Hawaiian Vacation....Day 6

Thursday we decided to go to Hanauma Bay to snorkel.  It's a protected cove perfect for snorkeling.  Back when Ed lived in Hawaii it wasn't as touristy as it is now.  He said he used to just show up and snorkel.  Now you have to pay to get in and watch a 5 minute video on what not to do as a snorkeler.  I failed to take any pictures of this place.  Mostly because we locked the camera in a locker with our car keys and cash so we could snorkel without worrying about it getting stolen.
The day was kind of overcast.  It was even sprinkling off and on, which is fine as long as you are in the water.  Shawn was in his wet suit and warm enough to stay in the ocean forever if he needed.  After 2 hours of snorkeling I left him to go sit on the beach next to Heidi to warm up in the sun.  Ed came and stood by us girls for a few minutes.  We started watching Shawn.  He didn't even have to move his arms or legs at all to stay afloat.  With the salt in the water added to the buoyancy of his wet suit he was unsinkable.  He was appearing to be having a great time.  He just kept getting further and further out.  He passed through the barrier part of the cove and just kept floating out to sea.  It started to rain.  And then rain harder, and harder.  We grabbed all our things and ran for cover.  Because of the rainfall we started to lose sight of Shawn.  We'd see a foot every once in awhile.  Ed headed out to try to find him.  Because we were hiding in an alcove to stay dry, there was nobody to give Ed directions on which way to head, so he came back to shore.  When the rain let up we started to be able to see more clearly.  We spotted Shawn again, this time swimming parallel to the cove.  Ed went out to help him back in.  Shawn was stuck because he couldn't find a way to cross without actually standing on the coral.  Ed helped him find a way through.  Shawn said he was having such a great time he just didn't even realize how far out he had gone.  I'd wished I was with him.  Or that the sun had been shining so I would've enjoyed sitting on the beach.  We ate lunch at the park, and then after 2 more massive downpours we decided to call it a day.  It wasn't letting up for long.  We drove a little ways to a look out point where we could see a blow hole.  And get out and climb just for some fun photos.

We headed back to our hotel to shower and get ready for dinner.  We decided to eat at PF Changs which was just a short walk from our hotel. 

And then after dinner it was after 8:00.  And.  We decided to walk around downtown instead of go back to bed.  Ed and Heidi had been hitting the town nightly after we went to sleep, so they knew of the good spots to look for souvenirs for our kids.  It's funny that Shawn and I love the excitement of the night life.  It's so much fun energy.  Too bad we're too old and tired to enjoy it every night!  It was strange to see Christmas decorations around town.  It was just too warm to feel like Christmas.

We wandered around for awhile, and then hit the Cheesecake Factory for cheesecake to go.  Perfect way to end the day.