Tuesday 14 Jun

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Jeanne is going to be ramping up for the marathon two Saturdays from now, so I am out running around on my own. Went back to Hapuna State Park this morning. Walked the entire cove beach and then headed into the water. I forgot my hat so had to face seaward the entire time in order not to sunburn,. Luckily it was cloudy part of the time giving me a chance to check out scenery. Was probably neap tide when I got there, that space between low and high tides. The waves were pretty gentle for awhile. After about 20 minutes I noticed my bandage from yesterday's lava cut was starting to slip. Not wanting to pollute Mother Ocean, I headed back to my stuff. Suddenly I heard this lady say, what is that big dark spot moving? I looked over and there was a large honu (turtle) swimming parallel to me only about four feet away. I stopped because I did not want to disturb its progress and told the people what it was. This is the second time in all my trips here that I had been in close proximately to one. The Hawaiians consider them sacred and they are protected. Don't mess with honus, there are major fines. After I put the bandage into my bag, I went back in for more Water time. By this time the tide had started to turn and the waves were getting bigger. Had a great time just floating around. When I went back out the second time I started thinking about how I was feeling about being here in and on the water. For those of you who are Jimmy Bpuffer fans, you probably know Mother, Mother Ocean by heart. Maybe you will even start humming or singing it while reading this blog. I feel the same way about the ocean, whether it is here in Hawaii or on the Gulf Coast of Florida. The green and blue waters just replenish my soul, and coupled with the sunshine and warm breezes the years slip away. If only this sense, smell and emotion could be bottled. After almost two hours though, the beach and water became crowded with swimmers and boogie boards and I knew it was time to call it a day. Not to worry though, I will be hanging on another beach tomorrow. Jeanne suggested I try the next one up, another park. We went out to Ruth Chris Steakhouse for dinner tonight! Just Jeanne and I went because Larry is working on Oahu for a couple of days. It was a surprise for me. I am not used to such places, guess I have turned into a Florida local kind of girl. You know, burgers or fish and fries in the local joints. It was a real treat. We started out with the barbecued shrimp appetizer. There is no barbecue sauce, just a wonderful butter sauce just right for dipping bread. Jeanne had a chopped salad and I had the Caesar salad. Then we both had medium rare petite filet mignons and I had creamed spinach. For dessert I had white chocolate bread pudding and Jeanne had a glass of wine. We brought home half of each filet and the spinach for tomorrow. Was a wonderful meal, not sure how much she paid, but I enjoyed every bite's worth. Going to be another early night. With Jeanne in training starting anywhere from 5 - 5:30 every day, we all turn in early. No problem though, I can always use my beauty sleep. Till tomorrow, Aloha!

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