Ah, young love. I wouldn't go back even if I could. No way! Yes, it was thrilling, but also, ever so painful.
Today was the first time I've seen people snorkeling with colorful small inner tubes around their waists. I guess it provides the illusion of security for those not comfortable in the water, kind of like me and my teeny tiny little kayak.
The water was gloriously clear again this morning. My swimming speed seems to have decreased of late with an hour only getting me a little over a mile. Today I swam South instead of my usual Northward swim, and covered two miles in the same amount of time. I guess it isn't me after all and the current really does matter!
Still lots and lots of box jellyfish around today. Someone asked me what they look like, so I took this photo of one. I also took video so that you could see the really cool flashing lights which run up and down in multiple colors, but I got dizzy watching it, so I decided not to post it.
In case you were wondering about the other photo, yes, I was that close. I was paddling my kayak back from my swim when I encountered a group of four kayaks paddling slowly along. A baby whale breached clear of the water so I dropped my paddle and picked up my camera. I aimed in that general direction hoping the baby would make another breach. Instead, less than ten yards away, mommy whale breached! The other kayakers were on the other side of the breach and were sure I had been killed, they all started screaming. But, somehow or other, I got the photo. It was too close and too unexpected for me to get the entire whale in the frame, but I got it!
I got an email recently saying, "What gives?" Where are the dolphins?
They must have heard you, Glenn, because a group of twenty spinner dolphins swam with me for over an hour this morning. The water was crystal clear except for lots and lots of box jellyfish (dangerous critters) and other jelly-like organisms scattered about. The good news is the stinging went away after an hour. The bad news is that my camera focused on the little blobs instead of the dolphins in many shots. Still, I got lots of fun photos and video (click HERE or Below for today's Video).
To the three other people who were out there with me: Click HERE for the rest of the photos which include you!
I love action movies, but I also love a good sappy romantic comedy. So when I saw that Anne Hathaway was nominated for an Oscar in something called "Rachel Getting Married" how could I resist? I should have been tipped off by the Oscar nomination. It wasn't a bad movie, but a romantic comedy it definitely was not. In fact it almost fit into the action genre (fist fight, car crash), except there weren't any nice firey explosions. What's my bottom line on it? Since it is Altmanesque, and I HATE Altman movies, I give it two stars out of five.
Oh, it felt so good to get out on the water this evening. Some people go for a run or take an aerobics class, I get on the kayak and paddle into the wind for an hour. All the tension of my day melts away as waves crash over the bow and I ride the big ocean swells. And today I had the ocean all to myself, no boats anywhere to be seen. Just me and the whales (click HERE or Below for the Video).
I headed out for a paddle after work this evening and this young whale was doing head-stands right in front of my house only a couple hundred yards from shore. It was getting all kinds of exercise but I wasn't, so I headed out to deeper water.
Out there I found another youngster doing repeated tail slaps and half-breaches. It was getting dark but I still managed an underwater snapshot from the kayak of the calf, mother and escort.
On my return the first calf was floating on the surface with its mother even closer to shore than before. I wonder if they will be there when I go for my swim tomorrow morning?
What a day! I'm exhausted!
I helped out as a kayak escort for the Maui Polar Bear Swim race. I chose to accompany the last place person and really enjoyed myself. I met her only a couple of hundred yards out as she was panicking. She had never swum in the ocean before and was struggling to breathe. I got her to calm down by telling her I would stick by her side and that she could climb into my kayak at any time. It was probably fear of sitting close to me in my kayak that kept her swimming. And she finished, she swam the entire 1.2 mile race!
As soon as she finished I lit out for deeper water where I met a calf, mother and escort. They swam under me with the baby tucked under mom's fin. Then they turned around and came back with a now much bolder young one. I was thrilled by the encounter and, not wanting to risk upsetting the whales, I immediately began paddling for home. They, of course, followed me back almost all the way to shore. The top seven photos on my whale page were all from today's encounter.
Next, we went to see "Slumdog Millionaire" which was as wonderful as everyone is saying. Go see it!
Wow! What a day! I wonder what tomorrow will be like?
