September 7

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Up with the birds for oatmeal. We were at the State Park off Pauko Road by 9 for 2 hours of lovely snorkeling. A $20 charge for the day. The beach was sandy, the entrance easy, good visibility. We saw lots of the good old favorites, but not the elusive Rockmover we are seeking. Two turtles, an eel, TONS of scary looking wedge-tailed triggerfish like the one that nipped my calf yesterday – but we all kept our distance. Some possibly new fish. The baby Hawaiian Dascyllus was the most interesting -only about 1” in size – good spotting, David.

We drove off to get an ice cream at Scandinavian shave ice, and enjoyed some real Hawaiian hospitality: David went to lock the car and the noise seemed different, plus the door wouldn’t lock. A woman walking past sympathized, and also warned us against parking there for very long. Then the lady who parked behind us tried to figure it out. Then the man from a shop, enjoying a break and a breeze, actually came down to the car and helped David figure it out (I had gone in along).

We then checked out all the beaches and entrance points near Captain Cook bay. The wind is still coming from the west, southwest, which means these beaches aren’t the calmest. Because we don’t feel like hiking down (and up) the huge cliff to access the bay for free (let the kids do it!), we were considering renting a kayak. But the winds might make the return journey tricky. It’s about a mile from the south point of the bay to where the monument is. We went to the end of one very bumpy road to find an entire run-down village – and too choppy an entrance there too. So we also drove over to Two-step. Yep, choppy, but probably more so than it was in the morning – that’s typical.

After stopping at Costco for gas and a grocery for some more milk, ground beef, etc., we headed back to the State Park (gotta get our money’s worth on that entrance fee). It was delightful, although visibility was tough with the less light. Lots of families with little ones were taking advantage of the “no burn” time. We’ve done very well ourselves – haven’t burned a bit, and using reef-safe for the snorkeling, and regular when having a dry day. Of course we also wear rash guards so we don’t have to use so much sunscreen.

Back home to cook the rest of our Ono (wahoo) fish with rice and corn. We’re getting pretty good cooking on a single burner.

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