Hanauma Bay -- The McCann Snorkeling Adventure!(Part 1)

Yupp....we went snorkeling this weekend! At Hanauma Bay, a marine preserve about half an hour from where we live. This place is amazing and anyone who comes here to visit MUST go there to try snorkeling. Basically it's knee to chest deep water, relatively clear on top of an old coral bed and loaded with fish. And I do mean loaded. Kinda spooky at first but once you get over that it's simply amazing.

We started off early and went to Starbucks (our Saturday morning ritual). Well, let me backtrack. I had no idea where we were going, this was completely a surprise for me from Tyson. This I think was a good thing, because I might have gotten a bit freaked out if I knew what was coming, despite the fact I REALLY wanted to go snorkeling. Okay, so now we drove to Hanauma Bay, paid the dollar for day parking (can't beat that I tell ya!) and then I stood in a kinda long line while Tyson parked.

Now, I have to interject with a funny story at this point. Tyson parked and brought Jaden and all the beach gear we have, I had gotten into line with the (surprisingly heavy) backpack. Anyway the line was moving kind of quick and I was watching for Tyson because I didn't want to lose our spot (he had the money!). All of a sudden I see Tyson, umbrella poles sticking out every which way, towels dangling, and Tyson hunched over like he was trying to save it all from spilling. Jaden was clearly -NO- help in all of this. I cracked up. Wish I had the camera out then.

We ended up not having to pay because we're locals (nice!) but did have to watch a 10 minute movie about safety and the preserve. We hiked down to the beach, rented a set of snorkel gear and trekked out to a quiet beach spot. Now, Tyson kept walking and walking and walking and I kept thinking "here's good" but on we would walk. Jaden is not light but on we trekked anyway. I can't say how great it was that we did because we all but avoided the crowds completely, found a shady area to park our stuff and basically I think enjoyed the experience more.

I snorkeled first, while Tyson and Jaden waded around. These fish are NOT timid! They were allowed to be fed until very recently so they have no fear of people really. I did not stray too far from Tyson the first time out but did see some amazing fish! We saw some triggerfish that were tenacious buggers! They basically played chicken with us, darting up within inches of us with mouths agape(very small mouths, I don't even know if a grape would have fit, so it was not dangerous). Apparently they even nipped at Tyson's fins. Apparently crusty that we weren't feeding them?

Tyson snorkeled next while I played with Jaden. Jaden loved seeing the fish in the water, they're so colourful they were easy to point out. We continued to trade off for the majority of the afternoon, going about three times each. Tyson was a lot more adventurous than I was, though I did get out there a bit, he explored further than I and was rewarded with seeing a 2 foot (or slightly bigger) parrotfish. I saw some too, and I have to say, if you listen underwater you can HEAR them chewing on the coral.

Needless to say snorkeling is my new favourite hobby, I think Tyson's too! We were both a bit sunburned (despite our constant application of sunscreen), but Jaden was unscathed.