Beautiful Weekend

After almost two months of marginally nice weather, it has turned out to be a phenomenally beautiful weekend here in Kailua! I got out twice this weekend to snorkel in Kailua Bay. The second time was today. The water was calm with sunny skies and, after a swim far out away from shore, wonderfully clear water with lots to see. So as a shamless brag, I am including a few pictures and movies just for remembrances. Here's hoping you can make it out to visit us before we leave the island...

This is a small Moray eel. He makes a fierce, open-mouthed appearance, but of the eels I've encountered, none have tried to bite or strike like a snake. Good thing because I got pretty close for this shot!



These two guys were swimming around some coral. They are aquarium-sized and bright colored. They were hard to catch (you should see how many other pictures didn't come out) but this one shot turned out well!


This puffer fish gave me lots of wary looks as I swam around. They are fun to watch because they don't swim like most fish. Their little fins flutter back and forth like a hummingbird, but the fish moves around very slowly. i haven't tried to scare one into puffing...




I've shown pictures of swimming with Sea turtles before, but I saw four of them feeding in the calm waters today. After watching them for a while, I swam away, but a few minutes later, I noticed one of them was following me, so I gently circled back to take a couple of movies. By law, people aren't supposed to pester sea turtles, so I just floated with the current until he swam away with his little fish friends.

It has been a great weekend!. If next weekend's weather permits, I'm targeting the Olomana Peak - a 1,600 ft slice of rock between the Koolau mountains and the Kailua Beach along the Pali Highway. We hiked in this area to the Maunawili falls back in November, but that was in the valley.
Here is a picture from the Pali Highway... Pretty impressive, huh?

I see it every day when I drive home from work. Several locals have said how beautiful the hike is, so I'm looking forward to toting my rough and rugged little camera to the peak!

UPDATE: Kevin had to go back in the hospital because a CAT-scan found blood clots in his lungs. This is not unexpected, but they wanted him to be in the hospital when they administered blood thinners to make sure that none of the clots dislodged. He is back home now and even went to work for light duty! Thank God for Kevin's quick recovery and Pam's continuing care!