Life doesn't get any better than this!

Hi all,

I returned from my amazing road trip tonight and I'm bagged. So no pics tonight. But I promise more tomorrow night.

NOTE: I published this last night, but for some reason it didn't go through so I'm re-posting it today Wed Mar 14th.

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FB entry Sun Mar 11:

I swam with wild dolphins today!!! Got a FREE massage at Kehena beach!! Ate food I didn't have to think about, buy or prepare!!! Life just doesn't get any better than this!!!

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Letter to Rod - Sunday Mar 11

Some people thought that they changed time in Hawaii just to stay in synch with the rest of the states but I discovered this is not so. My alarm sounded at what I thought was 7:00, having set my clock forward last night, but it didn't feel right so I got on to the computer and found out that the time here hadn't changed. I really wasn't sure about it til I went to the dining lanai to confirm it. I hadn't heard the conch at 7:30 so I felt something was off.

This was my first morning without anyone from the group but I'd talked to some of the English country dancers and 2 young women who are here on personal retreats last night and saw them again this morning. One of the women had been at the life drawing class. One of the English country dancers is a Hawaiian woman who also teaches Hula. There are people from all over. I haven't heard an English accent out of the group yet; Swedish yes, but no Brits. One woman told me that there was a workshop held in Egypt last year. Apparent'y it's more popular outside of England. Go figure.

Though the day started out quite rainy it cleared up and showed promise so I walked to Kehena Beach about 30 mins away. I took supplies with me and planned to return for lunch at noon. There were only a few people when I got there at 9:45 and they said they sighted dolphins out in the bay. Anthony (the dream group's guide) showed up and we went out together. I was glad to have him with me as he's familiar with the currents and proved to be a strong swimmer. He said if we stuck together the dolphins would be more likely to come around as they swim in pods and a solitary figure seems somewhat pathological to them. Well, whether that was it or not they did come around. I heard the sound of the blowholes first and turned in time to see 3 - 4 to our left. They crested the surface of the water many times and a bunch of them took turns leaping out of the water some spinning too. It was amazing!!! We were so caught up with the dolphins that we didn't notice the current taking us south. It was no biggie to swim back in line with the beach but was a good head's up as to how it can sneak up on you. The Hawaiian woman had recommended I not snorkel til I got familiar with points of reference and the current; good advice. She said you have to look up frequently to get your bearings which is what I did.

I'm very lucky to have seen the dolphins as one beach regular, who's very familiar with them, swum with them and given them names, said that there haven't been too many around since after Christmas. Someone else said the same thing tonight at the yoga class.

I also got a free massage at the beach from a guy who was much in demand. Everyone at the beach knows him. He's kind of like Rick in our neighbourhood - the neighbourhood watch guy. He's a 3rd generation Hawaiian, married with 5 kids, his grandfather came over from the Azores. Anyway, his technique was really good - kind of lomi, lomi like. He learned from a woman who he used to train with. He worked on the dolphin woman and a young woman who's been a friend of his for a few years.

His friend Andrew is one of those people who have put offers in on some lava land out at Kalapana. He hopes to get 5 lots at $5,000 each. (I think that's the price. I'm not sure how big a lot is.) He figured that he'd get a better price if he put in for more than one. He will build inexpensive homes on the land - ones that can be taken down quickly should the flow come back that way. Apparently they had a few months notice on the last flow and there's no guarantee that the flow wouldn't turn in that direction again in the future though it's miles away at this time.

I left for Kalani around 1:30. I thought I'd be fried if I didn't as the sun was pretty strong today. I went to Hale Aloha and had some mango ice cream and read for a bit. Went back to my hale and snoozed for about 1 hr and then went to yoga at 5 which was pretty good.

Last night I had a sauna and swam at the pool before heading off to bed. Tonight I'll skip it as I'm pretty bagged and I'm off at 9 with the shuttle to Hilo and then driving to the Kona side. Everything seems to have fallen into place. I did have some difficulty getting the rental agreement sent back to Bill but was helped at Hale Aloha last night. We all fumbled around with it and got it sorted out. I thought there'd be some tekkies here, but not so. People have been so helpful, it is amazing. I've been really fortunate. I got an e-mail from the woman who had recommended the rental, Anthony's girlfriend, wishing me a good trip.

So, my sweet that's my adventures of the day. It has been incredible and I'm looking forward to more adventures tomorrow.

I'll be thinking of you on my little road trip and wishing you were here with me. I'll try and take more pics.