Honolulu Jan 6 - Jan 9 Part I

I met Stu's parents for the first time which I thought would have defined my entire stay in Honolulu, but the effect of that experience didn't hit me until much later. Stu and I were so busy catching up with friends, snorkeling, sightseeing, and eating our meals out that we barely ran into his folks. His house was very quiet, very much the empty nest with the absence of 3 grown children. I made sure to tiptoe around and close doors quietly lest I disturb the peace. Part of what made it so quiet was the beautiful garden and yard around Stu's house. There were fruit-laden tangerine, pear, pomelo trees, blooming lavender and white hydrangeas, lush avocado and lychee trees, bamboo for fencing, and these massive, majestic ceramic urns dark with water plants and tiny fish.

Each morning of my stay, I was woken up by the sound of insistent quacking outside the window. As Stu had warned me, ducks appeared up the side of a small hill to get their daily bread that Stu's father threw out the master bedroom window every morning. They waddled around, assembling themselves in some sort of rehearsed order and looked up expectantly. Sure enough, pieces of stale white bread fell from the sky. Though it was 7 AM, I was on my great adventure, and perfectly content to put up with their happy noise.

That evening was my first walk on Hawaii's beaches. We drove to Waikiki and walked on the sand on our way to dinner.

The next day we went snorkeling out in Hanauma Bay. I'm actually pretty terrified of water although completely in love with beaches and the ocean. The thought of drowning in bottomless, dark water conjures up a stomach-dropping feeling in me. Though we were snorkeling in shallow water with no large animals, it was difficult to manage the most menial or automatic tasks like standing or breathing in and out of my mouth. Transitioning from a swimming position to a standing position and going in and out of the water proved to be tricky as I tended to panic like a fish out of water.

There weren't too many fish, but I think the conservation effort will reverse that in the future. Where locals used to drive straight up to the bay and snorkel, a parking lot was created with a specific entrance and fees as well as the mandatory viewing of an informational 9 minute film about the Bay's delicate coral reef. Basically, you're not supposed to step on it, making most of the Bay's floor a landmine-like environment. Whatever it takes to keep Hawaii beautiful.