Finn “Cousteau” McSpool: Underwater Explorer

Finn McSpool, Mr Husband, and I have returned from Maui, Hawaii! Of course, with a monster tucked into your luggage (or finding his way out, as is often the case), there’s plenty of fun to share. So let’s get underway with Finn’s adventures from 30,000 fest in the air to a few feet under the sea.

Finn’s been on quite a few flights already, but this was the first time he got his own seat since the flight to Maui from Portland was barely three-quarters full. He first tried out one spot that seemed like it would be a good vantage point….

…but the first bit of turbulence had him buckling up like a proper passenger.

After what seemed like about five years or so of nothing but blue ocean, Finn shouted, “Land ho!!!”

I have to agree with his enthusiasm because this was one of the longest (mentally, not time-wise) flights I’ve endured, what with no free food, no free movies, no free wine (oh the horror!!). But the misery of the flight soon faded when Maui greeted us right off the bat with a giant and very brilliant rainbow on our drive to our rental house.

After a little snag checking in and suffering the absolute shock of the prices of food in Hawaiian grocery stores (it hits me every time!), we had a good night’s sleep so we could be ready for some beach time the next day.

Although he’s had plenty of adventures, this was Finn’s first time snorkeling. While he did look quite fetching in his swimming gear and thought saying, “Finn in a fin” was beyond hilarious….

…he’s a bit like Jacques Cousteau and has his own waterproof vessel in which to explore the briny deep. Finn thinks it’s the latest in oceanographic technology…don’t tell him it’s just a Ziploc baggie. Once safely in his watertight craft, he dove right into the waters of Kapalua Bay like he’d been snorkeling his whole life!

How about an underwater shot, Finn?

All kidding aside, of all the places I’ve dared to throw myself into the sea, Maui is a very close second for snorkeling (Belize narrowly makes the top due to warmer water and the coral being in slightly better health).

 

Maui has gobs of different fish species including tangs (not the astronaut drink), butterfly fish, moorish idols, moray eels, snowflake eels, coronet fish, trumpet fish, surgeon fish, parrot fish, unicorn fish (unicorns DO exist), and once you get away from shore, the coral shapes, colors, and sizes aren’t too shabby. Here’s a little sample (by the way, all these photos are courtesy of Mr. Husband’s underwater photo shooting skills)…

And of course everyone practically wets themselves over all the sea turtles. Seriously, if you love sea turtles and want to bob along watching them nibble on sea salad, you’ll love Maui. Just don’t be like one batch of morons we saw who were touching the turtles and kept crowding the poor things. Keep your distance and they’ll probably end up swimming right under your toes.

But did we lose someone? Where’s Finn? Oh man, I hope he’s not trying to ride one of the turtles.

Ah, there he is…living the life of an underwater adventurer…and what do you want to bet that lunch sack is empty now!

Any watery adventures for you this week? Finn will be back next week with the trouble he got up to on the shelves of a Hawaiian store and I’ll be back Wednesday with a little look behind the scenes of my latest book. Thanks for swimming by everyone!!

***

The Maze: Book Three of The Osteria Chronicles is now available for a special pre-order price of $2.99 for e-books and $10 for print books AND I’ve made it easy for you to jump into the series with discounts on the first book (The Trials of Hercules). For full details, please visit this post.