Seahorses and Outriggers

23 June 2010 - Kailua-Kona

We are tendering to this port so we were awakened at 6 by a lady on the catwalk outside our window lowering the lifeboats.

Lifeboat lady

We went to breakfast in the Skyline room, and my grandson was not impressed. He ordered biscuits with sausage gravy and there was no sausage

Biscuits, with Sausage (?) Gravy

and the gravy was like library paste. I had

Eggs Benedict

We have two trips scheduled today too. I realized that even though we had about 2 hours between trips, since it was a tender port, we would not want to go back to the ship for lunch.

The first one was the Seahorses and we were to meet in the theatre to go down to the tenders.

I thought the seahorses were very interesting.

Entrance

Seahorse logo out of white rocks

First we had to wash our hands up to the elbows to remove sunscreen etc and walk through an iodine pool. We saw how they raised the seahorse food (some in this outside pool)

Pool where they raise some of the food and guide explaining it

and got to feed some of them with these brine shrimp

Tiny shrimp to feed seahorses

They showed us seaweed (food for the seahorse food) and my grandson tasted some.

I didn't, but I've eaten seaweed before. Then we saw the leafy seadragons (no photos) and adult seahorses.

Adult seahorses

We got to have a seahorse tail wrapped around our fingers. My grandson's seahorse stayed with him a long time. He said it liked him.

Grandson's seahorse

Mine swam off before we could get a photo. We had to try three times for me. I don't know if my hands were too hot, my arms weren't far enough into the water or my fingers were too fat.

My seahorse

Last they showed us a seahorse aquarium with various species.

Species seashorses

Species seahorse

They ship breeding pairs all over the world to people who have salt water aquaria if they are willing to go through the program to learn to take care of them.

When we got back to the port, I asked the bus driver where to eat lunch and she said Quinn's. After several attempts to find it (we asked at the surf shop and he said he didn't know even though Quinn's was right next to him on the other side), we ended up in a coffee shop where my grandson bought some coffee for his dad. The coffee shop lady gave us good directions.

Quinn's front window

Inside Quinns

My grandson had fish and chips (fresh Ono fish) and fries

Fish and chips

and I had the special blue cheese bacon burger

Specials board and my blue cheese burger for $9.95

Before we left, I went to the ladies room and this was a painting that was in the wall in there.

Ladies room decoration

Our second tour was for an outrigger canoe. While we waited for it we watched the kids swimming in the surf beside the tender pier.

Tender pier

Children in the waves

Bus stop

Pride of Hawaii anchored out

Church

I thought an outrigger canoe would be paddled and while you could do that, it also proved to be a sailboat. They brought it up to the beach right opposite the tender pier and we waded out and got on.

On the outrigger sailboat leaving the beach

We were the only two passengers but the man running the canoe also had a young girl (maybe a little older than my grandson) named Gaby.

Outrigger

We motored out and My grandson and Gabby put up the sail and we had a nice sail.

Raising the sails

Outrigger

Seats on one side

We saw a lighthouse and I took some photos of that and the surf on the rocks

Surf and lighthouse

Lighthouse

Lighthouse in the harbor

Surf

Gabby tried to blow the conch shell horn and could not do it - my grandson did a really good job of it.

Conch horn

The sail got backwinded while they were doing that, so we jibed,

Canoe

and then came in to the harbor. We tendered back to the ship.

Tonight was lobster night

Lobster night

and I was a little late up to the Skylight room, and most of the tables were full. There was one table which was already in progress and they put back a seat on it for me.

Tomorrow is Kauai - Our last day of excursions