pools (as my dad wasn't allowed to get his foot wet or sandy yet). we had a good time. la perouse bay has such beautiful scenery.
the hikers (i can't believe jason did this hike again!)
day five - was a sunday. a few of us went to church, and others went swimming with jason with the "dolphin dude." jason's been following this guy's blog who swims every sunday in maui with whoever wants to join him. jason was excited to meet him and swim with him and his friends at makena beach. here's a picture the guy took with his nice professional camera! what a great underwater picture!
rich and jason decided to go back to a place jason saw that morning that looked like really great snorkeling. they snorked a huge rock outcropping from oneuli beach to little beach (the only nude beach in hawaii). they just stopped to rest at little beach and said they saw too much just doing that! then they swam back. i'd like to try that swim one day. it was hard, but they both said the clarity and fish they saw was amazing!
rich was such an awesome snorkeling buddy!
while the boys snorkeled, a few of us went to the hotel pool to practice with my mom and dad. dad taught us how to clear our noses and dive down, and i was able to go down and touch the 8 ft part of the pool and not have it bother my ears! my mom practiced with her gear to get ready for molokini. we then walked across the street and practiced at kam II beach. i don't have any pictures, but it was so clear and a beautiful sunny afternoon at kam II. later that night, we all bbq'd in our condo complex. it's so fun to have our family here in hawaii.
day six - jason and i love to walk on the beach at 6 am. the sand is cool, i love to see the sun come up, and it's so peaceful. plus you are already awake due to the time change. :)
honolua bay - one of my favorite snorkeling spots. the walk in is gorgeous, and the clarity in the bay is incredible. plus you see things you don't see anywhere else. it was raining, which was too bad, it would have been better if it was sunny.
it was awesome to see this barracuda getting a cleaning....
funny story about this eel - i was treading water while telling jason i was going in because i was cold, and this eel came out of his hole about 2 inches from my leg and opened his mouth at me! jason saw it underwater and yelled at me to move before he got even angrier! scary eels.
after honolua bay we drove around the west loop and hiked when we saw good spots. jason and ken got WAY too close to the edge (i thought - and kerri too!).
the blowhole!
we also hiked to the olivine pools - it was really cool to sit in these pools while the waves raged on the other side
ken sat on this ledge and got freezing seawater poured all over him! it was hilarious.
we stopped for the banana bread...
part of our car load at the waterfall lookout, mile marker 8
rich and jason decided to jump in!!!
dad took us all out to three's for a family dinner - awesome way to end the day!
