Underwater

Yeah.

So I really like it under the sea. Can't explain it- just has always been something that has interested me. Speaking of- this Memorial Day w/e is the first Save The Bay eel grass transplant. Let me know if you want to help out. This year I am also participating in the Save the Bay swim- for the 6th time (I found a picture of myself coming into the finish line when I went to register). If anyone is interested, you can go here to support my swim and the cleanliness of the bay. Next year I should convince one of you to kayak in front of me so I can actually swim straight and turn in a good time- rather than swimming two times the distance as I normally do...

Anyway- back to the Hawaii trip... Last year I convinced Mrs. CTLP to take her open water diver course (which she passed with flying colors), and while we were in Hawaii she got her first taste of non-RI diving. Big difference... For instance- a fantastic day for visibility in New England is 40 feet. A good day elsewhere? A whole heck of a lot further.

Three things that I was psyched to see in Hawaii were (in no particular order) whales/dolphins, monk seals and turtles. Well- before we even got in the water spinner dolphins were playing in the boat's wake, sea turtles were bopping all around and a monk seal (VERY rare) came up to check us out. The swells were very big (I don't remember the last time I was seasick- I get woozy- but not lose your lunch sea sick- before this time. Mrs. CTLP could be on Discovery Channel's 'Deadliest Catch' with her imperviousness to seasickess- but fell prey to it's deviousness twice on this trip...) but even that did not dampen our enthusiasm for what we saw beneath. Like this crappy picture of a beautiful Lionfish (no-no never touch):


An angelfish chasing a bandit butterflyfish:


A mother and baby sea turtle:


Oh yeah- so a word on sea turtles... I am used to thinking of the idea of seeing a sea turtle as being akin to seeing a unicorn. Well- let me tell you something- I don't think that it is possible to enter the waters off Kauai WITHOUT seeing a sea turtle:



That being said- it does not make the Marine Mammals Protection Act any less applicable. It is still illegal to touch an endangered sea mammal. Hell- it is illegal to get so close to one that it deviates on it's intended path. But that did not stop people from diving down to 'pet' the sea turtles as we were watching them or chase them around the ocean... Probably the same kind of people that I watched bob around stepping on LIVE CORAL with their flippers on. Or should I say- what WAS live coral. At least it was for the who knows how many decades before your dumb a$$ decided to get in the water... A little respect, people... I was on vacation- I should not be dealing with a blood pressure spike and thinking of lecturing people on the fragility of sea life.

Anyway- nothing goes with a nice day in the ocean like freshly caught local sustainable fish poke (and dip, cheese, crackers, etc). I think it was the only thing better than Hamura Saimen:



Another cool discovery was Kauai Recycling for the Arts. For an island known as the 'Garden Isle'- and one with a very limited land mass- there was not much in the way of keeping trash out of the landfills. This was one of the few places we found that was different. Really hard to find, and really out of the way- they are a non-profit working to keep trash that can be recycled out of the dump (the landfill is scheduled to be full in 2009- then where will it go?). Not only that- but they are working to provide jobs and increase the tourism trade at the same time. This was where Mrs. CTLP and I thought that our gift dollars should go. Well worth it.

Okay- almost 2am- gotta run (to bed).