I went snorkeling at a local beach and someone told me there were turtles around the outcropping of rocks. I was new to learning how to breathe with a  snorkel but decided to try to snorkel out and around the rocks. About that time a swell was coming in and I felt myself being dragged out to sea. I was only about 40 yards from the shore and there were other people on the beach but I was scared to death. The ocean is very powerful, I tried swimming as hard as I could and scrapped my arms and legs on some coral trying to get make in. I can honestly say that I was scared to death. 

  When I got back to the shore some people saw the scrapes and blood and suggested I get some hydrogen peroxide and Neosporin to clean up them up. Traveling it is good to take care of your feet, from blisters to scrapes wearing sandals. I always kept some hydrogen peroxide and Neosporin with me. I thought the ocean water with it’s salt would be good for healing but was told at the scuba shop that is actually has a lot of bacteria in it which can cause infections.   I came face to face with a barracuda on another snorkeling trip, it was in the rocks and we just looked at each other with me reversing direction slowly. I went to a luau with fire dancers, roast pig in a pit in the ground which was sort of a tourist thing but fun. The locals are friendly and call you “Brudda”

  I learned that good sandals are a must as the pair I brought with me cut the tops of my feet badly by the end of the first day. I found a great pair of Nike sandals that enter from the back with soft cushioning on the top straps that have been great ever since.

  There is a volcano on Maui that I decided to go to the top of it to photograph the sunrise. I left my hotel about 3:00 in the morning and started my trip. The road is very windy and slow. When I got to the top I discovered that even though I was in Hawaii the elevation at the top of the volcano made it very, very cold. I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and freezing. The rag top jeep didn’t stop the wind and I shivered for a couple of hours till sunrise.

  Actually the sunrise that morning was not that great and I got ash in my video camera from the high winds. I can still see it in the viewfinder. They actually have a tour that they drive you to the top of the volcano for sunrise and you get to ride bikes down the volcano road which looked fun. I got some great photos of the volcanic landscapes on the way down.
 
 Overall it was a great time in Hawaii but kind of hard to meet people so it was a little lonely. I figured out how to solve that problem when I went to Australia.