Monday, September 17th, 2007
This morning we had no real plans other than to relax by the pool at the Westin. Julie was planning on getting up early to stake out some nice chairs by the pool. She overslept a bit but thankfully found a nice spot with some shade and sun. It’s an unfortunate fact we learned during our last visit that guests get up early (around 7am) to go stake out chairs by the pool and, if you don’t join ‘em, you won’t get a chair at all. We had talked about renting one of those nice cabanas however they had already been rented away a week in advance.
The pool at the Westin is really something to see. It’s really multiple pools joined by grottos and connecting waterslides. I can’t say I’ve stayed at enough luxury resorts to compare however this pool is at the top of my list.
Somewhat spontaneously we decided to take an afternoon catamaran ride for snorkeling. The Gemini catamaran beached for boarding right at our hotel around 11am. We jumped aboard and took a 45-minute motored excursion against the trade winds to Honoluau Bay on the northwest shore, north of Kapalua. We were fortunate that although the boat could accomodate 40 guests at capacity there were only about 18 booked for our trip. The ride was pretty windy (around 15 knots), causing us to bounce around a bit, however the ride was still enjoyable, catching sight of a number of sea turtles surfacing for air along the way. I sat on the starboard hull most of the way up and got one good splash from a stray wave giving the rest of the passengers a good laugh.
On anchoring at Honoluau Bay we joined one other catamaran excursion with passengers already in the water but for the most part the preserve was by no means overcrowded. This is a good point for me to mention the fact that I’m not really a swimmer. As a matter of fact, before last year, I didn’t swim at all. After about ten lessons at the Pro Club I’m relatively comfortable in a pool but had never swam in the ocean much less gone snorkeling. Julie, on the other hand, is a skilled swimmer and had been snorkeling before. In the spirit of giving new things a try I did give it a go and did pretty well once I got comfortable in the water. I wore a waist belt for extra buoyancy and shared a flotation tube with my wife who did most of the driving.
We swam out behind the boat and over the reefs. It was a surreal experience that felt more like flying than swimming. The highlight for me was getting up-close with a sea turtle. During the whole experience we were being filmed by an underwater videographer who accompanies the trip and sends you a DVD of the excursion afterwards.
I only lasted about 20 minutes in the water because enough salt water got in my mouth that my throat was burning pretty bad… Julie stayed in about another 20 minutes where she got to see several more turtles and different areas of the reef. After getting out of the water the ship had a nice lunch catered by the Westin – some Mahi Mahi and BBQ chicken along with an open bar.
After lunch we pulled up anchor and motored out to the middle of the passage between Maui and Molokai and then sailed back on the trade winds to Ka’anapali Beach where we were dropped off where we started. I have nothing but good things to say about the crew of the Gemini. All were very pleasant, helpful, and knowledgeable about the area. I bought a T-shirt with the Gemini name since that also happens to be my birth sign.
After the snorkeling trip, Julie and I retired to our room to rest and finish the movie we started the night before, Knocked Up. This turned out to be a surprisingly good movie that we both enjoyed although I did think it ran a bit long.
In the evening we drove to Lahaina for dinner at B.J.’s Pizzeria. We ate here during out last trip with the kids and enjoyed the food and terrace which has a good sunset view. The night concluded with a little shopping and gallery gazing. We also had an informative chat with a jeweler who restores ancient coins into jewelry. One example he showed us was a coin hand-etched in ancient Greece bearing the image of Apollonia from around 400 B.C. Other items he showed us were “pieces of eight” recovered from a Spanish shipwreck near Cuba.
Tomorrow is our anniversary and we already have a fair amount of the day planned. We’ll start the day with a golf lesson, spend time in the hotel salon in the afternoon and then set off for our anniversary dinner.
