The tide was high and Ashley was moving on

Monday March 27th started slowly.  Kari and I got up and went for what can be loosely described as a run.  We enjoyed a nice family breakfast and then headed for the pool.  The majority of our day was spent hanging around the pool.  I read part of a book to relax for like the first time in 5 years.  Kari read a couple of magazines.  Ashley tried a litttle snorkeling and paddle boarding.  She complained about being uncomfortable and/or tired.  She bounced back and forth between our rooms and the pool most of the day.  Katie tried snorkeling, paddle boarding and boggie boarding at the beach.  Gracie played in the pool, ran around and got sunburned.

 

Gracie starts the day with a smile.

 

All the girls are smiling in this one.

Ashley continued to feel a little off.  Katie also started to feel a little under the weather and began complaining of a sore throat.  Katie was mostly mad at Ashley for not covering her mouth enough when she coughed.  That is bad Comet room manners!

Grace, Kari and I had an epic game of monkey in the middle before getting ready for our adventure.

We headed out for a sunset cruise and night snorkeling with the manta rays.  We all donned wet suits and headed out around 6 PM.  The Anseth's, some dude from Long Island, the Captain and Troy, our snorkel guide.

 Basically it works like this.  In the 80s the flood light around the Sheraton hotel near the bay attracted millions of plankton.  Manta Rays eat plankton, so they were attracted to this spot as well.  Eventually, the hotel took down the lights.  Some crafty snorkeling outfits attached lights to surfboards or Buoys and convinced tourists like us to snorkel out in the Pacific while holding onto the board to watch the Manta Rays.  

Sounds simple enough right.  Well if you have read any of this blog in the past you know that when the sea is angry then Ashley will most likely be angry.

 

All smiles before sunset and our snorkeling adventure 

 

Ashley appears very relaxed with the sun at her back as we head out.

 

Everyone is smiling.  Will it last?

We get to the snorkel spot.  Pretty simple, drop anchor, toss out buoy with LED lights, put on wetsuit, mask and snorkel.  Jump in put a noodle under your ankles hold on to the buoy and wait for the Manta Rays to show up.  

Katie jumps in first, swims out to the buoy and waits. Kari goes next and makes it to the buoy without problems.  Ashley jumps in and begins complaining but makes it to the buoy.  Grace refuses to go and starts crying like her head was in a vice.  The dude from Long Island jumped in, swam to the buoy and promptly freaked out having a full blown panic attack.  He swam back to the boat climbed out and never entered the water again.  Now we are waiting and floating and all of a sudden, Gracie is out holding/sitting on the buoy.  This goes ok until 2 things happen: 1) our guide and another boat guide start talking about all the box jellyfish they saw just the other night. Gracie is terrified of box jellyfish since a bunch of people got stung in Maui 2-3 years ago. 2) a giant Manta Ray swims right up under our buoy.  She is crying and yelling .  Troy, our guide rescues her from the buoy and starts for the boat.  That is when you realize she is not the only one yelling.  Ashley has gotten completely freaked out since this Manta came within 8 inches of her arms and face.  She is crying and demanding to get out of the water.  Ash some how manages to give Kari a death stare through her goggles and grunts " Get me out of here".  Ash starts to swim after Troy and Grace but freezes because they seem too far away. She is trapped between the safety of the buoy, which she does not believe in or 12 ft of open water swimming in the Pacific to Troy /Grace and ultimately the salvation of the boat.  But what if the Manta Rays, in this short time have they abandoned thousands of years of filter feeding on plankton only to dine on human flesh that night? Thank the Lord, the rays continued on the happy life of plankton eaters.  Ashley crossed the great divide to Troy and eventually swam to the boat.  If swimming while crying and yelling is a superpower Ashley has it.  Many may be asking, "What about Katie?".   Katie just kept rocking she hung on the buoy and floated.  Relaxing like a cool cat.  She thought this whole experience was awesome. She may have saved her sisters lives with her awesomeness.

 

Is this Manta coming for plankton or our1st born?

 

The blue lights of the LED have this Manta Ray tripping

 Silent gliders in the dark

 Flipping up to eat plankton.  This is pretty dang close

 

A couple of Rays, enjoying plankton.

After this was over we piled in the rental and made the 35 minute drive back to the resort.  40 minutes later we were all asleep.  Some exhausted by their fear, some by their embarrassment and some because their shoulders hurt from holding on to the buoy like that for too long.  

If you enjoyed this entry you should check out, The sea was angry that day and so was Ashley.

 

I think my shoulders will hurt for a week.  Aloha.