Kayaking and Snorkeling

So it's been a while since I've posted, and I've left most of the posting to my dad. Sorry, dad!
Anyway, yesterday was so much fun! My family and I drove up to Makena, a cute little secluded town, and parked on the side of the road at this woodsy little area next to the shore. Cars were lined up single file in a looooong line on the side of the road, all the way up to where the trees and bushes parted to reveal a small beach. This beach was gorgeous! Kayaks were all over the beach in various shades of mostly yellow and red. When we walked up to the front of the beach, we were met by a man who told us that our tour guide's name was Steve. He pointed Steve out and left us to wait for him.
After around 30 minutes of waiting, Steve introduced himself, and we introduced ourselves. Steve, impressively, immediately remembered all of our names! He got us geared up with our life vests, a true fashion statement, and we all grabbed paddles. We had to wait another 30-something minutes for the other couple who would be accompanying us on our journey, and once they arrived and were geared up, we chose our kayaks. Sarah and dad took a yellow one, mom and I took a yellow one, and the other couple took a red one. Steve went over the safety procedures, how to get in and out, etc. Once we were all ready, Steve launched us into the warm water.
Kayaking was tiring, and my mom and I, for the most part, were in the back of the group. This was probably because my dad is stronger than both of us combined, and he was pulling most of the weight on his and Sarah's boat. The other couple, of course, were both adults, so they were usually in the front. We kayaked a pretty short distance, and the sun beat down on us, making us even more tired and eager to get into the water. Steve eventually stopped us in front of a reef, anchored us, we put on our snorkel gear, and excitedly dropped into the water.
The snorkeling was AMAZING!!! The scenery was a mixture of browns, reds, yellows, and neutrals. The fish were brightly colored, and there were various sizes of fish. There were large groups of small black fish crowding around the sides of the reefs, and there were a lot of fish who swam aimlessly, alone. I saw a lot of blue and yellow fish, and even a few elongated, eel-looking fish! At one point, Steve, who was also in the water, called everyone over and we all swam to him. He was holding a small octopus! It was so cute, and the colors were beautiful; it was a deep red with vein-like orange and dark yellow "stripes". Steve told each of us to hold our arms out. I went first, and Steve put the octopus on my arm. It felt slimy and cold and really cool! The octopus used it suckers to suck onto my arm and it was one of the weirdest things ever. The rest of my family followed, and even my mom, who was scared of it, tried it! It was so cool.
Throughout this whole experience, there were lots of sea turtles surfacing. They were absolutely huge, and really beautiful. When they surfaced, their heads came out of the water and they looked so elegant. They also sat at the bottom of the ocean on the sand, and barely stirred. We got so close to them, and it was one of the most exciting things we have done!
Once everyone was finished snorkeling, we set off for another snorkeling area. Unfortunately, my mom and I started to feel seasick from the rocking of the kayak. We decided that we had seen everything we needed to see, and informed Steve of our unfortunate problem. Steve did not hesitate, and promised to bring us back to shore immediately. He reassured us that we were not the first or only people, even that DAY to have felt sick. People had been throwing up earlier that morning, and he understood totally. He took us back, we had a nice smooth ride in, and we ventured down to the car to get towels for Sarah and dad. We waited for a while, drinking juice, and finally everyone arrived. They all got ungeared, we said our goodbyes, and we drove off to have lunch at a cute little place called Joy's Place. The snorkeling and kayaking was so much fun! I am disappointed in myself that I could not fully complete the journey, and my mom is even more disappointed in herself that she failed to take her trusty ginger pills before going, but we still got to see amazing fish, sea urchins, turtles, and a really cute octopus! Yesterday was such a fun day! :) I'm excited for today now, though, because we get to go SURFING!!!!!
-Anna