Took the underwater camera to Sharks Cove on the North Shore this past week. Got to swim with a turtle!
Jun 302010
Jun 062010
Today I surfed!
Since moving here I’ve had a number of offers to teach me to surf. I have made at least a small effort to accept each offer. Yet each time the offer has just fallen through. Not this time.
A couple of families from church converged on the beach so I could finally learn. After a 5 minute lesson on how to get up we took our boards out to the water.
With a little push from behind I caught my first wave on my first attempt. After that I was on my own. Over an hour or so I caught 6 or 8 waves. Another beginner ran into me once. By the end I was absolutely exhausted. But it was a lot of fun and with my giant beginners board made it a little easier than expected. Or maybe I’m just a natural.
Apr 212010
We finally made it to Makapu’u, the farthest eastern point of O’ahu. It was fun to drive along and see the mountains shift from having lush green sides to being completely wind-burned and dry, but still magnificent. The wind really picked up here as it made it’s way around the side of the island.
The hike was all uphill, which just proved how out of shape we are! We were able to see the outline of the island of Moloka’i in the distance and kept an eye out for whales but never saw any. The path was entirely paved which allowed us to push Autumn in the stroller to the top. She enjoyed waving to every person we passed but didn’t like the wind at the top. So we didn’t stay very long, and will have to make it back to the beach below on another trip!
Apr 102010
Wednesday I took Autumn to the Waikiki Aquarium for the first time. Once a year, the museums on O’ahu do a volunteer exchange program that allows their volunteers to visit other museums for free! As an intern at the Bishop Museum I was able to participate in this. During April, on specified days, I can go to other museums for free and take guests at a discounted rate. Clayton and I have seen many places already, but the Aquarium, Missions Houses Museum, and I’olani Palace are still on our to-do list. I decided to take Autumn to the aquarium while Clayton worked, and at the end of the month we will go to the other two museums together.
It was a very small aquarium (we went through the whole place twice in 1 hour at a leisurely rate), but I learned in my Museum Studies class last semester that it has won awards for the quality of their “exhibits”. They take good care of their fish and keep the tanks very clean. I thought their corals were particularly spectacular. Autumn loved pointing and staring at all the fish, other children, and one old Japanese couple.
