I originally thought about calling this blog Snorkel Sunday, but I decided that wouldn’t really make sense because I snorkeled on a Thursday, so that’s that. On to the actual blog now!
My aunt and uncle found a place on Oahu that rents out snorkel equipment and a great tour place that offers snorkel tours. The place we got our gear from was called Snorkel Bob’s and they were great at making sure our fins, goggles, and actual snorkel were of good quality and that we felt comfortable. I highly recommend them if you’re ever wanting to snorkel and don’t have your own stuff. You can rent stuff from them for a day and I believe up to a week. The company that we got our dolphin snorkel tour through was EĆ Wai’anae Tours and they had a little shuttle that took us to and from the place we snorkeled, which was on the west side of the island. 
Once we got with our group and on our boat, our guides handed us our life jackets which looked more like large floating bananas and then drove the boat out quite a way and located a dolphin pod. They told us to get all of our gear on, put anti-fog in our goggles, and basically threw us into the ocean. Just kidding, we all lined up and jumped off the boat in groups of two. When I first hit the water, I thought I was drowning. I seriously thought it was the end of the road for me. I was maybe a foot below the surface and then I did surface, my breathing slowed and I was ok for the rest of the trip. Two of our guides were out with us in the water and if they ever saw something in the water, they told us and we all did our best to swim that way and see. While we were in the water, one of the guides told us that the dolphin pod was moving around and I put my face down in the water. Maybe three feet from me, there was a dolphin! It was so cute! He was a little far from the rest of his buddies but he stared at me, clicked, and then swam off. It was the cutest thing to see. The rest of his pod was swimming below and I remember watching one of the dolphins twirling and just having a good time. That was a very special encounter. After spending some time around the dolphins, we swam back to the boat and were off to our next location. In the next spot, we saw some turtles and other pretty little fish. It was cool to watch the turtles surface for air and then swim back down and live their lives. One of our guides was a marine biologist from Australia and she had such a cool accent! 
While we were in the water here, she handed me some food and let me feed the fish! It was a really weird feeling to be surrounded by fish like that but it was another fun experience. After several more minutes out with the turtles and other fish, our snorkeling time was done and it was back to the boat for lunch and time at this beautiful bay, our last stop. Once we arrived, we were treated to a burgers and chip lunch and orange guava juice. The guides also put out a paddleboard, kayak, and let people jump off the top of the boat too! 
I definitely did not jump off the top of the boat, but my uncle and I tried our hands at kayaking which turned out to be a lot more tiring than I thought it would be. It was still very fun though. Snorkeling is another activity I would love to do again. I loved the feeling of the waves while I swam against them and I felt so happy watching all the fish and dolphins and turtles live their lives. The ocean floor was about 30-40 ft. below us and that was also pretty cool to think about too. The ocean is truly amazing.
In general I really enjoyed my snorkelling adventure even though I was genuinely concerned for my life at the beginning. Once I got used to how to breathe and swim around in my flippers, snorkelling was easy peasy. Something I really appreciated about the company that we went through was that they didn’t attempt to lure in the dolphins or turtles or truly any of the creatures. Our guides encouraged us to give the sea creatures their space unless they approached us. I felt like our guides truly knew what they were doing too which made me more confident and safe the entire trip.
Shortly after our snorkeling extravaganza, we headed back to Waikiki Beach for a submarine trip with Atlantis Submarines. For the submarine trip, we were on the larger of the company’s two submarines which can seat over 60 people. Everyone got their own seat and window on the submarine which adds to the experience. Being on a submarine was completely different from what I thought it was going to be. I thought I would feel the pressure and feel claustrophobic but I really didn’t feel either. I was thinking there would be more color than there was but once you get far down enough, everything is blue. 
Most of the fish and other sea creatures we saw appeared blue or silvery and if they were fish with another color, those colors appeared very dull or dark. While under the sea, we also saw another dolphin and turtle. Oh what a day! The farthest down we got was 112 ft. I honestly don’t know how many people can say they’ve done that! Atlantis 
Submarines built several different artificial reefs with a small plane, ship, and other materials to attract fish and other ocean creatures. It was very cool to see the different fish interact and do their own things. Overall, the submarine trip was fun, but I would not do it again or necessarily recommend it to you all. Seeing life under the sea was cool but it was hard to listen to our guide or truly enjoy what was going on because there were so many obnoxious children screaming and hollering about the fish and the toys they wanted. Ugh. I would’ve definitely enjoyed the submarine more if it weren’t for those kids and for everyone out that with kids under like 6 or 7, I beg of you to save yourself and NOT take your children on a submarine like this. People will thank you for that.
Our day playing with water ended with a delicious and unforgettable dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. Oh my goodness, I’ve never had a better steak or mashed potatoes. Ruth’s Chris is more on the pricey side but oh boy is it worth it. They also had an amazing bread pudding that’s more like a muffin or cake than an actual bread pudding. So good! I really enjoyed spending time with my aunt and uncle that day, and eating at a restaurant like Ruth’s Chris was the perfect ending to a perfect day.
Wowza that was a long post. I hope you’re all still awake or reading at this point. Next week will sadly be my last post on my Hawaii trip. đ It’ll be ending on a good note though! I’m talking about Pearl Harbor about some really good pancakes next Sunday. I hope you all have a wonderful and safe 4th of July. Have a good one! đ