It has become a tradition in our family to alternate summer vacations between Hawaii and Disney World (or Orlando, if we include Universal Orlando). This year was supposed to be our Disney World vacation year, but we did it during Spring Break instead of summer. Instead, for the summer, we decided to make an additional trip to Hawaii for a specific task: To get J into the ocean for some snorkeling.
This coming year at school, J will have a field trip to Catalina Island, where he will have the opportunity to do some snorkeling. In a previous year, J had gone to Camp Cherry Valley for a Cub Scout weekend, and J had failed his swimming test because he freaked out at the freezing cold water. J is one of those kids who, if he has a bad experience, decides he won’t like a thing or anything similar from then on.
Since then, J has had a large number of swimming lessons in indoor heated pools, and he’s become an accomplished swimmer for a 10 year old. All I needed now to prepare him for his field trip was to get him into the ocean for some snorkeling. At least in Maui, the water would be warmer, and we’d also have wetsuits. Plus, of course, there would be plenty of coral, fish, and maybe some other wildlife like green sea turtles.
W is already an experience snorkeler, so I could bring him out, too.
We decided we’d go to the Grand Wailea in Maui, which we had visited before. It has the advantage of being familiar and of having extensive pools and water slides, not to mention a very nice beach with close proximity to excellent beginner snorkeling at Ulua beach to the north and beginner/intermediate snorkeling on Wailea beach itself, at the south end.
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We had an evening flight from LAX to Maui on Sunday, 8/9, eventually arriving by taxi from the airport to the Grand Wailea at almost 9 PM, too late for dinner in the restaurant but not too late for dinner in the lounge.
The next morning, Hsuan got us chairs poolside, and I took J with me on the longish walk from the Grand Wailea to Ulua beach, following the oceanside path north. During the walk, I talked to him about the Boy Scouts acronym for swimming: BALLPADS (buddy system, adult supervision, lookout, lifeguard, physical fitness or personal health review, ability groups, discipline, and safety). Another acronym is BASSPEDS, but I didn’t bother. The main thing was that we kept to the buddy system and that J hold my hand throughout our snorkeling experience.
Then I taught him how to spit in his mask and wipe the spit around to keep it from fogging up, how to make a good seal, how to blow out his snorkel, and how to breath calmly and not overexert but rather to float and use minimal motion.
He got the hang of things pretty quickly, and while he was a bit scared during our first outing, I was always with him, holding his hand and guiding him along. He was mainly scared of getting water in his snorkel and of being pushed around by the waves and current. By his second or third outing, though, he was pretty relaxed about clearing his snorkel and swimming calmly. (For my part, I was making sure we didn’t get washed up on jagged rocks, making sure we didn’t get run over by other watersports people, and keeping an eye out for sharks — incredibly rare to be in danger, but statistics never matter if the sharks are chowing down on you.)
A young Australian woman snorkeling nearby pointed out a turtle sleeping on the bottom nearby, and as we were looking at it, another turtle appeared close to us and swam by. It was a memorable introduction to ocean wildlife for J.
After about half an hour of snorkeling, we returned to the Grand Wailea, where I found W, and we walked back to Ulua beach for more snorkeling. He posed for a photo near the first, sleeping turtle.
So, J had seen 2 turtles, and W had seen 1.
We spent the rest of the day swimming in the pools at the Grand Wailea and had dinner at Longhi, an Italian chain restaurant at the nearby Shops at Wailea.
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On Tuesday, we rented a car to go snorkeling at Makena Landing just south of Wailea. Eric had recommended a cove in Ahihi Bay, but that was farther south. I wasn’t sure I could find it, and Makena Landing is another well-known, popular snorkeling area. Plus, it was closer, easier to find, and had good parking.
The Maui Dive Shop guide suggested that the left side of the Makena Landing cove is good for snorkeling while the right side is good for scuba. I wasn’t sure really where to go, and after making a short foray along the right, J and I went to the left side. I still wasn’t sure how far to go out, and the waves kicked up a lot of sand. Visibility was poor along the left side, and I couldn’t be sure if we hadn’t gone out far enough or if it was just the wind and wave conditions that were killing visibility.
However, as we snorkeled, two turtles suddenly appeared through the murky water and swam right by us. That was good enough, and we decided to stop fighting the waves and currents and return to the beach.
As W was getting ready to snorkel, more people had appeared at the beach, and we also saw a snorkel tour boat on the right and farther out than J and I had initially gone. So, W and I swam farther out, and the visibility cleared tremendously.
There was an abundance of colorful coral and fish, and as W and I explored the reef, another turtle appeared and swam past us, heading toward the beach.
Half an hour later, I convinced J to come back out, this time farther out along the right where the water was clearer. I was in a rush to get out, and J, who had already taken off his wetsuit, wore only a rashguard on top. He was shivering throughout the swim, so I held him close to me. As we explored, the turtle that W and I had seen swimming to shore passed below us, swimming back out into the ocean. Had we waited for J to get back in his wetsuit, we probably would have missed it.
So by now, J’s running count was 5 turtles, and W’s was 2.
We returned to the Grand Wailea to shower off the saltwater, and then we headed out for lunch in Kihei. We tried to visit the South Maui Fish Company for lunch, but they were closed for the day because they hadn’t caught any fish. Instead, we stopped by Coconut's Fish Cafe, where the boys had fish and chips, Hsuan had fish tacos, and I had a fish sandwich. The service was very friendly, and the lunch was excellent.
We spent much of the afternoon at the Maui Ocean Center, enjoying the aquarium. The day outside was very hot and humid, so the chance to spend the non-swimming day indoors was welcome. We had visited during our last Maui vacation, but the boys are older now and maybe more curious about sea life.
We also spent some time in Lahaina, including visiting the Banyan tree, doing some shopping for t-shirts and a little art, and having some shave ice to combat the heat. Dinner that evening was at Roy’s near Kaanapali.
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On Wednesday, just J and I snorkeled, this time off Wailea point at the south end of Wailea Beach. It’s very, very close to the Grand Wailea: The Grand Wailea occupies the north half of the beach, and the smaller Four Seasons occupies the south end, so it’s a much shorter walk than the walk to Ulua Beach. I was a little worried, because I recalled from the previous Maui vacation that it was quite a swim from the beach to where the interesting coral formations are, but when we got out there, we saw plenty of other snorkelers, including a snorkeling tour boat.
Together, we saw one small turtle trying to stay on the bottom and two more, larger turtles swimming near the rocky shorline of Wailea point. So J’s running total of turtles was 8, and W’s was still at 2.
We spent the rest of the day swimming in the pools or riding the slides at the Grand Wailea.
For dinner, we had poke at the lounge, and then we picked up pizza from the hotel’s cafe and ate in our room.
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On Thursday, I brought W first to Wailea Point, and we saw the medium-sized turtle sitting on the bottom, and we tried hanging around the rocky shoreline at the Point, looking for the larger turtles. We didn’t find them, but we did see plenty of schools of fish.
Half an hour later, around 10:20 AM, I brought J out to Wailea Point, and we saw not only the medium-sized turtle at the bottom, but we also saw the small and large turtle that we had seen the previous day. We observed them for quite a while swimming up to take some air at the surface as well as swim down, and we saw one of them eating moss or other plantlife off the rocks at the bottom.
J’s running total of turtles (including obvious repeats from previous days) was 11, and W’s was 3. Clearly, J was some sort of lucky charm when it came to seeing turtles.
Back at the Grand Wailea, W took advantage of a free “try scuba” class, which basically just let him try out the scuba gear and breath underwater in a small scuba pool. I tried to sign up as well, but I admitted to high blood pressure (treated with medication), so the manager wanted a waiver from my doctor. I got the forms together and faxed them to my doctor’s office, but I would have to wait until Friday before I could do it. So, in anticipation of getting clearance, I signed up me and W for a full scuba class and open ocean dive for Friday.
Dinner was at Humuhumunukunukuapua’a, the Grand Wailea’s signature restaurant. W had fish, and J had, well, something. Chicken fingers? Hsuan and I had the four course tasting menu, and I had the additional wine pairing. The food was excellent, but the third course (entree) was a sea bass that was more a full entree than a tasting item. Afterward, Hsuan and I felt overfull.
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On Friday, since W and I would be scuba diving, I decided that I’d bring only J with me snorkeling in the morning, and we returned yet again to Wailea Point for its convenience and apparent abundance of turtles.
This time, J and I saw only two of the three turtles we were accustomed to seeing in the area, and one of the sightings was uncomfortably close: Following one of the turtles, we swam into the rocky area and found ourselves in close proximity to rocks on several sides. I was busy trying to ensure we didn’t get pushed by the waves and current into the rocks and get badly scratched up, and I didn’t notice that the large turtle we had been observing had turned around in a dead-end and was swimming right back at us. Throughout our snorkeling, we had always been careful not to get too close to the turtles so as not to harass them. However, sometimes they’d appear suddenly close by, sometimes out of murky water, and we’d have little or no time to react. Regardless, they’d usually swim right by us without any apparent concern.
This time, hemmed in by rocks, we barely had room to move, but luckily, the turtle itself was graceful in the water and somehow swam by us and the rocks, and we seemed to get by without touching her, though we rubbed a little on the rocks.
That was enough for us for this vacation, so we swam back, taking the picture of the starfish (or whatever it is) above while on our way.
J’s final total of turtle sightings was 13. W’s was stuck at 3 (though he saw far more than 3 at Aulani).
Back at the Grand Wailea, after lunch, W and I took part in the scuba class. We had about an hour of instruction along with others taking the class, and then we got into the pool with the scuba gear. We rehearsed our various techniques for removing and reseating the mouthpiece, clearing our masks under water, practicing reading and giving hand signals, and so on.
When we first got under water, I had a few minutes of claustrophobia. I’ve experienced claustrophobia before in some situations, like while lying in an MRI machine. I experienced it as a psychological difficulty in breathing and a strong desire to get out, much the same as with the MRI. With the MRI, though, I usually relax pretty quickly after a minute or two, and I often feel so relaxed that I just fall asleep, so I expected my claustrophobia would disappear with scuba as well. Indeed, after a few minutes, it did, and I relaxed into breathing with the gear and just enjoyed the experience.
After practicing in the pool, we divided into groups, with another dad and his daughter, W, and I forming a group led by Drew, our class instructor and our guide for the open ocean dive. We had a brief bathroom and water break, and then we got our gear (with fresh tanks of air) out to the beach, where we suited up and eventually got into the water. I brought my Nikon, which was rated down to 18 meters depth.
We dove to an array of about four fingers of rock and coral, about 200 meters away from the beach. I don’t think we ever got much more than about 30 feet below the surface. Since we weren’t supposed to use our neutral buoyancy jackets except to surface, we were using only our breathing and our swimming to go up or down. Sinking or rising by exhaling or inhaling worked, but there was a big time delay between inhaling/exhaling and rising/sinking, and it took a while to get used to it. Also, kicking or not kicking with the fins had the same effect as inhaling/exhaling, with the same time delay.
We saw a number of things, including another starfish like the one J and I saw, and a moray eel trying to hide in the coral. There was a deck chair/lounger that someone had dropped overboard, and I tried to get a picture of W “reclining” on it.
Every once in a while, Drew took my camera and got pictures for me, including the photos above.
Drew also found. hiding under a rock, a shrimp and what was either a scorpion fish or a lion fish — I don’t recall which, but he said later he wouldn’t touch it because it’s poisonous. He used my camera to take photos for me.
Our total time scuba diving in the open ocean was about 45 minutes, and by the time we got back to shore, my tank pressure had dropped from 3000 psi to just over 500. It turns out that, although the neutral buoyancy jacket helps keep one from having to fight gravity and the weight of the air tank, the tank still has lots of inertia, and you’re still swimming in deep water, dragging the tank with you against currents (or even still water).
The result was that I was utterly exhausted when we got to shore around 4 PM, and once we found J, who had been exploring not only the pools but also the beach — where he apparently discovered some beach crabs — we all returned to the room to shower and rest. I took a couple of really deep naps.
For dinner, we had reservations at 6:15 PM at Morimoto Wailea, at the Andaz hotel 20 minute walk away. Hsuan and I both had the 7 course Omakase dinner. I had a carafe of Morimoto junmai sake, and when I was done with that, I had hot green tea (a Morimoto blend).
W had a sashimi appetizer and an 8 oz Wagyu filet mignon. J had, I think, a kodomo steak dish, though I’m not quite sure about that.
On the walk back, I explained to J that, despite how tired and exhausted I was from the scuba diving, I was happy, because I wanted to make each vacation memorable for both J and W. I wanted both of them to have fun and to have new, interesting, memorable, and exciting experiences, like snorkeling for the first time for J and scuba diving for the first time for W. I told J that if I can give them a good time, then it doesn’t matter how tired I may feel or how much my muscles may hurt. I told J that making them happy makes me very happy.
He said, “You’re pretty good at that.”
So it was all worth it for me.
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Saturday was our last day of vacation. We spent most of the morning at the pools and slides, though J did take time to bring me back to the beach to try to find the crabs he had seen on Friday. We never found them, but J and I had a good walk, anyway.
After lunch at the Bistro Molokini, we let the boys go back to the pool, while Hsuan and I checked out of our hotel room in time for our late check-out time of 1 PM. We spent another couple of hours at the pool, spending more time in the pool and on the slides as a family. Then we took advantage of the hospitality suites provided by the Grand Wailea for those guests who have late flights out, in order to shower and change clothes.
We finally left the resort around 4:30 PM to take a taxi to the airport, flying first to Honolulu, and then flying by red-eye to LAX, arriving just before 5 AM. We got home just after 6 AM, and I slept for most of Sunday.