We had great plans for today. We were going to pick up fins and go snorkeling in the morning and walk the Beachwalk to the Hyatt Regency to visit the penguins in the afternoon.

After a leisurely breakfast in our villa and a long visit to the craft fair on the hotel lawn, we drove over to The Snorkel Store to pick up the fins. We were greeted by a very pleasant staff member, Ana, and we spent nearly an hour with her. She gave us maps and suggestions for good places to snorkel, and where to look for parking near each of them; she showed us webcams for a few of those spots; she fitted us for fins and gave us the secret for putting them on more easily – she shared lots of information and we left happy. And ready for lunch.

So we walked down the Beachwalk to Whaler’s Village and one of our favorite restaurants, Leilani’s on the Beach, where we had an enjoyable lunch with foofy drinks and complimentary Hula Pie. I wanted to walk lunch off by going the rest of the way to the Hyatt and the penguins, but it was not to be – Diane had walked too far in her flip-flops and her feet were killing her. Fortunately, the Westin complex runs a shuttle to Whaler’s Village; we caught it and took the easy way back to Nanea.

Instead of snorkeling, we went to the hot tub and soaked, then went back to our villa to rest and recover from our arduous day.

Eventually, we roused ourselves to get dinner, which meant a walk to the north end of the Beachwalk. The sun had set a few minutes before we left, and the sky was glorious.

After dinner, we took one more walk on the Beachwalk to do some stargazing; even with the resorts and houses nearby, the sky here is still dark enough to see the Milky Way fairly easily from the section of the Beachwalk behind the “Kai Alai Homeowners Association”. And unlike stargazing in Iceland, we could wear shorts!

We started the day with a visit to Primitive Hawaiian Gyotaku at the Maui Craft Fair. They take vintage aloha shirts and use the ancient art of gyotaku to put the image of a fish (or other sea creature) on them – I’ve bought one nearly every time I’ve come to Maui, including today.

We drove to one of our favorite spots on the island, Kula Botanical Garden, for a stroll through the garden.

Our next stop was Kula Bistro for lunch – both of us had the special of the day, Atlantic salmon marinated in a lilikoi sauce served over a salad of local greens, vegetables, and fruit. I felt funny ordering non-local fish, but the meal was absolutely delicious!

We had to hurry a bit at both the garden and the restaurant so that we could get to Ho’omana Spa in time for the massages we’d booked (yes, we had to rush like crazy to go relax). They do traditional lomi lomi massage, beginning with a Hawaiian healing chant; it was a wonderful massage and was worth the effort of getting there. I plan to go back the next time we’re on Maui…and with any luck, not be hurried on the way.

After relaxing a while after the massage, we drove back to Nanea to enjoy sunset on the beach and dinner at the pool bar.

We finished the day with a stroll on the boardwalk, enjoying the dark sky and the sounds of West Maui.