went to spend another full day in the ocean. got out to check the conditions, everything looking good, so decided to go with the flow.

full speed straight out to the blue sea!

on the way out, we seen a mother whale and her baby. they were just playing with each other. they swam away so we decided to just jump in and snorkel around. i seen so much fish!!!

10 minutes later, i hear something very close to me. i look up and see the biggest mother whale and her baby! they came to swim with us and my little mermaid couldn’t believe it! it’s her first experience so that was precious!

then we went for a surf at another secret spot. another secret spot with nobody out! we scored again!!!

such a beautiful day. gosh, i hate to say this, but i kind of miss the rain. haha.

once again, Takahashi-san told me “i’m so happy!” and he looked happy catching all those waves, ripping it, and drinking an ice cold beer right after he came out of the water. i would be too. and the cool thing is we’re going to do it all over again tomorrow.

welcome to my wonderful world! once you enter it, you won’t want to exit. haha. i’m stuck here for the rest of my life!

then went to pick up Akane-san for some free diving and surfing lessons. i took her to my favorite free dive spot.

and yes, all my friends were waiting for me! see you guys again tomorrow!

I just saw a HUGE WHALE!

my little friend woke up in the morning and said “can we go swim with the whales and surf today?” wow! that was like music to my ears! i use to be the one begging for her to come with me. but now, she wants it more than me. that’s like a dream come true for me. i dropped everything i had planned for the day and said “let’s go!” i really wanted to try something different so we decided to look for another place to find turtles.

i throw out the anchor in 50′ deep blue water and we jump in. i use to always be the first one in the water, but yesterday, she beat me. my little mermaid is finally loving the world i love so much. and as soon as we open our eyes, we seen turtles everywhere! omg, i found their hiding spot! it’s super deep, but this is where they all gather for breakfast.

diving down into the deep is becoming soon so natural for me. i feel like i’m in my place. i feel so free. and i feel so happy. it’s so amazing.

and so amazing watching the turtles interact with each other. i went to join them and they didn’t even care.

it’s like they were having a meeting or something. i’ve never seen this in my whole life.

i’ve been teaching my little mermaid how to interact with turtles. you have to approach them in a way to make them want to approach you. if you do it right, they will swim right to you and look you in the eye. she’s getting it down and it makes me feel so happy to see this. i’m hoping that one day she can show and teach people the same thing i’m doing now.

and this has to be my all time best turtle photo. 50′ down and i’m like in a different world. i lay down on the sand, watch them, and think to myself “wow, this is what Urashima Taro must have felt like. i could fall asleep right now and everything would be all right.”

then on the way in we see some super fun waves at bowls. so we jump in for a couple waves, laugh, have fun, and enjoy the precious moment. as i get older, i understand more and more what quality time is. you can’t buy time like this, you have to make it. please spend quality time with your love ones. life is short so make it happen. something to think about.