Swimming with the fishes-- Waikiki again, but the true on this time

The spouse and I decided to spend Thanksgiving in Hawaii. Probably the best decision I've made in a long time.  This was the view from our hotel room balcony:

That's the Waikiki harbor, with an excellent perspective for sunsets, though I think we watched all of them from the beaches.

As the swimmer that I am, the highlight of the trip was swimming with the fishes!!  Hamama State Park has a nature preserve in it with amazing coral reefs.  You take a bus out to the park, pay the $7.50 entry, watch a 9 min video on safety for you and the reefs, and then walk down a hill with this view.

And this one:

You can see the shape of the reef from above.

Blue water is sand.  The reef is the darker area. It was great to see this view of the reef, because it was a map of what I would swim through, and really helped me get my orientation.

I own snorkel gear. In part this is because I want my prescription goggles. And in part because using a snorkel that has been in someone else's mouth is ick. 

I was one of the few with a swim cap on. Combine that with the Yellow rash/sun guard, and my orange buoy and I was easy to spot while swimming!

But what really mattered was what I was spotting.

The highlight was the sea turtles.  Day one I had a turtle almost to myself for 20 min.

We had a good long conversation about turtle-y things.

But the second day, the turtle had paparazzi.

This made me sad. Although, technically, the guy was within the rules-- he was not touching the turtle-- he was awfully close. The turtle was swimming away from him. Unlike the one I'd made friends with the previous day, who was happy to eat and talk to me.

I easily spent two hours in the water each day.  When the wind would pick up, the conditions would get worse, and I'd get out for a while and hang out on the beach. It was such a pretty place, easy to spend a day.

Another highlight of the trip was the drive to the North Shore, where we watched surfers at the Bonsi Pipeline. 

And met some beach chickens.

And I drove a VW Bug Convertible.  Wow I had a hard time giving that car back.

After so much sun, and 70* ocean water, the return to Alki will be hard!

Gear Review: Rash Guard

Last month I had a mole removed from my shin.  Turns out the biopsy was "pre cancerous". I've always had pale skin and burned easily, but this has made me want to up my game for sun protection.  Enter the rash guard for swimming.

I purchased this top last summer from Lands End.  They claim spf 50 sun protection in and out of the water. I fist purchased this one in my normal street clothing size (and in blue, which they don't seem to have anymore).

I love the feel and the drape. But it was too big to wear in the water, it flapped around a lot during real swimming.  So then I got the yellow one, sized down to be tight (and I got yellow for visibility in the water). The bottom line is it serves its purpose.

I like the top best when I wear the swim safety buoy over it. The belt helps to hold it in place, otherwise it rides up a touch.  For the most part the top is unnoticeable in the water, which is what I want.  It stays a bit cold when wet and out of the water, so I need to remove it quickly, though it dries quickly on the line.  I've also had some moderate chafing issues with it under my arms.  Nothing a little body glide can't fix.

In the long run, I'm glad I have the shirt. It means I don't have to worry about the sun on my back, which is, of course, the hardest place to spread sunscreen yourself. I'll wear this happily all summer, and the blue one for summer festivals when I want to be cool and have sun protection.