Babymoon - Day 4

Snorkel! Snorkel! Snorkel! We woke up while it was still dark to make Maalaea. We chose to go snorkeling through the Pacific Whale Foundation. Our boat had about 100 people, and the staff/crew seemed very knowledgeable about marine life. I was a bit worried about the service but it was fine. They came around with breakfast and told us what we could expect on our tour.

We bought an underwater camera from an ABC store (they're just as plentiful as our 7-11s here) since I really wanted some pictures of the sea turtles but didn't want to rent a D10 for a hefty price. When I had last checked, there were 17 exposures left. The next time I checked I was at 0. I only recall hearing a click twice, so it'll be interesting to see how they turn out when we get them developed. We're hoping for at least three good pictures (forget framing and angle, let's just have our subject somewhere in the picture) to call the purchase worth it.

At Molokini we saw lots of coral and fish! It was an incredible sight to behold and definitely beat our snorkeling on our honeymoon in Mexico. Any time I saw a new kind of fish I'd get really excited, forget that I had to keep my mouth closed, and would get a surprise punch by the salt in the water. After some time of swimming hand-in-hand with my love (isn't he sweet?), I started feeling off. I thought maybe I was hungry and tried to fight through it, but then I realized I'd reached my pregnant limit and headed back to the boat (Bossman first). Then I felt nausea kick in and almost wish I would just throw up to feel better. Keeping in line with my first trimester, it never came up but I was hanging my head over the side of the boat - just in case.

Upon arriving at Turtle Arches I still wasn't feeling 100%, but we came to see turtles so I got in the freezing water. When Maui Revealed advised to leave all expectations at home, they weren't kidding. I thought there'd be lots of sea turtles around just like in advertisements. Now I know that it's all photoshopped. Thankfully, we did see one. According to one of the crew doing a "tour" in the water, it was a rare hawkbill turtle. One of the other staff members had only seen it four times in her years out there. Neat! That definitely made my queasy stomach feel better. But then I felt satisfied and went back to the boat to rest and take some pictures out of the water. It took some searching, but I found Husband amidst the many heads.

With that, we were fed a BBQ lunch and heading back to the dock when we spotted a mommy whale, her escort, and a baby whale! Soon after, we saw some dolphins swimming in front of the boat! And then we saw a turtle on the side! So much excitement from one boat ride; Mr. Woo picked the best day to go.

We made a pitstop at Hula Cookies and Ice Cream for a haupia (coconut) ice cream sandwich between chocolate chip macademia nut and hula's delight (mango, pineapple, coconut, macademia nuts) cookies before heading back to the condo.

After a catnap and a nice shower, we headed out for a luau at the Grand Wailea. This is the hotel that we considered. We quickly crossed it off the list when we saw the $400-500 price tag - per night. But it was just the right setting for dinner and entertainment. We were initially sent to the wrong place and ended up being late for early seating, but when Mr. Woo told them our situation (I was eyeing the long ling forming for regular seating) they responded with, "Don't worry about it. You're on vacation; you shouldn't have to stress about something like that." Then the woman who took care of it later saw us and greeted, "Welcome, Mr. Woo." She remembered us amidst the hundreds of guests. That's why she has the job that she has.

We witnessed a pig resurrect from the ground and taste delicious, saw stories of Hawaii's history and culture through dance, and talked with other travelers at our table. Of course, it would not have been complete without a sunset in the horizon.




Whew! What a day.