Molokini

On Tuesday morning we woke up at our usual 0’dark hundred and drove down to Ma’alaea Harbor.

On this vacation, we’ve consistently maintained a record of eating two breakfasts each morning.  One at home and one “abroad.”  On Sunday and Monday we ate second breakfast at the Pioneer Inn in Lahaina.  The young Hawaiian host recognized us from the day before and he seated us at our “usual” table.

The boys were enamored with the inn’s African Grey parrot, Alex, and their walls are now graced with three masterpieces dedicated to him.  On the second day, I struck up a conversation with an older Hawaiian couple.  We chatted about driving on the mainland and the weather.  The husband actually asked me if we live in Hawaii.  Maybe Nate’s sun-kissed curls and the only tan in our family threw him off?

So Tuesday we had to miss our usual stop at the Pioneer Inn for chocolate smoodies because we had a date at the harbor with the Four Winds II and Captain John.  We chose the half-day boat trip that takes you all the way out to Molokini for bagels, snorkeling, barbecue, and beer, not necessarily in that order, plus a number of opportunities to spend your money on wet suits and snuba gear and underwater photography.  In case you aren’t familiar, Molokini is a crescent-shaped, partially submerged volcanic crater that is a great snorkeling destination because I’m told much of the sea-life gets “trapped” in the crater.

Speaking of “trapped”… I was expecting to spend much of the trip trapped on the boat with Land Rover while James and Aquaman explored.  Jakey had already mastered his mask and snorkel in the depths of the kiddie pirate ship pool here at the hotel.  Five years old and I think he’s already nearing his 10,000 hours.

With a short wet-suit, life jacket, flippers and snorkel gear, JJ set-off hand-in-hand with his Dad.  I was impressed with his perfect snorkeling form and ability to empty his mask without a lot of complaining.  They saw tons of fish and sea urchins and coral and noodle people.  Don’t worry, the noodle people were just from another tour boat.

Once we got out into the deep water, Nate wasn’t so sure he wanted to go in.  I admit, it did look pretty deep and there was a high likelihood of “going under.”  Somehow I talked him into it and with the reassurance of a boogie board and a life jacket, Land Rover and I descended into the depths of the volcanic crater.  A few minutes later, I talked him onto the hard, white plastic, floating snorkel-craft they had for kids.  He had previously eschewed such a contraption with a barefoot stomp, but after a few minutes teetering on a boogie board in choppy water, he finally opted for the raft.  It had a big viewing window he could look down through to see the fish, which allowed me to hold onto the rope and do some snorkeling, too.  Unfortunately we didn’t get a picture of Natesy out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean swimming around in an inactive volcanic crater with black-tipped reef sharks.  Undoubtedly, Grandma will be skeptical.

Nate and I know the truth in our hearts.

We snorkeled.  There was a lot of in and out for potato chip breaks.  I went back in with Jake and we were helped in by a suitably blond and tattooed deckhand named Jake.  He told us the boat was previously called the USS Jacob, before it was decommissioned and repurposed into a jaunty little booze cruise.  Nate and I also went down into the glass bottom viewing room.  There was too much wax stuck around the underwater windows like used chewing gum for my taste.

On the return ride, both Aquaman and Land Rover passed out and missed the whale sighting.  A mom and her baby are still hanging out in the harbor, which is very late in the season.  Great for us; not great for climate change.  We also took a short detour to a place Captain John called Turtle Universe.  A marketing gig to frequent a possibly less frequented spot than someplace called Turtle Town.

Overall, the perfect boat trip for young and old, and especially our USS Jacob.  Captain John was a genuine hoot.  Lunch from the barbecue off the back was surprisingly tasty… though I’ve always found boating makes me hungry.

I forgot to mention, on the way out to the crater, Nate asked, “Are we going to Hawaii?”

Guess I spoke too soon…