Snorkeling

Big Island, Hawaii

Effect of the boat ride on Swetha and Shreya

None of us had done Snorkeling before and we were all excited.We woke up early, left at 7:30 and drove an hour to the pier to board the boat. We were on the boat for an hour which took us further south close to the underwater reefs. After having breakfast on the boat, we tried our newly bought snorkel masks to make sure we have a good fit. It was such a rocking boat ride that it affected Shreya, who threw up :). Swetha was feeling queasy too. I was surprised that Sheila didn't get affected since she is the one with motion sickness problem :)
















After the boat stopped, we put on our snorkel masks and fins and got down to the water. I have to admit that it was little bit overwhelming, once I knew that the water is any where from 10 to 50 feet deep. It was tough  to let go off the boat and just float. Thanks to my recent swimming lessons - and the floating tube :) - I got very comfortable in few minutes.

Once I relaxed, I started enjoying and was able to swim around to any place I wanted to checkout. The view of the underwater reefs was fantastic. Spotted a wide variety of fish with yellow and blue stripes. More than the reefs and the fish, it  is an amazing feeling to float on water. I felt that I had graduated from 5 feet deep swimming pools :))

We had picked up an underwater (film) camera and
I tried to take as many shots as possible.
Few of the shots turned out to be ok.

At lunch time, the boat crew rang the bell and we got on board and had a BBQ lunch. Right after lunch, we got back in the water to do some more snorkeling. As we were snorkeling, one of the crew members got in to the water with a underwater video camera and recorded every one. We should be getting the DVD in 2 weeks. Soon it was time to pack up and return.  While returning Swetha and Shreya were just fine but not Sheila :)

Effect of  Snorkeling on Swetha and Shreya :)

Hang loose !!!

Big Island, Hawaii
 
One of the new things I learned while at Hawaii is the "Hang loose" sign. It involves extending your thumb and little finger while curling the middle 3 fingers, raising and rotating the hand back and fourth.

It is used by locals as a way of greeting or to say "hang loose" or "cool" or "relax". As we drove through the remote areas of Big Island,  kids on the street side greeted us with this sign. Swetha and Shreya with the Luau dancers showing the Hang loose sign.

Nou Ka Hale

Big Island, Hawaii

Whenever we go on vacation, our first preference is to rent a house or a condo as opposed to staying in tiny hotel rooms. This is working out well since there is no rush in the morning to get out and have breakfast elsewhere - the girls love to sleep in late on vacations. We all love it when Sheila whips up a spicy and yummy Indian dinner (:-P...

The condo we stayed at during this Big Island vacation,  "The Shores",  was fantastic in many ways. It is located in Waikoloa (வைகோலவா) resort area which includes Hilton, Marriott resorts,  plenty of luxury condos overlooking the  beaches, multiple restaurants, a golf course, couple of shopping  centers and with an easy walk to 2 beaches.

The whole resort area is nicely landscaped with multiple ponds, water falls, almond tress and coconut trees. The complex was very quiet and is nicely located away from highly commercialized, touristy areas but still close enough to the spots we wanted to visit and enjoy.

It seems that the entire Waikoloa resort areas was built on lava fields since many buildings and  landscaped areas are surrounded by long stretches of black lava fields and rocks.

For 6 days we felt that we are staying in our home. A welcome card placed in the condo correctly captured our feelings as "Nou Ka Hale" which in Hawaiian language, means "Our Home is Your Home".

A Swing by the Sea

Big Island, Hawaii

Sheila and I went for a morning walk on the beach, 10 minutes walking distance from our condo in Waikoloa. We were told this is a rocky beach with less sand but decided to check it out anyway. As we approached the beach I was stunned by the unique combination of pure white rocks and the dark brown/black rocks (which are due to the Lava which had flowed in to the sea long time back). Adding to this breathtaking contrast is a line of coconut trees along the beach.

There were not many people around except few joggers, a family, an old lady and a guy with a bike. As we were walking along, spotted few whales breaching the water at a distance and a line of early morning sea kayakers  rowing their kayaks out to the ocean.

As we turned a corner, we were taken aback to find a wooden swing made of  a tree trunk hung between two trees. A swing at the edge of the sea!!! A fitting finale to the stunning scenery and a pleasant morning walk.

LUV2LUV

In all the other cities I have lived,  I have noticed few cars that have customized licence plates instead of the standard mixed jumble of numbers and letters. When I moved to San Diego, the first thing that struck me is that many cars have customized licence plates.  Most of them are funny and clever.

Here are some samples with my own interpretation. You never know what the owner of the car actually wanted to convey.

FEL4REX  => Fell for Rex

MYMSTR  => Love my Master

CASURFN   => California Surfing

BIGBLVR  => Big Believer

PACGEM => Pacific Gem

XZ MYST =>  Exciting Mystique

LEGSPNR => Driven by an Indian girl at work.
                             One day I will ask her if she is really a leg spinner OR
                             others' legs spin when they look at her :)


Here are some suggestions :)

Sri:  NYNYNY
         The guy loves Newyork. Translates in Tamil to  நய் நய் நய் :)


Diana: 2SHOOT 
Ganesh: 2BUGDi


Siva: HOOTR :)


Sathi: TALAIVR =>  Thalaivar


Surya: PODIQN => Podi Queen


JP:  VIPMVP   => Very Important Person. Most Valuable Person.


Mala:  AMMAEE =>  My Mom's Mom!


Priya: TCHRMA => Teacher Amma :)


Asha: 2SHP => Love to shop

Swetha: 2RGU => Love to argue :)

Shreya: 2PPT  => Love to use Powerpoint

Sheila: 2BLG =>  Love to Blog


Sundu:   2 =>  Love to Love


Let your imagination run wild. Lets hear your versions,