Snorkeling with the turtles and the wild dolphins, Ko Olina Lagoon, Paradise Cove

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For my second full day in Hawaii, Judy had to work. So I went on over to the western coast of Ohau. I went snorkeling with the turtles and wild dolphins, walked through the Lagoon at Ko Olina, and in the evening Judy and I went to Paradise Cove for a Luau.

First time in a wet suit. First time really snorkeling (not in the fresh lakes of Minnesota as a kid). First time seeing turtles in the water, under water. First time swimming with wild dolphins (see one of the last photos...those are dolphins swimming under me). It was a surreal experience being in this nice bright blue water and seeing fish, turtles, dolphins in their elements and not behind glass.

As a side note, when we were boating to one of the two locations we saw a whale and a younger whale. We saw them from afar so I did not get any good photos but it is imprinted in my mind. Unfortunately the driver/guide boss said that it was somewhat late in the season for the whales to still be in the area and that they usually are well off on their way north Alaska, upper western coast of America. He said that most likely the whales will not survive, at least not the younger one. I hope that this is not the case and he was just saying it for drama.

After our trip out to sea, I decided to hang around Ko Olina for awhile. This was a resort/hotel with multiple Lagoons. The Lagoons were perfect, the trees were perfect, the grass was perfect. It almost all looked fake. The Lagoons were made for both general swimming as well as snorkeling. I had Judy's snorkeling gear with me but I decided today was not the day to continue snorkeling.

I headed back to Ford Island and when Judy came home from work we made our way back to the western side of the island and went to a luau at Paradise Cove. My first luau! My night photos did not come out very well but the ones during the day did. We each got a temp art tattoo/painting. We made lei and tried our hand at native games such as spear throwing (O'o ihe), and Ulu maika (stone rolling). We also watched how they net fished in the water, as well as how the make food in the imu (underground oven) and roasted a pig. The night ended with good food (minus the native poi) and traditional Hawaiian dancing. It was all around lovely evening.

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