The Kids Hit The Ocean

Our first full day in Hawaii and we headed to the water! Our first stop was to Kona to dive deep under the ocean in a submarine. When we were talking about this activity back in dreary ole' Chicago, the kids were not too hot on the idea. The fresh Hawaiian air must have pumped up their mana because they were all begging to go on the submarine now that we were in Hawaii. While we were paying for our sub tickets we were suckered into the "pick an oyster, find a pearl" tourist trap. But for a cost of about $5 a kid, we couldn't refuse. Zacch, Thera and Thalia picked out the ugliest oyster they could find and the nice lady cracked 'em open. Both Zacch and Thera got a perfect white pearl, and low and behold, Thalia got a perfect pink pearl (her favorite color!).

OK…now the kids were ready to go be submariners. We dove over 100 feet down and became one with the surrounding aquatic life. We saw two wrecks and thousands of colorful fish on the coral reef. We even saw a 5-foot, free-swimming eel, which the captain said, was pretty rare since they like to keep hidden. I leaned over and kissed Demetria since the captain suggested that it would be the "deepest kiss we would ever experience"…needless to say Demetria thought I was a touristy dork…Ah, Demetria Aloha No Au Ia 'Oe (look it up for extra points!).









Our next stop was to Hapuna beach, which is consistently rated as one of the best beaches in the United States. This was the first trip for the kids to a beach so this was a great way for them to get introduced to the Hawaiian lifestyle. Needless to say the kids all loved everything about the beach. The sand and the surf were perfect. The salt water in the eyes, nose and mouth took a little getting used to for them, but they all acclimated quickly. Since we left the beach the kids have all wanted to get back as soon as possible.