Oahu Day 8

Ok, this was another not fun activity for me (next to deep sea fishing). Swimming with sharks.  I'm not sure what in the world I was thinking when I said that sounded so fun.  It did sound fun!  Then we got on the boat and started to go out and it started to sound not so fun.  The deeper and darker the water got,  the more hesitant I got.  By the time we got there, I did NOT want to get in the water.

Here I am not wanting to get in the water. Seriously what was I thinking? I am terrified of deep dark water.  Did you know I have literately almost drown 3 times?! That's a whole nother blog post. 

I've changed my mind.

I didn't want to do this.  But I did.  I got in the cage and stayed on the ladder the whole time.  Waiting for our time to be up.  It was about as fun as a roller coaster for me.  The good thing is that Paul, Darren, Hans, Jodi, and Doug all loved it. 

Here's a link to a video Hans made, I was in the cage even though I'm not in the video. Promise!
https://www.facebook.com/jodyandhans/videos/10153006271898037/?pnref=story

After swimming with sharks we headed to a fun place for breakfast.  Paul was obsessed with finding Geckos the whole time.  It was so fun to just hand out with Hans and Jodi. Then we headed over to the Dole Plantation for some Dole whip.  Darren hates crowds so we were in and out of there in 15 minutes.  I would have loved to hang out for the day, but we were so exhausted.  We headed back to Doug's for a nap. 

Did you know pineapples grow on bushes?? Me neither!!

After the Dole Plantation I was going to to to the Polynesian Cultural Center.  Darren refused to go.  He hates crowds and stuff like that.  If it doesn't cause an adrenaline rush, he pretty much doesn't want to do it.  We had gotten up at 5:30 to swim with sharks and were done by 8:30.   As much as I wanted to go to the PCC I was just too tired!  I just couldn't do it. If I hadn't been pregnant I would have gone, but being pregnant and on the go constantly just takes it out of me.  So we went back to Doug's and took a nap.  I way overslept and by the time I woke up it was like 3 in the afternoon.  Darren agreed to go to "Ha, the breath of Life" show at the PCC. So off we went.  We missed the whole day there, but made it for the last show.  It was great, but we were all so exhausted, and had a flight to catch at 6:30 in the morning.  It was the end of our Hawaii trip.  We had a great time, but I missed my kids and couldn't wait to get home and not get on another boat for a very long time.

Kauai Day 7

Another fun filled day.  We got up early and were off by 8.  We took a boat tour along the Na Pali coast that we had just hiked along.  It was a sightseeing and snorkeling tour. The boat was beautiful, the crew, food  and scenery were all great.  I was hesitant to go since I had gotten so sick on the Deep Sea Fishing boat.  But this one was bigger and the water was a lot smoother.  In  fact, I think it was the most beautiful water I have ever seen.  50 feet deep and crystal clear to the bottom.  
When I had scheduled our tour the lady was very concerned about me being pregnant and said they don't allow anyone 27 weeks along.  I lied and said I was 26 weeks.  Does that make me a bad person? I mean, who keeps track of that stuff anyways?? Not like I'm counting the days or anything.  I brought a note from my doctor that said I could go on boats and snorkel, just in case they gave me a hard time.  I was so nervous they would.  I learned something this trip.  No one challenges a pregnant lady. I was happy about that.

Can you see the dolphins in the picture?  They came right up to the front of the boat and were playing in the wake.  They were so fun to watch as they jumped out of the water.  They were so close!  I felt like I would have reached out my hand and touched one!

Our boat captain was like this 30 year old surfer dude from California- or Hawaii.  He was great.  He got our boat so close to the  caves- it made me a little nervous.  I guess it even made him nervous.

Can you see the sea turtle in that beautiful water?

I took so many pictures because it was just so beautiful!!

I went up by the captain of the boat and hung out for a little bit. They had nice seats for people to sit up there and it was a great view.  At this point he backed the boat up under this waterfall and Paul and Darren got in the shower of water.  The captain, said, "Don't post those pictures to our website- I'm not supposed to do that."  he laughed and I'm not sure if he was joking or not.  But he was definitely a very free spirited Captain.  At one point the yacht was about 3 feet from the cave and there we were going back and forth with the waves.  I thought, we are seriously going to hit that rock!  When he finally moved the boat back.  He wiped his brow and the crew were all laughing.  I said, "do you do that every time?" And he said, "Umm, no.  It's ok though! all good as long as I bring her back without any scratches on it.  It's only like a 2 .5 million dollar yacht !"   

Getting ready to go snorkeling!  I was so excited to go to a snorkeling spot not from shore.  Boy were we disappointed.  I ranked it as the #2 worst place I've snorkeled.  Second to California.  

Here is Paul steering the boat with our captain.  What a character!  After our tour we hoped on a flight back to Oahu.  Hans and Jodi so generously picked us up at the airport and we headed straight out to dinner.  We went to a fancy place called Roy's.  I was a little sea sick- but still had a great time.