No Landlubbers Here

We actually got to go kayaking today. Around 9:00 we walked down to the rental place, Ehu and Kai's, which is right on the water. Ehu is a large native Hawaiian man, who is avuncular despite what you might speculate given his stature and tribal tattoos, and Kai is one of his (many) little dogs. Or maybe it's the other way around. We got a double kayak, including a dry bag to keep our stuff in just in case. The weather was beautiful: blue sky, puffy clouds, and sunshine all around.

I’ve never been kayaking before, only canoeing, but it only took a minute to get the hang of it. Peter sat in the back and did a lot of the powering of the boat, and it didn’t take us long before we’d traversed the bay (about a half hour). We docked at the Captain Cook monument, which is supposedly the best snorkeling in the bay, and is only accessible by boat or hiking trail. It must be where all of the kayak rental places tell their customers to go, because it was quite crowded.

We ambled clumsily into the surf with our snorkel gear, and snorkeled around for an hour or so. I saw fish that I hadn’t seen before, including a Whitemouth Moray eel, which Pete chased after, and I admired (feared) from a safe distance. Once we’d had enough of the fish, we paddled around the bay closer to the cliffs that line the shore, and enjoyed feeling small. When the waves started growing and the sun was swallowed by dark skies, we headed back to the rental place. Walkinging home, I kept thinking that I wish I owned a kayak.

After taking a shower, I walked into our screen house to find Junior, one of the stray cats that usually hangs out in the garage, lying down on our bed. He was begging for attention, which was so strange, given that he usually runs away from me as soon as I approach him. He lounged around and chased away a few geckos. I took a picture of him before he took off.

I guess this means we’re buddies now.