Romantic Sibling Getaway-Cook's Monument

Caution: If you don't love pictures of me and my family, turn back now.  I probably have 800 pictures from this trip and am trying to cut it down to about 100. 

We kicked off our second day by hopping in the car for another 2 hour drive across the island, and picking up kayaks for our little adventure.  Since we needed 4 kayaks, we were going to have to make two trips down to the launch point a few miles away.  The guy at the shop wanted to save us the trip, so he managed to rig all four on our trusty little van. Awesome.  We were really excited about cutting down our time in the van. 

  

 We drove down to this beautiful bay that I don't have a great picture of for some reason.  It was the bay that Captain Cook was killed in by the Hawaiians.  They ended up making a monument there for him which happened to be right in front of (supposedly) the best snorkeling in the state of Hawaii.  My brother Kai has a secret obsession with Captain Cook so we got a major history lesson all about Captain Cook on the way there. I can tell you whatever you need to know, if  you like.

We got 3 tandem kayaks and a single for Aaron.  You don't want to be caught in a kayak with this guy when his sea-sickness sets in.  He hopped in and made a bee line for the opposite shore.  This was the last I saw of him for a while.  

Racing Katie and Kai

Me & Dirk

We made it to the monument shore where the awesome snorkeling was and it was sooo overcast.  It was still nice but the water was so clear and it would have been an amazing color with a little sunlight on it.

We specifically got permits a few weeks in advance, to be able to beach our kayaks there, and wouldn't you know it? We left them in the car! We risked it anyway.

It really was pretty there but the pics came out so dark 

 Me pretending to be the Little Mermaid.

We saw about a million kids of fish, plus sea turtles and eels.  There was so much going on under there it was like a party once you put your head under.

 Kai & Katie

 Fish party

The bay we kayaked across is known for the pods of Spinner Dolphins that cross it back and forth.  They told us to sit and wait about 15 min and the dolphins would come.  They weren't kidding.  Dolphins started popping up all around us and spinning in the air.  They were impossible to catch on camera because you never knew where they would jump out at, but I got this one shot of a dolphin in mid-spin.

After a really nice day in the water, the boys had to figure out the whole kayak situation, and it was really fun to watch. 

How many Petersens does it take to load the van? 

After some shopping and dinner, we began the 2 hrs. back home.  

Here's a few shots of what it was like to be crammed in the van with 6 other adults... 

Anyone want a ride? Too bad you wouldn't fit.