My favorite photo of the entire trip.

Taken between dives off the Kona Coast

Best afternoon ever.

http://www.jacksdivinglocker.com/

Hawaii - Day 4 - Yes, I did in fact jump off the back of a boat into the ocean at night to swim with sea life.

I have always been fascinated by marine life. There is not a Jacues Cousteau special I have not seen, I live for the Discovery Channel's Shark Week, and absolutely love going to Sea World. So when PJ asked me if I would be interested in going snorkeling off the Kona Coast to see the Manta Rays, I said yes. Now, don't get me wrong, I had a slew of reservations, but this trip was about getting out of the comfort zone and trying something I haven't done before.

Nine of us loaded up in cars and headed to the marina to meet the staff at Jack's Diving Locker. The first step was to sign releases saying we won't sue anyone if we get gobbled up by the sea life. From there it was on to the equipment room for a snorkel, mask and fins. We were also asked if we wanted wetsuits, which most decided to use. The water temp was 78 degrees, and I assumed I could get by without one. I was against getting a suit for two main reasons: First, trying to find one that would fit was not high on my list of fun things to do, but second, and more importantly, I am seriously allergic to the material that wetsuits are made from. A small amount of material from an ankle brace against my skin sent me to the emergency room a few years ago, and I had mental images of going into anaphalactic shock in the water, and/or having to fly home covered in red welts. The crew (some of whom went without as well) didn't see it as a major issue, so I took my gear and boarded with everyone else.

So we set out of the harbor into open ocean, and the further we get from shore, several things start going through my head.

1. I am not Jacques Cousteau, Marlon Perkins or even his dim-witted buddy Jim.

2. I like swimming pools.

3. That water looks really deep and really cold. I really should have gotten a wetsuit

4. Jump in there? Are you kidding me? That's Jaws' House. I would really rather not intrude.

But again, this was about getting out of the comfort zone, so I put those thoughts out of my head and focused on what we were being told.

Members of the crew started telling us the plan. We would have 1 dive/snorkeling trip at 4:30 while the sun was still up. They would be going out in the water with us, but told us to stay in a particular area. (which apparently did not include the bench seat on the bow) Everyone would test their equipment and skills for a couple of hours, and we would then come back on board for dinner. After sunset, we would go back in for a night dive with the manta rays....which can have a wingspan of up to 25 feet. (Not a typo). The ones local to this area of the island could be as much as 13-15 feet....which still happened to be wider than the boat we were currently occupying.

*gulp* Comfort zone, comfort zone!

It is here that I re-assess my love of marine life. I love it, but prefer it to be behind 3 inches of shatterproof glass.

Now, manta rays are NOT the ones who killed the Crocodile Hunter. They feed on plankton, and have no teeth and no stingers. They are gentle giants who are simply there to eat the plankton, and have no interest in humans.

Riiiight.

Those who were diving suited up for the afternoon dive and jumped off the back of the boat. Then the snorkelers put on their gear and one by one, we screwed up the courage to jump in. I fully admit to wanting to chicken out up until the very last second, but still took a deep breath and went for it.


It was *great.*

The water was warmer than a lot of swimming pools I have known, and once I got the hang of breathing with the snorkel tube, I entered a new world. The water was perfectly clear, and I saw all sorts of multi-colored fish and coral, and some even saw a sea turtle or two. The water was about 30-40 feet deep, but there was still plenty to see both close up and far away.

I really can't say enough about the crew. They were *wonderful,* and patient with all levels of divers and snorkelers. They made everyone feel welcomed and comfortable, regardless of skill levels. It would have been very easy to spend time with the advanced divers and mock the beginning snorkelers, but every single man on the crew (4+ Captain) spent time explaining and helping everyone. Their boats can seat up to 35, but they never take more than 15-20, so that everyone gets the attention they need. I would highly recommend this company to anyone interested.

Before we knew it, it was time to get out and eat dinner. There were sandwiches and chips for everyone. The Captain, a retired Navy Seal regaled us with diving stories while we waited for the sun to go down. There was also time for photos:

Captain "I'm not into rules, Man" Roger:

PJ with his "ball and chain"

The dive boat at sunset:



Just after sundown we had a briefing on the night portion of the dive/snorkel experience. Everyone, divers and snorkelers alike, would be in the water with a high powered dive light. The divers would go down to the bottom (about 30 feet) arrange themselves in a circle and shine their lights upward. The snorkelers would stay on top of the water over the divers and shine their lights downward. What this would do is create a giant shaft of light that would attract the plankton. Plankton are tiny little sea creatures that are, like moths and insects, attracted to light. The manta rays eat the plankton, and therefore are attracted to the light.

Now, one of my bigger phobias has always been swimming at night. I really don't much like it in a pool, let alone the ocean where things can come at you from any direction. But we were again assured that we would be watched over, and that it would be an unforgettable experience. So embracing the fact that I really liked the first snorkeling sojourn, and armed with nothing more than snorkel gear and a dive light, I put my faith in the crew again and stepped off the back of the boat into the deep.

Several other dive boats were there, and all had divers and snorkelers with lights. Everyone arranged themselves as directed, with color-coded glow sticks tied to our tanks and snorkel tubes to track us.

The sight of the column of light alone was spectacular. It illuminated shades of blue that I had never seen before. A school of several hundred silvery fish swam around in the light, eating plankton and making everything shimmer. It was like being in a Wyland painting.

It didn't take long for two giant rays to emerge from the deep. With a wingspan of about 12 feet, they corkscrewed slowly through the light with unbelievable grace. They were flying through the water, turning circle after circle around the divers below. It was truly breathtaking. It was obvious that we were seeing something truly magnificent, I can't describe how awesome the feeling was to realize how small we were compared to some of the other wild creatures of the earth.

I didn't have an underwater camera, so I don't have any shots of them, but the dive company did have video of us that they will be sending us soon, and I'll post the footage up when it comes in a couple of weeks.

After a while, one of the divers took his lights up towards the surface to draw the rays up towards the snorkelers. As completely neat as it was, I really didn't need to see them face to face. and started getting nervous as they came within a few feet of me. But we watched them feed for quite a while. I honestly was reluctant to return to the boat.

We returned to the harbor awed but exhausted. We said farewell to the crew, and went in search of any restaurant still open at 10pm on a weeknight.

We were turned away from two places before we were able to find a place. The only one willing to seat us was the Hard Rock Cafe, which somewhat begrudgingly kept its kitchen open until our party of 10 had ordered and eaten. Most of were leaving the following morning, so this was our farewell dinner. While we had intended it to be a raucous karaoke evening, we were all so hungry and tired, that we just had one nice mellow dinner as a group.

After dinner we said our goodbyes and wished everyone safe journeys back home...which included Boston, Atlanta, Amsterdam, Texas and California. As tired as we were, everyone left with smiles on their faces.

Leaving one's comfort zone rocks. :)

Hawaii - Day 3

Disclaimer - This is in *no way* the official commentary on PJ and Christy's wedding. That's their purview, and with the 500 or so photos we all took, I'm quire sure that there are many, many stories to be told. It's just a view of the trip from my perspective. Anyone and everyone is welcome to comment or correct any statements about this trip that they like. :)

The big day!

You know, I have been to a lot of weddings in my life. Big, small, formal, informal, at the heart of them was the fact that two people I cared about were professing their love for each other. Locations, colors, flowers and music are not nearly as important as the singluar event itself, but invariably they are the things that are the sources of the most conversation. One can't help leaving any wedding thinking something along the lines of , "Well, I liked _______, but would have definitely not done ________." This was one of the rare occasions where I would not have changed a single thing. With all of the logistics and the hoopla, it came down to a small sweet event that couldn't have been made any better if we had tried.

The ceremony was held under a coral tree on a beach on the Kona Coast of the Big Island. We could not have asked for a more beautiful day:

While we waited for the ceremony to begin, there was plenty of time for photos and general goofing off. We took tons more than are posted here, and I'll try to post them all to DotPhoto as soon as I have a chance.

Conrad, Aaron, Me and Kristin

PJ and I:

Heather and PJ:

Aaron, Heather and Conrad:

Then it was time for the main event:

Here comes the bride:

Blowing of the Conch to the four corners of the globe. (Gotta admit it was tough not to sing the survivor theme in my head :) ):

The vows:
And then, before we knew it, PJ and Christy were a married couple. :) No glitches, no hitches, all was right in the world.

Then it was on to professional photos while we watched the sun set on one of the most beautiful places on earth:

After photos, we reconvened at the Big Island Steak House for a huge delicious dinner, drinks and a whoooolllleee lot of dancing. :)

Pj's mom cuts quite a rug. She danced with everyone, myself included. :)


Shake shake shake, Shake shake shake, your boooootay.

Superstar!!!!

The party broke up about 11pm when the restaurant finally kicked us out. PJ and Christy went off to enjoy their wedding night, while a lot of us went back to Vince and Tabitha's condo to enjoy drinks and conversation.

All in all, it was a *great* event. Another day ended by collapsing from exhaustion, but for all the right reasons. :)

Tomorrow's a big day, off to snorkel. Pray for us. :)

Hawaii - Day 2

Disclaimer - This is in *no way* the official commentary on PJ and Christy's wedding. That's their purview, and with the 500 or so photos we all took, I'm quire sure that there are many, many stories to be told. It's just a view of the trip from my perspective. Anyone and everyone is welcome to comment or correct any statements about this trip that they like. :)

I sit here on the patio on day 2 at about 11:30 in the evening, trade winds blowing like crazy, and I'm barely able to move. It has been an extraordinarily long day, but really a lot of fun. Ever the social director, PJ planned a day that started about 9 this morning, and ended about an hour ago. We packed more into one day than I have done in the last few vacations.

About 20 people are on this trip, and that will be all that will be coming to the wedding itself. Spending the day together not only provided sight-seeing opportunities, but gave everyone a chance to relax and get to know each other. The group gets along really well, and caravanning the way we did allows everyone to participate as little or as much as they liked.

After an evening of windy weather, the clouds were gone and we woke to see the sun rise (because to us, it was about 9am) on an absolutely gorgeous day.

This was the view from the lobby of the Marriott:

Everyone met at the Marriott at 9am to figure out who was going with whom. There is really only one main route to take since it's all on one big circle, but we still had to make sure everyone was going the right direction. PJ demonstrated on a map the route we were to take:

Heather and Kristin listened intently:

And then we piled into 5 different cars and headed down around the bottom end of the island on our adventure. Our first stop was an early lunch at the Hawaiian Sweet Bread Factory, the southernmost bakery in the United States (yes, even further south than Key West). This took about 2 hours on some beautiful but winding roads. We got take-out meals and ate in this little gazebo. While the weather was no longer clear, it was still warm enough to be comfortable in light clothes.
We all took lots of pictures there:

Christy, the bride-to-be:

Vince, PJ's best man:

Aaron, another of PJ's buddies:

Conrad, another buddy:

PJ and his Dad:

From there we continued on up the eastern coast to a black sand beach:

Giant sea turtles were coming up on the beach:

From there we continued on to the Volcano National Park, and hiked down into the lava tube....a long deep cave that while neat to be in, was a little tense for those of us who have issues with closed off cramped spaces. I should also point out that a section of the park was closed off because of "seismic activity" which naturally meant that going down into a cave was a great idea. :)

From there it was on to the volcanic craters themselves. Walking up the volcanoes was like being on the moon. Lots of gray and black earth, with steam vents coming up all over. The smell of sulphur was really strong.

Our hope was to get someplace where we could see actual lava flowing, but the only places that could be seen were by helicopter, something that few of us had the desire to do. We did get to look over the edge of one of the currently dormant craters, and the experience was just awesome

From there it was on to the Volcano National Park Visitors Center for more volcano information, and then on to a hike to the Akaka Falls National Park.

I should point out that it's been far too long since I have spent any quality time with my exercise regime. Nowhere is this more evident than on a steep hike through the rain forest to the waterfalls. It was well worth the trip, but no one was more surprised than I that I survived the climb. :)

The bigger of the two falls, probably 10 stories (?):

By this time, it was about 6pm, and one would think that our day was complete. There was one more stop at a cove at the top of the island to watch the sunset, and then it was on to dinner at a local Italian Restaurant. The restaurant was really small, so our party of 16 needed to be broken up into 2 tables. For reasons we still have not understood, there was a "Boys Table" and a "Girls Table." At first this seemed strange, but as the evening wore on, keeping the boys at their own table causing their own trouble worked well for everyone. ;)

Boys Table - Nothing but Trouble - (from left: Aaron, Conrad, PJ and Vince)

Girls Table - Much More Civilized - (Up the left side of the table and down the right: Angela - Maid of Honor, Christy - Bride, Tabitha - Wife of Best Man Vince, Me, Michelle - Bridesmaid, Kristin, Heather and Katie)

After dinner the original plan had been to celebrate PJ's last night as a single dude with drinks and debauchery on the beach, but most of us were so exhausted from the day that we wound up calling it a night after dinner. PJ did enjoy a drink and a cigar on the beach with the boys, but the rest of us just crashed in our rooms in anticipation of the big day.



Too tired to write any more...fingers are close to falling off. Must be well rested for tomorrow's festivities.



Will write again soon,



K

Hawaii - Day 1

I am enormously pleased to report that I am currently lounging in a beach chair in an absolutely fabulous resort on the Kona Coast of Hawaii. Job insecurities be damned, I have a wedding to attend. :)

For those who don't know, my friend PJ is getting married on Sunday, and in spite of our insistence that a California or Texas wedding would be fine, (like we had a vote) he insisted we come to one of the prettiest spots on the planet for a week of sun and relaxation.

I flew in on Aloha Air from John Wayne earlier today, arriving just after noon. Getting the rental car and getting lost on the way to the resort put me here in my chair about 4 hours later. (Should have taken no more than an hour, tops....but admittedly that's par for the course for me.) Anyway, most of the wedding party is staying at the Marriott, but Kristin and I got a better deal a couple of miles away at the ResortQuest Shores. It's less expensive, and *wow* what a place.

We have living and dining areas:

A wraparound personal patio that overlooks the resort:

A kitchen, complete with fridge, stove, oven, microwave, and all the utensils we could use...and an adjoining washer/dryer so that we can do our own laundry should we wish:

And a big master bedroom. These condos do not come with double/twin beds, so Kristin and are are going to switch off between the bed and the sofa sleeper.

Kristin's plane lands later this evening, and PJ has extended an invite to head down to the pool, so I think I'm going to go.

Talk to you later. :)

K

Speechless

As a rule, I *hate* televised talent shows. They have absolutely nothing to do with a person's talent. The most vulnerable with the least talent are held up for public scorn and ridicule. One could argue that those folks are volunteering for this process, and know what they are getting into. I would counter that there are undoubtedly more talented contestants who did not make the air simply because those less talented are funnier to mock and better for ratings.

And proving my theory that it's faaarrr better to be good looking than talented for television, there are a couple of comments in the video below about the performer being a "little lump of coal" and "frogs turning into princes" that just left me stunned in light of the performance.

That aside, every now and again, there are *amazing* exceptions to my theory. The video below shows what happens when a cell phone salesman and the British version of "America's Got Talent" intersect. If you are not moved by this, you have absolutely no soul.

Bravissimo.