Animals,  Lee,  Photography,  travel,  Weird shit that happens

SchMaui15: amazing Hawaiian experiences

Sunset from our condo in Maalea on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Photo by MeLinda.
Sunset from our condo in Maalea on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Photo by MeLinda.

Guest post by Lee

Ladies and gentlemen, I have been to the Great Wall of China, I have seen the Pyramids of Egypt, I’ve even witnessed a grown man satisfy a camel. But never in all my years as a sportscaster have I witnessed something as improbable, as impossible, as what we’ve witnessed here today!*

These are the comments that were going through my head after some amazing experiences that have occurred over the past few days in Hawaii.

Day 2 in Hawaii

Dangerous shorebreak sign in Maui. Photo by MeLinda.
Dangerous shorebreak sign in Maui. Photo by MeLinda.

After spending the morning of our first full day on Maui snorkeling and the morning of our second day snorkeling, MeLinda and I decide to try our hand at boogie boarding in the afternoon. Can’t be that hard — all you need is a board and some waves? How bad can the waves be even little kids are doing it? So we get out there and I’m trying to figure out if I should wear my prescription sunglasses out there or go blind. I converse with MeLinda and she is debating the same topic with her non-prescription sunglasses but we decide to go with our glasses on. I should know better than to take MeLinda’s advice on sunglass care as she is the BTK of sunglasses. We get out there and a few tame waves come by and everything seems good. Then I’m out about 50 feet from the beach and a big wave comes along and MeLinda and I go flying. Both pairs of glasses fly into the ocean and a set of expletives come from my mouth. I just lost a $400 pair of sunglasses in the ocean. MeLinda tells me to stay in the spot I am in and she is going to grab my snorkel gear (which have prescription lenses) so I can see if I can find them. Okay if you were to calculate the odds of finding anything in the ocean they would be slim. MeLinda and I once spent over an hour in a swimming pool looking for my wedding ring that flew off. So I put on the snorkel and start swimming around and within five minutes I find a pair of sunglasses. Holy cow, but of course they aren’t my glasses but they look like MeLinda’s so at least I saved her $10 pair. After another few minutes I find my pair and can’t believe my luck. I go back to MeLinda and hand her the glasses, turned out they weren’t hers. How many pairs of glasses are in the ocean? About 30 minutes later a guy comes by and says he lost a pair of glasses. We found the owner of our other pair of prescription glasses. The beach has a communication network and once a pair of glasses are found word goes around and even ends up on Craigslist.

On the Trilogy Sailboat headed toward Molokini Crater just off Maui. Photo by MeLinda.
On the Trilogy Sailboat headed toward Molokini Crater just off Maui. Photo by MeLinda.

Day 3 in Hawaii

MeLinda and I take an excursion to Molokini Crater. We are looking forward to a day of snorkeling at what is considered by many as Maui’s top snorkel site and maybe some whale sightings on the boat trip out. On the ride out we are able to see several humpback whales from afar. Once we reach Molokini we hit the water and start snorkeling for about 20 minutes until I spot something a little out of the ordinary. Wasn’t sure what it was at first glance and then realize it’s a seal. Not only is it a seal but later on I find out it’s a Hawaiian monk seal, which is on the critically endangered list with only 1,100 remaining. They grow to be 7 feet and weight 400 pounds, but this one was smaller than full-grown. It was awesome swimming next to him and being close enough that he looked directly in my eyes and seeing his adorable face. He seemed happy to see us and didn’t make any effort to move away quickly. Then a few other snorkelers come by and act like total douches. They go swam aggressively toward the seal getting way too close, and the seal growls and quickly moves away. MeLinda yells at the asshats but they aren’t paying any attention and wouldn’t care they ruined an awesome snorkeling experience. Why couldn’t this have been one of those episodes when animals attack? I didn’t want the guy killed but being a little roughed up wouldn’t have bothered me. The Hawaiian monk seal can be very peaceful and friendly animals and our captain said one of his friends encountered a seal in the wild and it actually hugged him.

(Our underwater camera, unfortunately, broke the day before so we don’t have photos or video. A fellow snorkeler promises to send us what she got, though. For now, enjoy this photo from the website of the Monk Seal Foundation. Go learn about them and donate to their cause.)

 

 Check out the Monk Seal Foundation website monksealfoundation.org.
Check out the Monk Seal Foundation website monksealfoundation.org.

The third improbable event was later on the afternoon. MeLinda and I went to sit by the ocean and enjoy the rest of the afternoon doing nothing but soaking in the rays and listening to the waves. About an hour into our rest MeLinda has fallen asleep and I’m just staring out in the great wide expanses of the ocean and suddenly I see a humpback whale jump completely jump out of the water. It was just like the MetLife humpback whale commercial. Why do whales breach like this? Some say it’s for mating, others say it’s a show of strength but no matter what it was awesome. By the time I had awakened MeLinda from her dreams of a Mizzou basketball victory the event was over.

So for just 3 1/2 days into our Hawaii vacation we have definitely packed a lot into it and of course I have eaten pizza for 4 days in a row, so life is good.

 

*The opening lines are a quote from the movie Dodgeball.

Lee near our Maui condo at sunrise, trying to capture photos of the green sea turtles.
Lee near our Maui condo at sunrise, trying to capture photos of the green sea turtles. Photo by MeLinda.

 

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