A Whale of a Time

I'm posting tonight's picture for Inigo who is feeling a little sad that mommy and daddy are gone.

Inigo, can you see the amazing Humpback whales in this picture? Look at how big they are!!

Today was beach day and we saw things like this all day!!! It was simply amazing! Obviously it's the whale migration season. The humpbacks have travelled from the cold waters of the north Pacific to the wonderfully warm waters of Hawaii and the southern Pacific to mate and give birth. Obviously -- like us -- it makes them very happy to be here! While we were on the beach, we could look out on the horizon, at any given time, and see this. I got very lucky in taking this picture... we were visiting the Hilton on the Kona side of the island and this boat was just off the coast. I have a pretty good zoom on my camera, so I focused it out to the area where they were jumping and *click*. Somehow I got it!

What a treat.

As for the beach....

WOW!!!

What a great day!! Max and I are asking everyone if they have some melted butter, cuz we're lobster ready and done. Apparently, we didn't get enough sunscreen on and we're paying a heavy price for it. Actually, we're quite the spectacle. We went to Walmart tonight to buy some aloe gel to apply to the burn, and people would do double takes when we walked by.

Yes, it hurts.

I am so excited to tell you my big news of the day!! It is that I went boogie boarding!! I'm excited to tell you because you may not know that I am afraid of the water -- because I don't swim. I can float on my back if need be, but I know that if ever in my life there is a water emergency, I would probably drown.

But while we were on the beach, everyone was riding Boogie Boards. And it looked like they were having a blast. I went out with Max, took some pictures, but it was kind of boring just standing in the water. And there was the problem of my fear which made it difficult to go out farther than my mid calves.

The people we are here with kept asking if I would be willing to try it, and it tempted me but I just didn't know if I could stomach it.

Also, I had the problem of wet hair. I didn't really want to get my hair wet today and I knew that if I laid down on a board, there was a good chance a wave would wash over me and wet me down. It's vain -- I know -- but that's how I roll.

Finally, one of our group was finished with his board and he just handed it to me and said, "Go on!"

Hmmmmm..... would I regret it if I didn't try it? When I realized the answer was yes, I knew that I would just have to (literally) jump in and do it.

So, I did!!

And I had a blast!!! I rode wave after wave (tried to ride them) until I was completely exhausted... Until there was sand stuck in every orifice of my well done body... Until I couldn't see because there was salt water streaming out of my eyes.... Until, literally, I couldn't ride anymore.

My hair got sopping wet, my make-up washed off and, while I was concerned, I was okay. It was worth every minute.

No regrets. And that's a great feeling.

Tomorrow we snorkel. No regrets for that. I'm gonna do it! (Hopefully they will have a flotation belt for me) and I'm going to look at little fishies without freaking out!

But I probably won't touch them. I can only do so much growing in one week's vacation!