Hawaii (Part 1)

I arrived in Hawaii yesterday. I debated whether or not to blog on this vacation as there will be no poker related content at all, but since enough folks who know me personally read this stuff I figure I might as well. My girlfriend and I are here for a wedding, but made sure to plan out a ten day vacation to make the most of the trip to the Big Island.

The flight was long but good, and I actually managed to sleep some on the plane. We're staying on a golf course in Waikoloa, and I've been impressed with the service at our condo resort so far. Today we headed out to go snorkelling at a place called Anaehoomalu Bay. It's the first time I've been snorkelling in seven years, and while it was a little choppy with mediocre visibility, we did find some nice coral. Some fish I recognized from my many years visiting the Caribbean, but we found at least three or four new varieties. The highlight of the excursion was drifting near a three and a half foot long sea turtle, who I imagine must have been upwards of sixty pounds. His shell looked ancient, and he was entirely unconcerned that he was well within our reach.

We booked three activities for the week. Tomorrow we're doing a night snorkel with Manta Rays. I've spent a lot of time snorkelling with Southern Rays in the Caymans, but never interacted with Mantas. I’m looking forward to it.

Later in the week we'll be doing a full day bus tour around the island which allegedly contains 11 of the 13 climate zones earth has to offer. So far we haven't seen much beyond beach and fields of volcanic rock that stretch for miles. Finally we'll be doing a daytime snorkel tour with three stops, including one at the Captain Cook monument which is famous for its reef life. I think we'll also make our way out to a seahorse farm tour which should be interesting.