JULY 8, 2008: Maui & Buster, say Cheese...

A month ago some of the group decided that they wanted to do a Dolphin Encounter at Sea Life Park. Today was the day to go see some sea creatures. Rhonda, Grandma, & Michelle decided early on that they would be the designated picture takers for the event rather than joining in with the dolphin experience. We went a little early and saw a show at Dolphin Cove, saw some sea lions do some fun tricks (dance, pretend to sleep, etc) and saw some sea turtles, sting rays, colorful fish and lots more. Our time for the encounter was at 2:45, so we got everyone rounded up and in their suits. It was very, very hot that day and the park is not shaded much so everyone was pretty warm and looking for some refreshing cool off time. We cooled off in the air conditioned shop and awaited our time.

The water was a little deep for Ryan to stand up on his own, so Tom and Dave took turns holding him. There was a group of 12 with each trainer. Each of them got to take a turn kissing the dolphin and holding its fins. Grandpa, Dave & Ryan had a dolphin named Maui. Courtney had Buster and Jason has a dolphin named Bugs. They had fun "petting" the dolphins and learning about them.

After everyone got cleaned up, it was almost time for the park to close. We had to wait a bit to get the official pictures though since the professionals of course have the best vantage point for the best shots. We all got great pictures, so we played tourist and purchased them all!

Once we got back to the condo, we cleaned up and headed to La Cucaracha for Mexican food. We had a plan too because several of us wanted milkshakes or ice cream treats later in the evening. We all ate a good dinner, but saved some room for yummies later. We walked along one of the main streets in Honolulu and browsed through a few more shops and then it was off to Rock Island Cafe for our ice cream.

We had some packing up to do for our flight to Kauai the next day, so we did that. Ryan had been wanting to "stay the night" at Jason's place, so he slept there that night and felt really big boy to have his first sleepover. Tomorrow, we fly to Kauai and really start to unwind and relax.