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Blog by Greta:

Day 2: After another tasty breakfast of bacon & eggs from "Cafe McCann", we headed to off to kayak on Kailua Bay. We got our kayaks, and headed out on the canal to the bay. It's very shallow there, and we had to drag the kayaks most of the way. Then getting into the kayak was quite the challenge with the waves crashing in. Mike had the camera in a plastic ziplock - it stayed dry but in the future, we'll DEFINITELY double bag it!

We first headed out to "Flat Island" which was straight off the beach about 1/2 a mile. After we got near there, we headed towards the Mokalua Islands (called "The Mokes" by the locals) which were about 2 miles away. This was a very calm day according to Marian, but according to Minnesotans who know inland lakes, it was plenty choppy! We paddled along - it took just under an hour to get there. You can see sea turtles swimming and surfacing from time to time, and the water is crystal clear. As we neared the first of the Mokes (a bird sanctuary with a large, sandy beach) the waves REALLY tossed you around and would sometimes wash right over your kayak. Coming into the beach was a bit of a challenge but eventually, you got washed ashore. Once we all landed, we walked around a bit, and had some lunch we'd brought along (salami, foccacia break, orange slices & water have NEVER tasted so good). Marian even ran into a couple from White Bear Lake, MN! After watching people arrive & leave, we realized we'd approached the island the difficult way, and left paddling straight towards Lanikai Beach). It still was a trick getting off the island with the waves crashing in - I may have STILL been there if it wasn't for the gal in the pink bikini who came out and pushed me off (thank you whomever you are!) We then paddled back, but got a bit hung up on reefs were they are just below the surface - it's amazing that as clear as the water is, all of the sudden you end up in the shallows and didn't realize you were there! We didn't see any manta rays, but I guess in the shallow reefs there is a good place to see them darting around. Our paddle back was about the same "travel" time although as we got close to the canal mouth, we just floated a bit. Your shoulders get tired at first but then it's your wrists that hurt.

Here are the pics Mike took while out paddling (Marian is in the white hat & red vest - I am in the tan visor, red vest & purple t-shirt - Mike was the photographer)

Back to Marian's and then while deciding what to do for supper, her friend Kim called & invited us over for supper. We arrived with some steaks & wine, and they had ribs, jamalaya & salad. IT was a fun evening of chatting @ Kim & Mark's and they had people stopping by all evening. It was a lot like being @ Casa McCann back in Dayton, MN!

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Last updated: Fri, Mar 18, 2011.
Copyright © Mike vanMeeteren, 2011.