Hawaii Day THREE...

I don't have as many pictures from this day as we spent most of it in the water. Day THREE was scuba diving day. We got a deal from Living Social for a 4 hour intro scuba lesson on the cheap. I was so excited and really looking forward to this! Unfortunately - my ears severely plugged up on the flight over to Hawaii. I was hoping by day three they would be better and I tried everything. I was non-stop taking decongestants, antihistamines, ear drops... all to no avail. Well, they don't let you scuba dive if you have plugged ears - something about your head blowing up, no biggie. I was bummed, but since John wasn't going to scuba either (for liability/gear issues) - we got to snorkel instead. Cory and Sara would still scuba.

We sat through all the instruction however, and our dive guide was great. It was just the four of us going although we joined a larger group on the boat. Apparently the dive shops in Oahu all rent the same boats...we had our own little designated space on a bench. Some pictures of the shore as we rode out into the bay:


Cory and Sara had to practice clearing their masks (which is a handy trick for snorkeling too btw) before they were allowed into the water. It is drilled into you that you never take out your regulator (the thing in your mouth) even if you have to puke. Little did they know that would turn out to be useful information......haha.

showing how to descend on the rope

The instructor pours water into your mask, while you have the regulator in your mouth.

Then you have to push on the top of your mask while you blow through your nose, which forces the water out the bottom.

Sara's first attempt (notice that Cory's shirt is soaked - he had to do it a few times before he got the hang of it).

She did it!!

John and I really enjoyed the snorkeling - in fact I think it was my favorite place we snorkeled. We snorkeled at a location called "Turtle Cove" I believe... just off the Waikiki shore. The turtles apparently hang out at this reef to be cleaned. They sort of pull into slots in the reef like a car wash and wait while the cleaner fish do their job. While we were snorkeling a turtle swam right up to us - so close that we had to back away or we would run into it. Turtles are protected, and you are not supposed to pursue them, or touch them. However, if they swim up to you, it's ok if you sort of hang around. It swam by us for quite awhile until another loud snorkeler came up and scared it off. Really LOVE the Honu as they are called in Hawaiian.

John and I waiting to head out snorkeling and John pretending to be sick - which he was later.

Cory and Sara enjoyed their scuba dive, however it made Cory quite seasick. He luckily held it in until they surfaced at which point he "chummed for fish" as John said. John also was a little seasick, so we passed on going to the next diving/snorkeling spot...and headed to shore.

We had a nice lunch at Ala Moana beach, and then decided we all felt good enough to try out some more snorkeling. We headed over to Hanauma Bay. It's a large protected bay that you can pay to snorkel. We got there late enough in the afternoon that we got in for free. I did not enjoy snorkeling here because the water was quite cloudy and the wind had made the water very choppy as well. I had a bad snorkel that wouldn't clear very easily...and that combined with the poor visibility and waves....made it quite unpleasant. The reef is very very close here, and when a wave would come, it would push me into the reef. Since I couldn't see well, it made me nervous, and I was having some mini claustrophobic type panic attacks. I had to quit early. The others quite enjoyed it though. There is quite a bit of aquatic life.

We headed back home after a long day in the water, had some dinner, and called it a day. Next up day FOUR!