The trip this morning started with an on-board continental breakfast before leaving the dock. Then, when underway for our hour give-or-take trip up the coast (north), we received a detailed safety briefing on what to do and not to do when in the water.

The snorkeling this time was a reef of, I’m guessing, as deep as 30 or 40 feet and rocks that jutted up to 10 feet beneath the surface. The water was much clearer than the shallow water we were in yesterday. There was no sand to get kicked up by the waves and the swimmers so the water appeared a beautiful shade of, I guess you’d have to say, aqua.

While beautiful, we saw a smaller number of different fish species this time than yesterday. Moray eels and turtles were advertised as possible sightings but none appeared to my eye.The fish we did see were farther away, which is my way of making excuses for poor fish photos this time. I did snap a mermaid or two, or more precisely, Esme snapped pictures of her friends, the mermaids.

While the fishing was perhaps disappointing, the water activities exceeded expectations. The upper deck of our ship sported a water slide and a jumping platform that the kids really got into. There were other floating devices for relaxing on the water.

Lunch was served on board before returning – burgers and chips.

Upon return, Esme hit the pool with her friends. Judy and I spent a little bit of time in our room before joining Esme for shave ice, a local treat, and sunning on the pool deck. Later all three of us retreated to the room to “chill,” or in Esme’s case to shower and apply sun relief cream to her somewhat reddish face.

Around 4:30 the three of us headed for town, hitting every gift shop we stumbled across, and that’s a bunch in a tourist town like Kona. You’ve got to hand it to Esme, though. She kept finding gifts for family and friends before she knuckled down to find something, at the very end, for herself. By 6:30 the job was done and returned “home” to the hotel for a most enjoyable dinner pool side, just the three of us.

Esme was tempted to take an after dinner dip in the pool but elected instead for staying in the room with us.

We continue to debate with our leader, Mel, as to the objective of this trip. Mel’s focus is to encourage bonding between grandparents and grandkids, thereby fostering the Hawaiian ethic of strong family ties and respect for elders. While we’re all for that, our focus on this trip is in building within Esme a love for travel and building her self confidence that she can thrive in a new environment far from the comfort of home. Tonight’s shopping trip and dinner together accomplished both objectives, I’m happy to report.

Tomorrow, believe it or not, is our last day before flying home on Sunday. But before we escape, we’ve got another snorkeling adventure and more time for fun in the sun.