Monday, May 19th

Monday began our last week in Hawaii, and the first official day of full-time touristing. Although Hawaii has a fabulous bus system, we would have never been able to see everything we wanted to without the help of Aunt Lori and Grandpa & Grandma Carnahan. For our birthday presents, they rented us a car (and paid for $18/night parking at the stupid hotel). We REALLY, REALLY appreciate their generosity.

During my perusal of various tourist magazines and websites with titles like "Cheap things to do in Oahu," I had read a lot about Hanauma Bay--a sort of nature preserve where you could go and snorkel. We thought about going, but weren't sure we wanted to pay the $10 for both of us to get in and then $6 for snorkel equipment. Thankfully, Aunt Lori convinced us that not only did we NEED to go, we also NEEDED to rent the equipment. Luckily for us, we listened and obeyed. Hanauma Bay ended up being our absolute favorite thing we did in Hawaii.

Brief description: Hanauma Bay is a bay (duh) formed by a crater at some point. It's chock full of coral, fishes, and more than a few sea turtles. It's open to the public for snorkeling every day except Tuesdays, when they give the wildlife a break. Before you can get in the water, you have to watch a movie about not touching the coral and not chasing sea turtles if you happen to see one. And then they set you free.

Since we were being cheap, we only rented one snorkeling set (goggles, snorkel, fins) and shared it. Since Jon had a slight fear of snorkeling (I discovered), I went first. Holy crap, it was amazing! I expected to see a handful of fish--maybe some cool ones occasionally, but they were EVERYWHERE! And totally not afraid of people. I was kicking myself for not getting an underwater camera. I didn't know fish could come in those electric colors. Seriously, it was absolutely amazing. It was hard to convince myself that Jon needed a turn, too.

It didn't take him long to overcome his slight fear. He was actually pretty funny to watch--he'd float around for a while, looking at fish, and then he'd just take off in some random direction. Turns out he was chasing some fish or another. I think he had a hard time returning the equipment to me when it was my turn. By the way, Jon looks really funny in those goggles. Wish I'd taken a picture...

Despite my fears, my fat belly did not scrape the top of the coral (though there were some close calls). However, pregnancy did pose a total different and completely unexpected complication--heartburn. That's right: snorkeling gave me heartburn. Something about being in the water and on my belly, I guess. Let's just say that Jon got the snorkeling equipment back a bit faster than he would have under normal circumstances.

We each took a final snorkel around the bay, and then left for Sandy Beach. Remember how I was complaining about the wussy waves on Waikiki? Well, Sandy Beach totally made up for it. We stood on the shore and watched people get pounded over and over again. I was dying to get in the water, but those orange flags on the beach mean "No Pregnant Megans Allowed" (or "Don't Get in the Water Unless You're Okay with Eating Sand Repeatedly"). If we ever make it back there, I am so in the water.

Our last stop of the day was Lanikai Beach. When I originally posted that we were going to Hawaii, I included a picture of some feet on the beach. Aunt Lori later told me it was taken on Lanikai and that it was a gorgeous beach. So, off we went! I'll spare you the pictures I tried to take through the car window as we drove, but let me just say--it was gorgeous. Beach on one side, fabulous mountains on the other.

Because of strange parking issues, we weren't actually able to make it to the exact beach, but we were on the beach right next to Lanikai. The water was so gorgeous. Jon managed to find an abandoned water football, and, after much contemplation, decided to keep it. Our little memento from almost-Lanikai Beach.

Sadly, we weren't able to make it to the Halona Blowhole, which I was really excited about. They were doing construction on the pull out, so the only available parking was right along the narrow road. Not worth risking getting the rental car smashed by a stupid driver.

In case you missed it, here's the moral of this post: If you go to Hawaii, go to Hanauma Bay. If you go to Hanauma Bay, rent the snorkeling equipment, and bring an underwater camera (don't buy it there--they'll charge you $15 or something ridiculous).