I don't have a lot of photos for this day. I took my waterproof camera and my phone with me as I headed to the beach to do some snorkeling at the better place I found earlier but hadn't tried yet because of the rocky, uneven bottom. I also planned to drop off one of my pathtags at one of the geocaches I found the other day and maybe look for the queen Kapi'olani garden behind the zoo.
There were occasional misty showers as I walked that passed quickly, barely got me wet and were not at all uncomfortable. I dried off quickly as well. I had to walk all the way around the zoo to find the garden, and when I did it was not very impressive, but I did think to look and see if there was a geocache nearby, and there was, and I was able to find it.
Heading back, I was a little nervous and could tell I was trying to talk myself out of snorkeling. I'd been doing that since I got up and was getting ready. I was nervous about jellyfish and about getting in deeper water or having my mask flood where I couldn't stand up and empty it. For some reason even being able to breath through the snorkel doesn't keep me from panicking when cold water seeps into my nostrils.
I gave myself a little pep talk. There aren't any signs up for jellyfish, and I'm scared of something that other people like me are out there doing right now. If other people are doing it then I need to push past my fear and not let the fear rule me, but overcome it. I know I like to snorkel and I don't know if I'll ever get another chance. I need to get comfortable and do it now, while I can.
I went to my chosen spot and watched the snorkelers already there to get a feel for the depth at various parts of it. There was a mild swell, but no breaking surf until the edge of the beach. It looked like it stayed shallow for quite a ways out. Finally I took off my cover up and used the outdoor shower to wet my hair so I could keep my eyes out of the salt water, though they were already burning from sweat and suntan lotion. I got onto the beach and set my stuff up there. Later I had a hard time getting clean feet into my water shoes and realized I should have done that first.
Finally I was ready and started into the water. I had a conversation with a woman who was raised nearby who was snorkeling. she encouraged me, and then headed out again while I got my mask and snorkel set, and went through the process of getting a seal.
When I got more comfortable I was able to spend almost an hour in the water, and got much more comfortable. I saw lots of wonderful fish and thought I was taking lots of photos, but found out later that I had only shot three. I wasn't pressing the shutter hard enough. I can't see the screen underwater, so it is hard to tell what I'm doing. I still had a great time, and will go back and try again with both the cameras.
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| One of two photos I actually pressed the shutter enough to take |
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| The other one! |
When I got out for good I showered off, got my cover up on and went to a picnic table to check my photos. Then I called mom and had a nice conversation, our first since I got her. I updated her on all our news and got caught up on hers.
Then I headed back and had a little leftover teriyaki steak, some pineapple and a few cashews to hold me until dinnertime. I hadn't eaten since a light breakfast in the mid morning. I rested and got on the computer until Harry came back. We had dinner at KFC, a very lackluster, food-like dinner, followed by the remaining pastry from what he brought home the day before.
My highlight of the day was definitely the good snorkeling, really the first good snorkeling I've done here so far.
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| The view from where I sat while talking to mom. I could see the surfers and sailboats! |
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