Snorkeling & Old Lahaina Luau

Today was our morning to "sleep in." Yet I still woke up at 6:30 a.m. Damn time zones. Oh well.

We did, however, relax for a bit this morning. We basically just did nothing around the condo until around 9:30, when we finally started getting ready for the day. We decided to hit up a couple of good snorkeling spots.

First, we drove a little bit north to Kapalua Beach.

This little bastard kept trying to fight me or something. He was an aggressive little thing. Certainly got a really good look at him, though! The pictures didn't come out as nicely since he kept darting around. This is a Rectangular Triggerfish, which is the state fish of Hawaii.

A very cool looking fish. I think there is one of these in Finding Nemo (if my memory serves me correctly). This is a Moorish Idol. They were difficult to get pictures of because they liked to hide underneath and behind the coral and rocks.

After we felt we had exhausted Kapalua Beach, we went back to the condo to have some lunch. By this time, it was noon and we were starving.

Around 1:00 p.m., we decided to walk down to the north end of Black Rock. It's quite a hike down the beach from our condo, but the nearest parking to Black Rock is really not close at all, so we figured we might as well walk it.

Once we got down there and into the water, we weren't disappointed.

A beautiful flourescent looking fish. We've had trouble identifying this one because it doesn't look exactly like any of the pictures our "guide" shows.

Our turtle friend! We were so excited to stumble upon a sea turtle. I've read that we're going to have an abundance of them in the water right outside of our condo when we go to Kauai, but wasn't sure whether we'd actually see one here in Maui. But sure enough, there he was. I was overwhelmed by the size of him (her?) when he got really close to me. They are HUGE!

Just another cool fish. Not sure what this one is, either.

We made the walk back from Black Rock to get ready for the Old Lahaina Luau. We caught the bus into downtown Lahaina since the luau had open bar and we wanted to take advantage. We actually arrived early, killed some time in the mall across the street, and then went back when it was time.

Once on the grounds, we were greeted with mai tais and fresh flower leis. I also was given a flower for behind my ear... it goes behind your left ear if you're "taken," behind your right if you're "available." As a married lady now, that bloom immediately went behind my left ear! :)

We had time to walk around the property and explore a little bit. The scenery was really beautiful, and the atmosphere is fun and really "Hawaiian," for lack of a better way to describe it. Basically, it's stereotypical Hawaii... what you'd expect to see, hear, and smell based on what you've seen in the movies and on TV. Simply put, it's just really pretty!

We were impressed by how many people they had working there. It's a really well-run operation. Many greeters, servers, etc. All are authentically dressed. I overheard someone say that they only hire true Hawaiians because they want to make sure it's as authentic as possible. Well, it certainly worked for us!

At about 6:20 p.m., they made a big show out of unearthing the pig. They removed it from the imu (underground oven), after cooking for 12 hours. It was cool, and part of the experience... but pretty gross, too! ;)

When we sat down at the tables, we had a little bit of entertainment while we waited for dinner. There were four couples (including us) at our table. Three of the four couples were newlyweds. All of the other three were from Los Angeles. One couple was married on Friday, June 20. The couple across from us was married the same day as us, June 21. So that was kind of fun.

The show itself was fast paced and entertaining.
Toward the end of the performances (which were fun to watch), they recognized all of the honeymooners by asking them to get up and dance to a traditional Hawaiian wedding song.

Us dancing with all of the other newlyweds

When it was over, we caught a cab back to our hotel... another tiring but exciting day and night! Off to bed!