Kona, Kona, Kona, Thursday

This picture is from the first day - NOT the day mentioned below... carry on.

Aw, yes, Thursday in Kona, Hawaii. Definitely not my favorite day. Definitely the day I dreaded. Definitely the day I thought for sure we would die in the open water; easy shark bait. Very easy shark bait.

When making plans for Kona, we decided to go on a snorkeling outing. That was fine. I had snorkeled before in Mexico. I loved it! I was good at it and didn't get seasick in the least. However, this snorkeling outing was nothing like Mexico. No boat with a motor to take us out to our destination. Nope. Just KAYAKS. Yep. We would kayak 1 1/2 miles to the snorkeling sight, anchor the kayaks together, get our snorkeling gear on, snorkel for 45 minutes, climb giant 25 foot cliffs, jump off, eat snacks on the rocks, get back into the kayaks, paddle 1 1/2 miles back.

Um.K.
There were definitely problems in this plan for me.
1. No boat with a motor.
2. Big ocean swells due to a storm system moving through.
3. A husband who gets green around the gills on any kind of boat - literally green. (He was my kayak companion. Ahem.)
4. Paddling out in to the DEEP water, unsure of what hungry sea animal(s) were around us.
**OK, OK, in my defense, I had seen the movie Soul Surfer a couple of months before, and, people, she got her arm bitten off by a SHARK!!!**
5. Fear of the unknown ocean- you see, as much as I L.O.V.E. the ocean, I really, really like it from the shore. Not paddling on it.

I was pretty scared. Not much talking on my part. Tried to stay focused on my paddling. Kept my life jacket on the entire time. Didn't really have the stomach to enjoy the snacks. Could not possibly have jumped off of the 25 foot cliff - even though Bill, John, and Stefanie did it...show offs. Was super grateful to return to where we started. The old arms got a great workout from those 3 miles of paddling. (yes!) Didn't get seasick at.all. Nuff said.

Needless to say, I was very glad to be finished with that "adventure", get my feet on dry ground, and feel less shaken up inside.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring downtown Kona complete with its flea market, quaint restaurants, excellent views of the ocean, shopping for souvenirs for the kids, DELICIOUS shave ice - dreamsicle with ice cream in the middle to be exact, and a lunch of various shrimp dishes at Bubba Gump's.

Yeah! Back on solid ground. Whew.

View from Bubba Gump's

Self explanatory, no?

Uh, John, you look a little too natural in this picture... haha

Bill, you don't look natural at all.

Shave ice shop. Yummmmm.

Delicious Dreamsicle shave ice. "Shave ice" NOT "Shaved ice"--I was reminded to say it right...

Our shave ice preparer - check out those gauges! Whoa.

I loved this scooter, all decked out with boogey boards, just in case...

A common sight along the lava covered roadside. Take some white rocks, spell words, walah!