We Even Got Wet!

Despite having grown up in the land of 10,000 lakes (11,842 according to the DNR) and living a block from one of those lakes for seven years, we don’t really swim or recreate in the open water. I’m pretty nervous that fish will touch me. Once I got past the near panic attacks in Fiji, I started to enjoy snorkeling, a little, in chest deep water – max.

The Hilo side of Hawaii isn’t known for its swimming beaches, as our earlier tour showed us, most areas consist of cliffs that drop into the ocean where they’re pounded by large waves. My parents did find a protected swimming area with a nice rock break between the open ocean and the shore. Oftentimes, sea turtles will also come to chill in this area, but when we went, they were elsewhere. It was a Sunday afternoon so there were quite a few children letting off steam before returning to school in the morning. The water was “refreshing” which is why we weren’t really sitting and basking in the glorious salty water.

Lily mostly focused her energy on building structures out of sand. Loran joined in, eventually they were foiled by the tide. Ella and Grandma were busy looking for interesting rocks and shells. Ella and I eventually got goofy and started chasing one another around in the water. When I’d catch her, I’d swing her upside-down and almost dunk her head into the water. She would just laugh and laugh.

Once we were all packed up, headed home, Loran and I stopped in town to pick up a pizza. I felt like a local walking into the pizza place with my swimsuit. Ahh, Hawaiian life. Pants optional.