Yesterday was Rianne’s 14th birthday – what a place to celebrate! We decided to go snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, so we packed all our snorkel gear and headed out at about 8:30 with a quick drive-thru at McDonalds for breakfast. The McDonalds are few and far between here, so I’m having a little withdrawal! Anyway, Hanauma Bay was perfect. I stayed on the beach with Anna and Emma so they could swim and play in the sand, while Scott and the four big kids went out snorkeling. I’ve snorkeled plenty of times and it’s beautiful, but still always makes me a little nervous, so sitting on the beach was just fine with me.
Hanauma Bay
Life underwater!
We spent about 2 1/2 hours at the bay. They saw lots of colorful fish and a few eels (see nervous note above!), and took lots of pictures with the underwater camera. After we packed up and moved on our way, we stopped at the “blowhole” lookout which was really cool! It’s a stretch of coastline made up of layers of black volcanic rock. There’s a volcanic tube running beneath that you cannot see, but when the waves crash up on the rocks, a few seconds later a huge spout of mist and water shoots up through the top of the rock surface several feet in from the edge. Very pretty!
Rianne chose Planet Hollywood for her birthday dinner, so after swimming at the hotel pool for a while, that’s where we headed. The walk down Kalakaua Avenue to the restaurant is such a pretty walk at night – it was another one of those “eternity glimpses” moments! Can’t wait!
Till next time,
Terri
