Save the Coral (and other adventures)

This morning we had a behind the scenes tour of the Maui Ocean Center. We've been to this aquarium before -- it's a sweet little spot that features only local Hawaiian animals. The behind the scenes tour was amazing. First we started out in their lab, where, among other things, they work at re-growing coral.

Coral are facing a lot of challenges in the waters off Maui. Run-off from agriculture, warming ocean temperatures, and chemicals from sunscreen are just a few. Our guide, Mackenzie, was encouraging us to wear leggings and shirts in the water instead of sunscreen.  We did a little silent fist bump -- so cool to have a ridiculous-feeling outfit vindicated! There is a bill right now in Hawaiian legislature to ban all sunscreens that have oxybenzone.  If you're coming to Hawaii, ABC Stores carry safe sunscreens, and we also found that the Honest brand that we got at the Costco back home was safe.

The Maui Ocean Center is working with the state to preserve, and help re-grow some of the coral that died off a few years ago when ocean temperatures rose. Sometimes Hawaii feels...too laid back, but we were so impressed with how aggressively these biologists were working to save and protect the animals in their waters. Things are uncertain with climate and science, but only out of DC. There are good people, out there on the front lines, that are still protecting all of what we love.

From coral we went to my favorite...turtles! Honestly, I could not love these little guys more.  Maui Ocean Center has a unique situation where they release animals back in to the ocean. Keeping them at the Ocean Center while they are hatchlings gives them a greater chance of survival when they are so small, and learning how to survive. When they are a few years old, they are released back in to the waters around Maui.  We were able to watch these little hatchlings for a while, and feed them!

After feeding the hatchlings and the yearlings, we went over to feed the ray, the shark and a variety of fish. The turtle food was little shrimps and lettuce. This was chunky, bloody, fish. You all know how much I HATE to have my hands dirty, so I took a pass on this one. 

After the Ocean Center, we headed in to Lahaina for lunch. We found a cute little spot called Frida's Mexican Beach House that had a nice ocean view, complete with sailboats and turtles. :)

Then, we headed to Maui Escape Rooms, to participate in the Bank Heist. Have you heard of these? You have an hour to solve the puzzle and find your way out of the room. Dad, don't freak. You aren't actually locked in.  Of course you can't take your phone in (although that would NOT have helped!), but I found these pics on their website which shows the entry to the room (and their strange gorilla logo...).  

This was an hour of puzzles -- numbers, letters, logic... it was so fun! The hour goes by SO FAST! You can ask for as many as three hints, but you barely need them because there are some tips that appear on the screen when you are either way off track, or closing in on something. We did use one hint when we had like 2 minutes left and were basically freaking out! We finished the puzzle with 18 seconds to go.  I think these are all over the US right now -- we definitely recommend the experience!

Afterwards, we had every intention of going back to the hotel to snorkel, but the weather kicked up, and ocean swimming didn't seem like a great idea. We really were craving some more shave ice, so we headed back to Lahaina to Ululant's, and picked up some pizza at Lahaina Pizza Company. Double yum.

I love the picture below because it is so quintessentially Hawaiian -- lush greens, an art stand, and a stray cat. This is the Hawaii that we know. :)

And then we were treated to a beautiful sunset. Happy sigh.

Aloha!

Got a Whale of a Tale to Tell You...

You all know that I am not a big fan of mornings. But when they start this way, what's not to like? I do love guava juice!

The only thing on the books for today was whale watching after lunch, so we hopped in the car this morning and headed north for a road trip. We drove past Honolua Bay where we snorkeled yesterday, and made our way to the north end of the island, to Olivine Pools.  Highway 30 winds through some beautiful territory -- very lush and remote.

 

The Olivine Pools are basically tide pools that are big enough to swim in. The trail down the cliff looked tricky, plus there were several warnings about being swept out to sea, so we just observed from above. I think one thing coasties know is that the ocean is powerful, and can't be underestimated! 

After the Olivine Pools we headed back south and stopped at the turn out for the Nakalele Blowhole. The guidebook indicated the the trails were confusing, and difficult to find, and yes -- that was true! We didn't have time to hike down to the blowhole, and really struggled to find the viewpoint. Part of the issue was that we were looking for a "decrepit lighthouse". Hmmm.... Lighthouse means something different in Oregon that it does on a cliff in northwest Maui!  Despite not seeing the blowhole, the views were awesome.

And then back to the hotel to get ready for whale watching. This was our second tour with Trilogy. We got lucky and were on the Trilogy III again which is their brand new boat.

I don't know what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting what we saw. We started out watching a mom and baby  -- blowholes and a few tail flips. That seemed like more than we could have asked for, but it was just the beginning. 

As we were cruising to another location, a mom and baby went right under the tip of the catamaran where we were sitting. I don't know why I was looking at the water, but I saw them swim right under, close enough to see the barnacles, close enough to see the actual markings on their bodies; the baby was tucked right close to its mother. It literally took my breath away. They are so big, and so beautiful. 

And that wasn't even all of it! Later we saw another mom and baby, and the baby jumped out of the water at least half a dozen times. It was so unreal.  Just like the turtles, it is so amazing to be able to watch these magnificent animals. The ocean is so big! 

No, there are no pictures. We just soaked the whole thing in. I'm not sure a picture could have captured the actual feeling we had. The Trilogy crew impressed us again with their whale knowledge and the care they took in getting us off the boat. The surf was pretty big on Kaanapali beach when we returned, and they were amazing in getting us all off safely, even though it took a little more time. Book them if you are coming to Maui!

Tonight we ate at our favorite restaurant in Kaanapali: Leilani's. Like last time, we ordered the special, even though it was a fish we had never heard of. I don't much like fish, but everything is always amazing at Leilani's.  Tonight we had au over a bed of lobster mashed potatoes. Crazy right? So delicious. It's a treat, but a must on this beach!

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And so ends another amazing day in Maui.

If it Doesn't Look Weird, it's Not a Sunburn...

I think this is a cardinal rule for sunburns. If you don't look ridiculous, you can't possibly have a real sunburn. My ridiculous sunburn comes from the very best intentions. On the surface, you may think that I was trying to go for a vintage, turn of the century look for my snorkel wear:

But I really had saving the ocean in mind! Some of the chemicals in sunscreen can be damaging to coral reefs, so it's safer to just cover up so you don't need to put on sunscreen before you jump in. And in that respect, this bathing suit was perfect (thank you Lands End!).  I didn't get burned on my back, or the back of my legs, or back of my shoulders.... But my HANDS are burned -- I've been making Michael Jackson references all day -- I look like I'm wearing gloves. Like I said -- it's not a sunburn if it's not embarrassing! Luckily, I'm not the only one strolling around Maui with a weird burn today. ;)

Today was our snorkel trip. If you are coming to Maui, I can't recommend Trilogy enough. This isn't the first (or last!) tour we've taken with them. The crew is amazing.  We left early this morning and headed north on the Trilogy III (catamaran) to our snorkel grounds. 

I think the picture above was the only time we were dry today! We chose front seats on the catamaran  which was a great view, but we got just soaked. It was like being on Splash Mountain for 45 minutes. By the time we anchored in Honolua Bay, we were so wet, neither of us could see out of our glasses because of all the salt!  Despite being wet, the boat ride was so fun. And it is so amazing to be able to enjoy the ride and not worry about being sick from the waves. 

Honolua Bay was great snorkeling. There were lots of turtles, and we spent quite a bit of time watching one drift around the coral, finding food. The current was pretty strong here, and it was amusing to watch the turtle being sort of tossed head over heals (like me!), as the waves came in and out. Turtles are my absolute favorite. They are graceful, and sort of humorous. It's such a blessing to be able to be so close and watch them. No matter how many times I see them, it is always  a gift. 

Back on the boat, we dried off (sort of, because we forgot towels!!!), ate lunch and headed just around the corner to another snorkel spot.

 

The second snorkel spot was literally around the corner (south) and had some more turtles. These ones were younger (12-15 years old) and much smaller. The way the sun was hitting, you could see the turtle and their shadow on the sand. So beautiful! 

Back on the boat, the crew let the sails out and we sailed back towards Kaanapali. 

Snorkeling is exhausting, so we napped this afternoon, ate at our hotel, and rallied to shop this evening. We made a beeline for our favorite store, Blue Ginger.  Oh, and grabbed up some aloe. It's not a Hawaiian vacay without aloe, right? ;) 

Tomorrow, we're back on Trilogy to whale watch. We saw one humpback whale this afternoon, so we're real excited to see more tomorrow!! 

Lahaina

This morning I popped out of bed at around 7. Really? It's vacation!!!  One is supposed to sleep in! After laying around a bit,  I decided to pop over to the gym until mom woke up. After quietly getting dressed, I headed out, feeling inspired about the day. Twenty minutes later I was still in search of said gym. The signage here is a little like staying in a Vegas hotel -- you spend a lot of time walking in circles. I walked back and forth down one particular hallway twice, walked up (and down) three flights of stairs, and even downloaded a property map. Ultimately, I did find the gym, and this amazing view.

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After breakfast we headed to Lahaina to walk around. We got the walking tour guide at the Visitor's Center and set out to learn all we could about Hawaii. We actually learned quite a bit! Lahaina has a rich history of Hawaiian royalty, missionaries, whaling, and a diverse immigrant population. We didn't make it through the entire walking tour before I hit the "I'm too hot!!" button, but that is to be expected. ;)

Right as I was really dripping with heat, we found Ululani's Shave Ice. I have been looking for real shave ice for nearly 20 years. As a college junior, several of us went to Hawaii and student taught on the north shore of Oahu. Comically, I got kindergarten! One afternoon, our professor, Gordon, took us to a shave ice stand, and basically ordered for us -- ice cream and beans on the bottom and then shave ice and flavor on top. And I've been looking for it ever since! Ironically, the business we visited today got it's start in Portland! This shave ice was just as I remembered. I forgot to order the beans, but did get ice cream on the bottom and then flavor on top. And shave ice -- so smooth.  It not only lowered our body temperatures quite a bit, but made us oh so happy!!

I hope that shave ice turns out to be like gelato when we were in Italy. To make that true, we will need to eat it every day... That is a commitment I am totally willing to make. ;)

 

And then, back to Kaanapali for snorkeling. Which is so exhausting! Part of it is that the getting in and out is really quite tricky because the surf is so strong. And then there is a little bit of adrenaline swimming once in the water.  When the visibility gets low, it spooks me a little bit! Saw another turtle today -- about twice the size of the one yesterday.  And then we just lolly-gagged around the pool, reading and sunning. This is the life. Capped off the evening with an amazing dinner.

Tomorrow -- snorkel trip!!!

The Scarlet Letter

It's all about the hook as a writer, right? ;) When I was at the doctor last week getting my Rx for motion sickness, he told me a "quaint" little story about how the drug he was prescribing me may have been what poisoned the character (husband? priest?) in The Scarlet Letter. It's always nice to hear the whacked out things a drug might be capable of. But, I've had this anti-nausea patch before, and it worked like a charm, so I wasn't worried. You know, until today, WHEN MY RIGHT PUPIL WAS WAY LARGER than the left.

Of course side effects didn't occur to me first. First, I took to Google to find the other terrifying things that could be happening to me. I spent a little bit of time deciding whether or not I had a traumatic brain injury (honestly, that would explain so much, right?).  ;)  By the time mom joined me back at the room, the hysteria had died down, and I had settled on drug side effects. Another side effect is being really tired. After breakfast, I slept for almost 4 hours.  Needless to say, I ripped that patch right off, and am going to save the other one for our boat ride later in the week. I will say, that while my eyeballs look liked I'm all hyped up on something, that patch worked like a charm -- no problem with turbulence on the plane. Whew!

After I woke up and was ready to start participating in our vacation, we hit the beach. I LOVE snorkeling. So much.  There aren't a lot of interesting fish right off the beach at Kaanapali, and the current was really strong today, so we didn't go far. But I saw a turtle! I love those guys so much!  We remembered that the reason you swim with a buddy isn't necessarily for safety, but so someone can either hold your stuff while you put on your flippers (while trying not to drown), or so you can put someone else's flipper on for them (while trying not to drown). Ha!

Several of you will be happy to know that my alcoholic beverage intake for 2017 now sits at 2. Maybe 2.15. Guava mimosa, a small portion of a mai tai, and a mango lava flow.    I don't think I even drank a coke today! Yes, there are pictures to prove it. ;)  Location, location, location. :)

Tomorrow we have almost nothing on our agenda. We're thinking about going to the gym. snorkeling and going in to Lahaina for dinner. But it's vacation, so we can do whatever! It is paradise and we're just so jazzed to be here together. 

Thelma & Louise: In Search of Sunshine

The only thing standing between me and days full of Hawaiian sunshine are...
...report cards and conferences.

I had all weekend to finish.  Eek! I spent Saturday providing comic relief at the vet clinic, sleeping off the ensuing benadryl (7 dogs in the waiting room...), picking out my kitchen cabinets, and eating gourmet chocolates in the bathtub while reading a mystery (Sour Apples, by Sheila Connolly). Today, I went to the dump (closed), had an awesome burger in a bar (yes, I ordered a pepsi), bought a pantry, "installed"the  cabinets and pantry (three times in one case),  looked for something (unsuccessfully) in my classroom, and am now wasting more time by blogging.

Obviously, I will finish, and then HAWAII for T & L's 23rd (!!!) vacay.  We are both incredibly excited for sunshine and nearly nothing to do. Obviously there will be adventures (there are always adventures!) but it will be an honest to goodness vacation.  Happy sigh.

Wheels up on Saturday -- more to come!

Aloha!