nice day!

Although some VOG and smoke mingled in the air,  draping Haleakala and nearly obscuring Molokini and Kahoolawe, it was a perfect day for paddling.  I got out later than I wanted to because there was no place to park and I had to wait for someone to finally leave.  I hurried out.  I paddled down to the boat ramp and there were so many people out paddling and kayaking today!  At the boat ramp there were three paddlers, one snorkeler and one kayak already sitting at my spot, so I stayed farther north.  A turtle immediately popped up by me and then swam under my board!  Then I spotted a turtle out farther so I paddled out to it.  It ended up being a couple of turtles so I cruised up between them!  A father and daughter were out on stand up boards and when they saw the turtles, they started to follow me.  They were so excited when all three of us were surrounded by five turtles!  Then a turtle popped up right in the middle of our three boards and it was surrounded!  The turtles kept surfacing and one swam over to me and then went under me but the turtle didn’t calculate its clearance very well,  so it bumped me three times as it passed underneath me!  That spooked it and it darted away but in a couple of minutes it swam back by me again.  The father and daughter paddled on and then I had the turtles all to myself.  Four turtles surfaced around me and I was surrounded again!  By the time I had counted twenty-one turtles, it was time to paddle back.  The conditions got better and better!  Just as I paddled into the Kam I area I ran into a paddling friend.  She had paddled north today first and was on her way back.  We chatted for a few minutes and then paddled down to Cove Park together.  The conditions were so nice that it was hard to make the decision to paddle in!  It stayed nice all the way through my swim too.  It was a very nice day!