...snorkeling amongst sea turtles

Laura peers into the lens of the underwater camera.

Our first sea turtle of the morning.

Snorkelers legs dangle below the surface of the ocean as a sea turtle swims past.

Mrs. Huffy in her snorkeling gear.

Grandma and Grandpa aboard the Quicksilver II.

The Quicksilver II at anchor while snorkelers swim about the ocean looking for fish and sea turtles.

Kirsten takes a breather while snorkeling.

An underwater scene.

Keith snorkels below the surface.

We boarded the Quicksilver II at 7:30 AM, for a trip to Molokini where we planned to spend the morning snorkeling.  The trip started on rolling waves as we spotted whales spouting and their tails far in the distance.  Before long the boat was splashing through bigger waves and when we arrived at Molokini there weren't any other boats in what is the most popular snorkeling destination for Maui visitors.  We were "blown out" as our captain said, so off we went to find an area protected from the wind.  Once we arrived we were unable to find a solid anchor, so off we went to a third location.

Solidly anchored, snorkelers geared up and jumped off the boat into the briny sea.  Within minutes we were just feet away from a large sea turtle which seemed to be just as interested in us as we were in it.  It was a surreal experience and we took photos with the underwater camera we had rented for the day.  Eventually the turtle drifted away and we swam around looking for fish and more sea turtles.  We didn't have to go far.  Fish darted below us and turtles would just appeared out of nowhere.  It was difficult to fathom there were so many of them.

After an hour we boarded the boat and made way for another snorkeling location.  We were back in the water in no time and once again turtles were in abundance.  We snorkeled for about 45 minutes before the water began to get rough.  The captain had us climb back aboard and we went on a short boat tour before returning to the harbor in heavy seas.  It was just after 1:00 PM, and we were back on shore filled with the happy memories of...snorkeling amongst the sea turtles