Well we finally made it to Hanauma Bay, since all we'd been hearing from everyone was how that was where we needed to go to snorkel. Jon got in for free with our cable bill proving our residency. Apparently, a pay stub confirming I live with him was not good enough for them. They must be really scared of scammers or something, because they were not very nice about it. It's easier to get a state ID here than it is to get into Hanauma Bay with the Kama'aina discount. So anyway, they were mean to us and pretty much ruined my whole experience. But anyway....

They give you a ticket for a time that you have to go into a theater and watch a 10 minute video on preserving the bay. Then you have to walk down this really steep hill. Or you can pay to take a tram! HB loves money, greedy greedy people. We also checked out their concession stand, and I almost had a heart attack. A kid's meal with PB&J was $20, and a family "meal deal" for 4 was $80. Definitely take your own food!!!

We were there early (around 9:30) so the beach wasn't that crowded yet, but it was starting to get that way. We found a good spot to put our stuff and headed out into the water. There were tons of rocks we had to wade through to get out to where we could snorkel. It was like walking on gravel in knee deep water and it sucked big time. Note to self, buy swim shoes. There's a lot of coral and reef which just looks like big rocks in the water, and you're not supposed to touch it because it's living and that's where the fish live and eat. It's kind of hard not to sometimes when the waves push you up against it or you get stuck in a spot. There were several times we had to float over the reef very carefully so we wouldn't scrape our bellies or arms. We saw several big and colorful fish, but no sea turtles :-( I guess the Bay is dying since there are so many tourists that go there and don't care about damaging the reef. I wasn't scared at all to be swimming with the fish. They seem to be used to all the people swimming around. I really wish I would have had an underwater camera, because it was just such a cool experience to be seeing how everything exists underwater. I had never even used goggles in the ocean before, so now it's given me a whole different perspective. It was like swimming through underwater caves and mazes and it was amazing.

It was hot out and our backs got burnt! Now we look funny because we have lines going down the sides of our arms. Note to self, wear lots and lots of sunscreen on my back when snorkeling.

Here is a view of Hanauma Bay from the hill:
Hanauma Bay. Look at all the little snorkelers and the reef.

So that was how we spent our Easter. It was a perfect sunny day, but I wish I could have spent it with my family. I miss them and can't wait to see them.

Aloha!