When asked to pick a Waikiki-based activity for the day, the kids decided on Parasailing. They did the research and found an outfit that had a discount coupon, provided transportation to/from the boat launch, and hadn't killed anyone in the current fiscal year. We hoofed it on down to our rendezvous point, the Duke Kahanamoku statue, arriving early enough for a couple of pictures. The shuttle bus whisked us off to Kewalo Basin, and by whisked I mean, of course, crept through Waikiki for 40 minutes with the air conditioning turned off.
Our parasailing boat was waiting for us, engine running, and we were soon motoring out of the boat harbor. Past Kewalo's and Point Panic and heading for deep water. The waves were up and when combined with the hot, winding, bus ride I was feeling a little queasy. I wasn't the only one, as Aaron was starting to look a little green around the gills as well.
The crew began outfitting the pairs of riders and explaining the operation: When called, sit here on the stern, we'll clip you in. Don't unclip yourself. Don't unclip yourself when up in the air. Rides were all tandem, and everyone paired up: The other three couples on the boat with each other, Sue with Rae, and Liz with Aaron. Since we had an odd number of people and I have a bad back I elected to sit out. It had nothing to do with my white-knuckle fear of heights.
As each couple took their turn the boat would race into the wind, raising them up, and making Aaron and I feel much better. Then we'd stop and rock, and we'd feel queasy. Everyone who went up had a great time and eventually it was Sue and Rae's turn followed by Aaron and Liz - the last team. Sue took her camera up and captured a great video. When Aaron and Liz were coming down the crew had great fun dipping them over and over into the water - the price of being a cute teenage girl.
I had been able to make pretty good book on Aaron being the first one to lose his lunch, so as we headed back to shore and the Indian woman began heaving over the side I collected a pretty penny. Aaron and I made it back to shore incident free and we all elected to walk back through Ala Moana Beach Park and Magic Island, rather than take the winding bus back.
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