The main event today was the scuba diving trip I'd put together. Lauren and I were already scuba certified, but the other 7 people got a crash course in dive safety:
On the dives, we saw lots of tropical fish, colorful coral, and giant moray eels. Lauren and I saw three sea turtles, swimming just a few feet from our faces. They were slow, graceful, and timeless somehow. Lauren later said that she'd felt like she was in the presence of something holy. It was really amazing to see them swimming out in the wild, and to be swimming right there alongside them, 30 feet under the water.
Sadly, the scuba trip was not all roses: 2 of the 9 of us ended up not diving, and seasickness was pretty rampant on our small boat in the big waves. And I got a "Hawaiian tattoo" from a sea urchin (stung a bit). But even so, most of our party seemed to enjoy having a new experience.
We took a short rest after scuba before walking 30 minutes down the road for dinner at Ono Hawaiian Food. Terrific! The amount of pork in the Hawaiian diet makes me wonder if the island was originally settled by folks from the South. (Not that I'm complaining). I also confirmed that I really, really don't like poi, which was an irksome thing to admit, but I might as well be up-front about it. Apparently, the more hardcore you are, the more fermented (e.g., rotten?) you like your poi. Our day-old poi was definitely tingling in my mouth a bit. Here's a picture of Bill waiting outside the restaurant (did I mention it was BYOB?):
Inertia was strong as we walked back toward Waikiki with heavy stomachs. We stopped for a breather at the Hyatt overlooking the water. Then after searching for a new spot for a while, we fell back on the tried-and-true Duke's for drinks before bed.
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