Celebrating Rio

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Today was a day that goes down in our history books. Hector and Christie picked us up at 7:30 am to go snorkeling. In our minds snorkeling is in a calm bay with bright sparkling tropical fish but boy were in for a whole other adventure!

We headed out into the sea in Hector’s boat named La Carmen, after his sister. It gave me a sense of pride seeing our Captain in his element. Hector is the perfect example of someone following their dreams. We have known one another for close to 37 years so it’s really nice for me to see him here living the life.

As we headed out into the ocean we passed people rowing, chartered fishing and dive boats, catamarans and even a boat named RIO in the harbor. I don’t think any of us knew what to expect. We passed a turtle who seemed to float on top of the water and thru the waves. Hector secured the boat to a tether rope which is strategically placed beneath the ocean. He even had a gps device that helped with the location below. One by one we jumped into the ocean, well...some of us kind of slid in and it started to feel like a comedy show. There was a little fear in all of us but eventually we got the hang of what we were supposed to do. Rio, Skye and Mag seemed to pick it up quick..I, on the other hand struggled a little to adjust to breathing thru a tube under water. We desperately searched for turtles and would later be content with just the one we saw above the water. Hector said in the ten years he has been on the island he had never not seen turtles in the area that was called Turtle Canyon.

What we did see though was amazing. The coral below us seemed to sway with the motion of the ocean. Lois said she thought it looked liked brains - and I couldn’t see it any other way after that. Small fish swam by and we were all amazed.

Then the real fun started when we got back on the boat, or should I say “tried” to get back on the boat. Hector showed us all how to do this underwater reversal that just popped you back up on the boat. Christie, Skylar and Rio seemed to be able to do it with ease and glide right back up. Mag and I - that was a whole other story. We had to be pushed, pulled and plopped onto the boat. It was fun and funny and I think we gave our kids quite a show.

After we were finally hoisted onto La Carmen 2 we cruised amongst our fellow boaters and all of a sudden in the distance we saw a whale. There was a baby and we knew the mama was near. You could hear ooooohhhs and awwwwssss from the neighboring boats and we were all in awe of what we were witnessing. Captain Sequin navigated us through the waters to get closer. The laws of the ocean forbid you from getting closer than 100 ft. I was good with the rules of the ocean because as free as we all felt experiencing something so beautiful I couldn’t help but think what the heck would we do if that whale changed course and came our way. I imagined us flying thru the air and suddenly wished I had put on the life jacket Hector offered at the start of our journey.

Coming back into Waikiki after witnessing the turtle, the whales, and the laughter felt melancholy. We all changed a little bit out there...where sea life meets the soul.

I was happy that Rio would always remember her 19th birthday. As I photographed her without her knowledge, Waikiki in the background...I knew I had captured the picture I intended to capture on this trip.

After our ocean extravaganza and breakfast at a local pub, the girls started on their second event of the day - Parasailing! Lois and I kinda crashed at a pool that was close to the harbor. It was filled with retirees who seemed to all know one another. It led to thoughts of - “how would I ever be able to retire in Hawaii?”

The girls parasailing extravaganza was one to remember. Besides gliding 1000 ft in the air being held in the sky with the rainbow parachute it was quite eventful just getting to the ocean and back. One fellow boat mate was seasick or nerve-sick on the way out, another slipped and fell on the way in and thought she broke her ankle. Skylar got to go twice because one person was without a partner.

The girls commented that they wished we would have gone with them. We were never quite sure if it was because we would have put on another comedy show like we did getting into the boat or if they wished we experienced the peace of gliding over the ocean with Waikiki off in the distance. It was probably both!

We returned to the hotel for a delicious nap before heading out for Rio’s bday dinner. Stopping for a quick look in the overpriced Hawaiian jewelry store we finally found the keepsake for Rio to return to the mainland with, a beautiful pendant with Hawaiian scrolled waves etched into it. The sweet sales girl explained the ocean always brings in happiness to you. She could have sold me on just that after the day we had. Rio had the choice of engraving her initials on the back of her beautiful new necklace and was thankful her first name contains only three letters, she opted for RIO. As we paid for our beautiful purchase, the sweet Asian sales girl seemed to disappear and Cruella D’ville appeared to stand guard. She pretty much silently growled at us until credit card authorization was awarded! It was so weird, but we were still so happy.

We chose PF Chang’s for dinner and had a wonderful meal with wonderful conversation and a really crappy waitress. It didn’t end with a birthday dessert but thankfully Rio woke up to me singing Happy Birthday to her, shortly followed by a birthday performance by Lois. Looking back, I wished I had video taped that performance.

We’ve shared such wonderful, raw moments together and our conversations seem to flow with ease no matter what we are discussing.

Today....felt very special.

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