A Snorkeling Story-Where Tropical Fish Meet Inspiration

I have to tell you about something amazing I experienced today. I have been driving by Magics Sands for a few days now while taking the kids back and forth to school. The days have been so beautiful lately and the water so calm that I have been kicking myself for not stopping at the beach and getting into the water. So, today, I put my snorkel gear into the car and stopped on the way back from drop off. I usually swim on the right side of the beach where I always am happy to see some great tropical fish..maybe a dozen or so Yellow Tang and such

Today, I was on that reef and looked over to this little bay that I have been meaning to swim into for YEARS.
The first time my husband and I tried to get into this little bay, he stepped on a purple sea urchin (wana-seriously poisonous) and he could not walk for three days and that little area has basically been off our list for ten years. However, whenever I ride my bike by that little bay, I ALWAYS see a profusion of yellow from the tang that reside there.

So, today, since the water was calm, I decided to swim the 1/4 or so mile to get there.

As I was approaching the bay, I saw what looked like a white halibut (I have never seen this type of fish in the reef before) and was counting myself pretty lucky when about 50 feet later, I came upon at least 50 yellow tang. I thought, “Oh, I have found where they hang out!”  THEN, I swam deeper into the bay and came upon a school of over a HUNDRED yellow tang! As I was enjoying the vibrancy and color of these fish, about five needlefish came over to say hi, and then I saw a few trumpet fish and then a family of silvery cornetfish swam by. All of this was in about four feet of water about 20 feet from the shore. SOOOO COOOOL.

And then, to add to the OMG experience, a THOUSAND silver minnows about three inches long showed up and swam around me. It was like being in the best underwater dream, ever…well, minus looking into the eye of a humpback whale, of course.

In the middle of all this ocean goodness, I started to think about my job of finding silent and live auction gifts for both A Taste of Santa Cruz. a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity Santa Cruz County and the Santa Cruz Association of Realtors Housing Foundation and the first annual dinner gala for Habitat For Humanity Hawai’i Island where proceeds will help build 100 homes on Hawaii Island.

All these new ideas of crafting innovative packages of personalized tours started coming up, and the names of friends who do really great things on this island swam into my mind and promotion ideas to help sell tickets came up. (yes, this is what I think about while enjoying the sun on my back and the soft ocean swells around me!)

I popped my head out of the water and saw a woman on the rocks doing Yoga and remembered that this area was actually a very sacred Hawaiian space. I felt actually blessed with not only this amazing tropical fish experience I was having but with the clarity where all these ideas and connections flowed so easily.
All my thoughts were on helping people through Habitat for Humanity and helping people discover the things I love about this island, and helping my friends connect with new customers. It was SUCH a blissful and happy 20 minutes! (and then I swam with a sea turtle before getting out at the beach..yes)

You know how they say that you need to get out into nature so you can find new inspiration for your work or just life? It is so true. I have found my new zen spot for sure and it’s right on Alli Drive!

(If you are reading this and would like to sponsor, provide an auction item or buy tickets to the Habitat for Humanity gala on November 17th at the King Kamehameha Hotel with a well known singer as the entertainment, contact me at [email protected].)

If you own an island business and would like to market your business or services to the Santa Cruz, CA community, let me know! I am putting together the grand prize of a Hawaiian getaway as a top live auction gift!