Time In The Water

After driving from one end of the island to the other, I finally got to spend some extended time in the ocean! On Friday, I drove to meet a couple of Black Belts at Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Army Air Force Base. Although this island isn't really that big, it is definitely clogged with traffic, so I spent a good part of the day, just driving. It took me over an hour to get home at about 35 MPH. Even so, it is a gorgeous drive!

So Saturday morning, I walked to a nearby dive shop and asked about a snorkeling kit where I secured a mask, fins and snorkel. I went home to slather on some sunscreen and change into my swimsuit, then I drove the car down to the beach.

Now, the Kailua beaches are beautiful, but there isn't much to see on the bottom until you get about 100 yards out. So I swam out far enough to start to see some rocks and coral. I swam around for about an hour - all the time wondering if my back and my head would be scorched from the sun. Still, I saw some pretty neat stuff. Lots of small coral formations and little fish - just like a big aquarium!

I swam back to the beach and walked for a little while, then headed back home to wait until later in the afternoon when the sun was not as high in the sky. At 4:00pm, I walked to the beach with my flippers, mask and snorkel and swam for much longer. It was a different part of the beach, so I swam out about 300 yards and then started swimming parallel to the beach. Every once in a while, I'd come upon a good pile of coral or structure and stop to investigate. It wasn't very deep - anywhere from 15 to 20 feet. At about 6:00pm, I could tell the sun was behind the mountains. It was getting harder to see things, so I swam back to shore. I'd gone about 1/2 mile down the beach.

After dinner, I went to a store and got some supplies, including a small backpack and a reusable underwater camera. It's a film camera, so it will be a while before I get back photos of my underwater adventures, but it was cheap and reusable so I can do more filming on future dives!

There's a lot to do here, and I'm doing lots of things. But it's still not as much fun to do them by myself. It's great to share and recount things on this blog, but it would be so much more fun if you would come join me here in Hawaii. I've got 3-bedrooms and I'm not afraid to use them! Praise God for His abundance!