Happy Aloha Friday!

 

Happy Aloha Friday! That's what we say here when the weekend is just around the corner, and of course, the weekend also means treating yourself to some fun. Whatever that looks like for each individual. 😁

Last year we were already at the Kane'ohe Sandbar and found Mary's nephew Shannon among the crew of the boat that took us there. The trip was so wonderful that we definitely wanted to do it again. Last year, Shannon told us we should bring his aunt on the boat, and I promised to try. When we were at Mary's a few days ago, we talked about it again, and I asked my friend to come along. A little later, she agreed, and I was thrilled. 🥰

And Friday was the day! We met at He'eia Kea Boat Harbor to board the Kaneohe Bay Ocean Sports catamaran. My friend Mary brought her eldest sister Steph (Shannons mom) and her daughter-in-law Amber, Shannon's wife. Just like last year, I was struck by how friendly and accommodating the crew of this catamaran is. We met Shannon at the dock and boarded together, while he introduced us to each crew member. It was a big hello, and we received a very warm welcome and hug. Once again, we experienced the epitome of the Hawaiian expression "Ohana," which means family, but also includes friends. We sat down at our table, and soon the trip to the sandbar began.

Link to Kaneohe Bay Ocean Sports

In fact, my friend had never been to the sandbar before, and seeing how impressed she was by the view of the mountains and coastline was simply priceless. 💙 Mary was grateful that we had persuaded her to come along—even though it wasn't difficult. On the way to the sandbar, the crew gave a safety briefing, and after just a few minutes of sailing, the catamaran docked at the sandbar. Now, the guests, equipped with life jackets, made their way to the sandbank to try out the various activities there. Similar to Secret Island, they could try kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, snorkeling, playing volleyball, or sunbathing on the floating lounge platform.

Once everyone else was off the boat, we headed into the water. The catamaran has a very convenient staircase at the back that folds down and then reaches all the way into the water. It was great fun in the water, and when Shannon entered the water and started attracting the fish with soaked bread, I let him give me some bread too and started feeding the fish. They're used to it, of course, and they're not at all shy. 🐟 They even took the bread from my hands. There were some that were up to 50 cm long and quite rough. 😮

It was so nice to see how much fun everyone was having, and of course, the time went by far too quickly. It felt like we were on our way back to the harbor far too quickly. We will remember this wonderful day for a long time to come. As my dear friend always likes to say: "Let's make memories!" 💗

Aloha! 🤙🏼

Link to Mary's FB video from the Sandbar