Hawaii Day 3--Monday

G was eager to see us grandkids, so as soon as we woke up (at 5:30) we went and said hi. While eating breakfast, R commented that she wanted to surf. We decided that while she was figuring that out, we would head to the beach. It took a while to get 8 of us ready, so by that time the rain had come again and the beaches were at red flag warnings. We decided that we would drive around the island a bit and see how the other side was. C and I fell asleep fast, so we just kept driving. We drove past a lighthouse, a bay and then past Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. The next turn revealed a grocery store, so with a quick phone call (between vehicles) we stopped to grab sandwich meat and head back to Hanauma Bay--which was the best snorkeling on the island according to what M had read and it was surprising that the parking lot was open due to the fact that it is so popular. We found a picnic table to grab a quick bit to eat, and as we sat there it was noticed just how popular the place is. 10-15 cars would all come in and then nothing for about 15 minutes and then 10 more cars. We realized just how lucky it was that both cars made it in (getting out of the grocery store we got separated by about 20 cars), because we realized that the guard at the entrance was keeping close tabs on the parking lot and was only letting in as many cars as was exiting.

The view from the top, before the 1/2 mile walk down the road to the beach.

Notice the sandy parts surrounding by tons of coral.

The view from the bottom, looking back up the hills.

Waiting by the rock to enter the preserve. Because it is a nature preserve we had to view a 10-minute video about the importance of conservation before being allowed down to the beach.

G and C hanging out in shallow water.

Enjoying the water.

Hanging out with G.

Building sand castles. Notice C is using her new crawl again!

Playing so nice together.

Enjoying the warm water, with not much of a surf (since it was breaking offshore).

G hanging out on the grass and keeping watch over all our stuff.

While the rest of us enjoyed the beach, Uncle W and Aunt R checked out the snorkeling.

Off they go.

When they came back it was my turn.

M decided to go with me. I swam on her back for a ways before I was done. So she dropped me back off on the beach and went with Uncle W. It took M a while to get the breathing rhythm down. Luckily the water was pretty shallow and every time a sandy spot came up, you could stand and get your bearings.

It was after one of these short breaks that M spotted a sea turtle. She grabbed Uncle W's shoulder and they started following it until it stopped to feed on the coral. The next 5-10 minutes were just spent floating and watching the turtle. When they came back to shore, M quickly grabbed Aunt R, G's waterproof camera and headed back out to hopefully spot another turtle. M led R back to where she thought they had been and was just about to give up when R suggested going a little further. All a sudden another turtle appeared. So again we floated and watched the turtle feed. When we went back to shore, it was time to head out. Since G&G hadn't seen hardly anything of the island we decided to continue driving along the shore. However, as soon as we got back on the road we realized that it was almost 5 and we were heading towards Honolulu and rush hour. Uncle W made a quick decision and turned off on Likelike Highway and back to MCBH--basically we just drove the extreme southeast corner of the island. We cleaned up quickly and then went to supper just off base. After supper, M quickly ran to the grocery store to get me Claritin. My allergies were already starting to act up with being in Hawaii less then 48 hours.