Going Down in Hawaii

The Pyramids artificial reef

Japanese "sculpture" normally used to grow seaweed

The depth gauge gauging.

Remains of a MidPacifics airplane

Sunken ship known only as YO-257

the sunken San Pedro

Couldn't ask for a nicer day.

Diamond Head volcano as seen from the boat

This past Thursday, my flight out of Honolulu did not leave until 3pm, so I had an afternoon and I had a mission. My mission was to do something new in Hawaii, something I had not already done. This simple criteria quickly ruled out climbing Diamond Head (already ruled out my pitiful lack of stamina), visiting Chinatown (already ruled out by my recent bok choy over-saturation), shopping for loud floral wear (already ruled by what I like to consider a semblance of sartorial taste) and trolling the island in search of 99 cent Mai Tais (already ruled out by a hangover from the previous night’s Mai Tai binge). These exclusions and the short time frame available left both myself and the very helpful woman from the Park Shore hotel’s VIP tours counter stumped. We scoured brochure after brochure looking for something that would have me in back in time, would not bore me to tears (that knocked out the free jewelry tour) and most importantly, would provide a new adventure.

The genius stroke came from the Ms. VIP. She suggested I take a ride on a submarine. When she first mentioned it, I flashed back to my only submarine-related experience. That was at the age of 4, when my mother took me to Disney World and cruelly forced me to go on the 20,000 Leagues under the Sea ride. It was a rickety submarine-like contraption that was maybe 10 feet tall and sat in 8 feet of water. I still remember being horrified, thinking that there was no possible way we would be able to breathe in this thing and that this woman, my mother, was foolishly leading us into certain death. Of course, we survived, I eventually forgave my mother and no more thought was given to underwater conveyances. Until now. With Ms. VIP's encouragement, I signed up for Atlantis Adventure's submarine tour. It was just shy of two hours, so it would have me back in plenty of time and since it was a real, descending to a depth of over 100 feet, submarine, it was also definitely a first.

The tour began on a trolley that picked me up at my hotel and took me to the Hilton, Next, came a scenic boat ride out to a designated spot, where right on cue, we watched as our 64 passenger submarine slowly surfaced into view. The submarine's passengers, all looking exceedingly giddy, disembarked onto our boat and we returned the favor by boarding the submarine. For the hour that followed, we cruised along the ocean floor, passing artificial reefs that included concrete pyramids, quirky looking Japanese sculptures, and sunken ships and airplanes. Each site was replete with marine life darting to and fro. For a non-diver such as myself, it was like a glimpse into a world that I only usually get to hear about. For the entire hour, all I felt was pure joy and wonder. At one point, I actually yelled "Oooh!!" and started poking the stranger next to me, trying to show him the sea turtle I had spotted. When I saw a spotted eagle ray, I think I may have bruised him. As soon as it began, it was over; we surfaced to find the boat waiting for us. We swapped places with the boat occupants, only now it was my turn to look giddy as hell, mission to do something new (very) successfully accomplished.