Valerie
Well-Known Member
First of all let me just say, it was so much fun! Yes, I missed the forum, but oh man, did we have a blast in Hawaii. Let me tell you I don't think I could have picked a better place to turn 40.......yes, bittersweet,.....birthday, but atleast a birthday in paradise.
We swam with dolphins (Dolphin Quest) on 2-20, my actual b-day.....what a hoot....it was just such a great experience, all around. Our little group of 4 was my best friend, her hubby, me and my hubby and of course we had a dolphin trainer. There were 2 other small groups & they rotated the dolphins between groups. All I can is, if you get the chance to interact with dolphins, I would highly recommend it. From my perspective these dolphins were very, very well taken care of and well loved and they seemed very, very happy. I know some people do not like any animals in captivity, but these dolphins were born & raised in captivity. Anyway, this was at the Hilton on the Big Island and they have their own lagoons for the dolphins & we were in one lagoon....so we got to swim in the deep water with one, and then we got to give the dolphins signals to do different tasks, etc. Of course we also got to give them treats and rub their bellies ....they are amazingly smooth, not slimy like you might picture.
Let's see what else....oh we did a lot of snorkeling, saw lots of sea turtles & when we got to Maui, the whales were making themselves known......apparently they are in the area from Dec to April, so we got to see mama & baby whales. We learned they are their to mate, or deliver & nurse their young....they do not eat,.....they fill up in Alaska & then they just kinda fast when they are in Maui....I never knew that.......they even came up pretty close to shore. We learned that a lot of the Mama whales will stay close to shore to have their calves & then you see a calve just shoot up out of the water to take their first breath...it was very, very cool to see the whales breach. Also saw a lot of whales tails......and side fins.....they were huge!
I wouldn't go out on a boat to whale watch, because frankly the whales looked larger than a lot of the boats & I am a scared of sharks, etc......so no use in tempting fate I say.
We did so many things, hiked, shopped, went to a luau, tried lots of tropical drinks, etc....etc....had wonderful weather, it was in the mid 80's and then found out back in WA they were having snow......amazing.
Anyway, here are some pics...first ones are from the Big Island and then the others are from Maui.
These are taken on Maui
Last but not least, this was our last night & we went out to a lovely restaurant called Mama's Fish House, this is a picture of me with my best friend Laurie. I am the one on the left in the picture.
I hope you all enjoy....sorry hubby took more pictures than I did and I can't seem to get into his, he has some great sunset pictures, so I will try to get him to move some over so I can share those also.
Hope everyone is doing well. :bgrin
We swam with dolphins (Dolphin Quest) on 2-20, my actual b-day.....what a hoot....it was just such a great experience, all around. Our little group of 4 was my best friend, her hubby, me and my hubby and of course we had a dolphin trainer. There were 2 other small groups & they rotated the dolphins between groups. All I can is, if you get the chance to interact with dolphins, I would highly recommend it. From my perspective these dolphins were very, very well taken care of and well loved and they seemed very, very happy. I know some people do not like any animals in captivity, but these dolphins were born & raised in captivity. Anyway, this was at the Hilton on the Big Island and they have their own lagoons for the dolphins & we were in one lagoon....so we got to swim in the deep water with one, and then we got to give the dolphins signals to do different tasks, etc. Of course we also got to give them treats and rub their bellies ....they are amazingly smooth, not slimy like you might picture.
Let's see what else....oh we did a lot of snorkeling, saw lots of sea turtles & when we got to Maui, the whales were making themselves known......apparently they are in the area from Dec to April, so we got to see mama & baby whales. We learned they are their to mate, or deliver & nurse their young....they do not eat,.....they fill up in Alaska & then they just kinda fast when they are in Maui....I never knew that.......they even came up pretty close to shore. We learned that a lot of the Mama whales will stay close to shore to have their calves & then you see a calve just shoot up out of the water to take their first breath...it was very, very cool to see the whales breach. Also saw a lot of whales tails......and side fins.....they were huge!
I wouldn't go out on a boat to whale watch, because frankly the whales looked larger than a lot of the boats & I am a scared of sharks, etc......so no use in tempting fate I say.
We did so many things, hiked, shopped, went to a luau, tried lots of tropical drinks, etc....etc....had wonderful weather, it was in the mid 80's and then found out back in WA they were having snow......amazing.
Anyway, here are some pics...first ones are from the Big Island and then the others are from Maui.
These are taken on Maui
Last but not least, this was our last night & we went out to a lovely restaurant called Mama's Fish House, this is a picture of me with my best friend Laurie. I am the one on the left in the picture.
I hope you all enjoy....sorry hubby took more pictures than I did and I can't seem to get into his, he has some great sunset pictures, so I will try to get him to move some over so I can share those also.
Hope everyone is doing well. :bgrin
