Hawaiian Memories: Day 4
The day I had been preparing for was FINALLY here! Hours of studying, weeks of training & months of planning had finally come to life - Day 4 was the day I got to scuba dive in Hawaiian waters!
From the moment I woke up, I was ready!! I was so pumped, I skipped my morning run & was out of the house before Jordan woke up. Two of Jordan's coworkers were scuba certified and knew the waters so lucky me, I didn't have to pay anyone to take me diving. It's a safety issue to never dive alone so it worked out perfect - I had not 1 diving buddy but 2! They picked me up from Jordan's house & we headed up to E beach (Electric Beach). If you know me well, you know this was one of the best days of my life. I love the ocean but more importantly, I love the fish. The secret is out, I'm a walking mermaid :)
After an hour drive, we made it! Finding a decent parking spot on the other hand, was a bit difficult but, we managed (wearing scuba gear & walking half a mile wasn't exactly what we had planned). As we walked down, my 2 buddies & were discussed our hand signals again & basics of what we might see. From possible shark sightings to making sure our air pressure was set, we covered it all.....so we thought. After all this, we were in the water and ready to head down. It was amazing. The first dive was recorded around 30 minutes or so. We explored both the sand bar & the pipe. On the second dive, I discovered something I probably shouldn't have....I discovered that the pipeline is actually something you should NOT get in front of! I was so amazed at the coral & the fish that I spaced out and ended up getting in the current. The pipe (http://www.pacificpinnacles.com/TravelDiveLog/2006/May21_ElectricBeach/bg_coolingwateroutlet.html) discharges warm water from the power plant located back on the beach at a very fast current. As soon as I swam near the front of it, I was immediately being pushed out from the shore. Luckily, 1 of my buddies saw & came after me! SCARIEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE but so glad everything is okay! We came back out to shore to calm down & rest a bit before we headed back in for our third and final dive. Through all three dives, we explored a so much & saw so many of my favorite fish, the Sergeant Major, which was a great surprise because I studied them back in high school & have seen them all in the Caribbean (http://www.bluezooaquatics.com/productDetail.asp?did=1&cid=15&pid=748).
After a long days worth of diving, we met Zach & Jordan for lunch, where I had the best crab sandwich I've ever experienced in my life. Deep fried crab on a sandwich - makes some people cringe but boy was it amazing. Side note, scuba diving uses a lot of energy so the massive about of calories I ate at lunch wasn't all too bad.....
As the day was winding down, we decided what better day to do Zach & Jordan's engagement pictures than today??? They got ready, packed up their things and we headed off to HICKAM BEACH! See, I told you we would go back! The sunset was perfect, the waters were calm and I couldn't get enough of these two love birds. If you think you're confused, you have every right to be. We were taking "engagement" pictures because Zach & Jordan were technically married but were planning to have a wedding in July 2014. They decided when both of them moved to Hawaii that it was meant to be. Thanks to the military, they had a small ceremony & then the family affair would happen later on. About an hour later, pictures were done & the sun was setting. Zach had planned to take us fishing as the sun set & even though I didn't do much fishing - it was still a night I'll never forget.The fish weren't biting but, that didn't phase us at all. It was the first Hawaiian sunset I had seen and being at the harbor to experience it still leaves me a little speechless.
