Don't leave home without your camera

Trying to take in every minute of being in Hawaii, Mrs. Longing and I started off the morning on a hike to find the ocean. Because of so many flight delays and cancellations, we had to be flexible with our schedule, just like we do with teaching. We were unable to get the boat today, so that trip will be tomorrow. (for those of you following our schedule)

On our way to find the ocean, we located a Kane spider. Even though these are not poisonous, they are still creepy looking creatures and are not welcomed anywhere near me. When we arrived at the beach, it was not at all like we expected. The sand was dirty and would not be a place I would like to spend the day. When I think of Hawaii, I think of white sand beaches and beautiful water. From afar, the water looked dark and muddy. Little did we know, the water was as clear as glass when we walked closer. Much to our surprise, we even saw a sea turtle and a yellow tropical fish that had washed almost to the shore. It was amazing! We were so upset that we chose not to bring our cameras to capture these animals.

Then, we had our orientation meeting with the rest of our group and got started on our day's activities. We headed for downtown. We ate lunch at the Kona Inn restaurant. When the earthquake hit off the coast of Japan in March, it created a tsunami that traveled across the Pacific ocean and crashed into the big island of Hawaii. This caused major damage to local businesses and hotels. The tsunami waves actually washed up to the hostess station in the Kona restaurant. Some of the hotels and businesses are still working to rebuild.

When we finished lunch, we ventured out to the shore where we saw a brown sea turtle that blended in with the rocks, and black crabs. The crabs were located on the black lava rock and were hard to see. Just like the animal adaptations we learn about, these animals too adapted using their surroundings to camoflauge in with their environment.