Their gift was supossed to be a snorkeling trip, but it turned into a whale watching tour as well.

P knew that the weather at this time of the year is unpredictable, and he wanted to make sure we at least had one good snorkeling experience. As a birthday gift for the pigs he booked us on an outing to Molokini. P really made a good choice because it had been raining recently, but we had a perfect day.  We were treated to a green Molokini because of all the rain. The captain said the last time Molokini was green was a couple of years ago, so we got an extra treat.

Humpback whales hang around here from December to April, so there was a likelihood we might see at least one today. The whales must have wanted to give SS and JJ a birthday treat because we spotted at least two dozen.  SS was so excited, and so were the three of us. One can watch the magnificent creatures in every detail on TV, but there's something magical about spotting that unmistakable spray from their blowholes. We saw several mamas with their babies, such a cool experience.

We had no idea what to expect from SS upon arrival.  Snorkeling in Molokini is a far cry from Honolua Bay. One never touches the bottom, and it is a long fifty feet of water below. P and I dove down to 80 feet years ago, and while I did well then, the snorkeling part worried me a little. We got SS's gear on and decided to give it a try.  SS surprised us by immediately getting her face in the water and although she resurfaced quickly, she was all smiles. The girl is only six, and the whole salty water in her mouth will take a while to master. But SS did not flip out, nor demanded to sit on us the entire time. Our baby is almost seven and she did not even use the boogie board I grabbed for her support. They also have these plastic devices where children can lay down and look through Plexiglas to avoid getting their face in the water.  If SS noticed them she did not let on, and there were a lot of kids a heck of a lot older using them.

This was P's Plan B and I had no idea until we came in for a break.  The reason P booked this particular catamaran was that they have a Plexiglas bottom for little kids to also enjoy the fish. P reasoned that if SS flipped out, she could at least see something.  SS still liked watching, but just as another neat thing to do, not out of necessity.  Just after I took this picture P went upstairs and I was waiting for his return to ask him to get me iced water. He never said what he was doing, just left, and after a while I wondered what he was up to.

I was not expecting to see P outside to surprise SS. He is a funky chicken sometimes.

Obligatory selfie, although we all look stoned.

We were the last ones on the boat, so no chance of getting seats on the upper deck. Turns out we had the best seats, the front all to ourselves.  Whenever there was a whale sighting we had front seats. On our way back not only did we spot two whales relatively near, but a bottle nosed dolphin came right up to the boat.  I was squealing louder than my child. We also stopped to watch a sea turtle for a while.  SS was very excited because we had told her than unless she dived, there would be no turtle sightings. Our little girl is into sea turtles.  Next year SS will be old enough to SNUBA, and if she is willing, next time we come this way, we will all try becoming shark bait.

We all had an amazing day, and our bodies are complaining. JJ gets motion sickness, even in a car, and he was hesitant about being on a boat. But Dramamine worked its magic and JJ had a blast as well.