Hawai'i 2006

About 4 years ago, Bri's mom called us. At the time we were living in Irvine, CA, Brian was enrolled at Whitter Law School. She told us that she and Steve were taking us with them to Hawaii for their 10 year wedding anniversary. She said that we were going to the Big Island and staying on the Kona side. I was so super excited, I couldn't believe it. I had never been to Hawaii I had just seen pictures and movies, I knew that I wanted to go. The hard part though, was we had to wait until June.
June finally arrived and we were suppose to be going on a flight with a lay over on one of the other islands and then hopping to Kona. However, when we got to the airport, the direct flight was not full so we were able to get on that flight and flew straight into Kona. It was so weird, the airplane landed on the tarmac, which is next to the ocean and they wheeled the stairs up to the plane. There was no building, just pavilions. It was a very different airport, but it smelled so good.

We enjoyed so many wonderful experiences while we were there. We went to many of the beaches snorkeling, we saw eels, beautiful fish, turtles, etc. I really loved the snorkeling there, the water was so warm and clear, nothing I had experienced before. We went golfing one day, on this course they have peacocks and turkeys just walking about like we have ducks in Utah. There were several males that would just follow us around. The course was beautiful it was unlike any other course I have been on, Brian, Debby and Steve all LOVE to golf, I just go along for fun, I am not a huge fan of golf, but I can hold my own. We did some sight seeing in town and shopping. We also attended a Luau it was fun to see the dancing and try the food. We also went on a submarine and we went down a 104 feet. That was pretty cool, we saw a boat wreck and a reef shark. That was awesome!

My favorite part of the Hawaii trip though was toward the end of the trip and we went snorkeling with Jack's Diving Locker and the Manta Rays. A manta ray is like a sting ray, but larger. These animals can get up to 16 feet wing tip to wing tip and weigh about 100 pounds per foot. These animals are massive. So, we started our adventure about 4 pm, we had an afternoon drive and saw some mantas playing on the surface. We also saw some fish and an eel. As, the sun was setting and we were eating our sandwich dinner, we saw spinner dolphins in the distance. What an amazing sight to see. After dinner and it was dark it was time to go play with the mantas. So, snorkel gear, life vest, and flash light and off into the dark water we go. The company that takes you on these tours had put a giant spotlight into the water a ways off, but we had to swim to that. The plankton are attracted to the light, and this is what Mantas eat. We waited a little bit and soon here were the mantas they were spinning and twirling in the light, it was a spectacular show. The mantas started at the bottom of the ocean and worked their way to the surface. I was doing just fine watching these massive animals dance until one got literally 4 inches away. Steve who was about 30 feet away popped his head up and asked if the manta brushed my knee, I told him no, but after that I was a little bit nervous about being ran over by a 1600 pound animal. But I still stayed in the water until it was time to go back to the boat. What an adrenaline rush. We found out on the ride home that there had been 5 mantas that night and they all were female. It was so worth the $200, for the experience. I look forward to going back to Hawaii and seeing more. It was absolutely beautiful. I just would want more time there.