To kick off the Monday of Spring Break Monster spent the morning continuously requesting to go to Lanikai Beach. I told her I would think about it after I tackled some adult responsibilities (because laundry and all that other bullshit can never wait.) Monster, realized that my adulting could take some time, took matters, and my phone, into her own hands. She decided to text my bestie, S, telling her to get beached up for Lanikai. Long story short, adulting didn't happen.
Since Ticklebug got me a paddleboard for Valentine's Day I had been eager to take it out to Lanikai. The water there is so clear that fish can always be seen, it feels like being inside an aquarium. The issue with taking my paddleboard out though is it was strung up on the ceiling of our auto port and the task of getting it down is usually Ticklebug's. To add on to that I had yet to attach it to the bars on the Jeep so that was something else I had to figure out for myself.
It took the ladder, stepping on the hood of the Jeep (oops), and about a good 30 minutes of trial and error but I got it on! I'm not gonna lie, I felt like a boss after getting it strapped down. However, I didn't feel like a boss while driving. I was so incredibly nervous, constantly worried it was going to fly off and kill S's family, who were driving behind me.
Parking at Lanikai is the worst! It's all street parking but I was lucky enough (even though I got yelled at by a scary old man) to get something near the beach. It's not that the paddleboard is heavy to carry, but it's 10 feet long and the wind can make it difficult to control.
The wind caused the water to be somewhat choppy this day. After getting set up I took the paddleboard out for a solo ride to make sure I could maneuver it easily. Within minutes of being out I saw a turtle pop it's head out of the water. There is no other way to explain it but amazing. I wanted to catch a picture but by the time it clicked in my head to grab my phone the little guy was already going back in the water.
Although the water was choppy it was still easy enough to get around so I took each of the kids out between lunch and swimming. All the kids did great but Bug is a total beast. She asked if she could get off to go snorkel and I let her.
I decided to hop off and join her but then I saw that the bottom of the ocean was completely covered in coral. Coral is great, it's good for the environment. Coral however has clusters of holes and I have the stupid fear of holes. (Yes, it's a thing, look it up!) I started panicking and went back up. Because I was so freaked out I was too ambitious with trying to get back on the paddleboard and I flipped it over. Flipping it over just made me panic more. Panicking made me swallow more water, making it difficult to yell for Bug, who had swam out much farther than I was comfortable with in the few minutes it took me to freak out and flip over.
It's so embarrassing when you trying to catch your breath your 11 year old is asking if you're okay. I'm a disgrace lol.
The Marine Corp base is relatively close to Lanikai so it's not uncommon to see groups of them together goofing off. One group decided to plop themselves right in front of S and I and play some kind of football, water, sport, thing. We both very much enjoyed the view. Don't judge me! In Hawaii you constantly see women walking around in thong bikinis I check them out too and I KNOW Ticklebug and everyone else with a penis does too!
The most challenging part of the day was getting the stupid paddleboard back on the Jeep. I ended up stepping on the hood of the jeep, again. Which resulted in my fat ass leaving a dent in it. That was fun explaining to Ticklebug! Ooops!
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| Bug caught this picture of me. Yea, I know, I have no booty. |
