Turtles

Today we went snorkeling. We learned from the concierge that Black Rock, just down the beach, is a great place to see fish and even turtles. A golf cart from the office took us to the beach cabana, and from there a short walk took us to the Sheraton, which is right in front of Black Rock. We could already see a lot of people in the water. The weather was overcast and very windy which made for rough seas today. There were a lot of fish swimming very close to people and in shallow waters (where I could stand up in it). Among the fish I saw were damsel fish and sargeant majors. The fish were in little schools and were being buffeted about by the waves just like the people. A couple of Israeli tourists were throwing some kind of food in the water which attracted the fish in large numbers right near their feet (I later learned the food was cookies, and that cheerios were really the best thing to use). You're not supposed to feed the fish but we enjoyed the results of this illegal activity. After we got out and were starting to head back, Stephen heard that turtles were spotted. We ran back to check them out. The waves were much stronger at this point. A giant turtle was swimming right by the rocks and when I popped my head under water to see him, I realized that the waves were going to shove the turtle right at me. It was a giant creature (at least 4' diameter) so I tried to scramble out of the way, which then caused me to lose my balance and get tossed around by the waves a bit, but I managed to regain my footing without getting bashed into the rocks. The turtle seemed really comfortable around people and kept popping its head up to breathe and then would dart back in the water. Neve later saw a smaller turtle swim under the boogie board she was laying down on! It was a really remarkable sight.

At this point, we had to get ourselves out of the water, head back to the hotel and get ready to meet the Huangs for lunch. Boy, I can't believe the places that the sand got into. I had clumps of it stuck behind my ears, in my bathing suit and in pretty much every nook and cranny. It took awhile to rinse it all out and I'm not sure I got all of it! We met the Huangs at the Westin Resort Villas where they were doing a rehearsal of Bryan and Vivian's ceremony. Sharon and her kids were joining us for lunch. We drove up to Napili to The Sea House, which like most of the restaurants we've been to has a view of the ocean. I had some delicious pork tacos as Mei's kids and Sharon's kids all immediately got along. After lunch we headed to Lahaina for shave ice. Bryan had told Sharon about a place called Local Boys so we went there. Well, we learned that Ululani's is really the best. The Local Boys product was coarser, icier. The server didn't poke holes in the ice before pouring the syrup, and the syrup flavours were not as nice as Ululani's. We ate the treats under the giant banyan tree, then strolled back up Front St. on the way back to the car. I stopped at a small jewelry store and got myself a plumeria lei Hawaiian ring to replace the one I lost that I'd had since my last trip to Oahu back in the 90's for my friend Shaun's wedding.

After a brief stop at home, we headed off to Whaler's Village to have dinner at Leilani's. This restaurant is beautifully situated right on the beach, with torches lining the sand and looking out over the water where sail boats and catamarans of all types were heading back in from a day out in the ocean. I had a delicious shrimp scampi, my first Mai Tai of the trip in a cool tiki glass, and we shared a delicious tropical cheesecake. After dinner, we headed back to the condo, where we did a brief check of the night sky, seeing the Milky Way, Cassiopeia, and the tail of Scorpio, which is called Maui's fish hook among Hawaiians.