Happy Birthday Liz

This morning Maui's Pink Cap swimmers celebrated Liz's repeating birthday with a fun ocean swim followed by a distanced picnic brunch.

Click HERE for a few more photos from our final ocean swim of the year.

 

Sandy Lifeguard

It hardly seemed like Christmas morning as we walked along the shore from our house yesterday. Although there definitely was a chill in the air, plus this cute sandy snowman who was guarding the beach.

 

Solstice Swim

Maui's Pink Cap swimmers celebrated the Winter Solstice by - you guessed it - going for an ocean swim.

Even though the year is nearly over, still the ocean was warm and welcoming. We heard even more whales singing than in past weeks, but saw fewer turtles.

Click HERE for a couple more photos from today's swim adventure.

 

Not Roomy

Doug and I got out onto the ocean this morning for the first time in ages. I can't believe how roomy the camera makes our tiny kayak look.

We continue to have nice sunsets, if only we managed to get up off the sofa more often to witness them...

Crazy Busy

Nowdays with my crazy busy work schedule, almost every photo I take is either during my Sunday morning ocean swim, or on one of my strolls through the neighborhood. 

Tourists have returned to the beaches, but in much smaller numbers. 

And people are enjoying watching humback whales which returned a bit earlier this year.

 

Turtle Soup

Even though Maui's Pink Cap swimmers encountered bucketloads of turtles this morning, the highlight of the swim was getting to see a lovely jellyfish.

While we usually shy away from jellyfish (far, far away), this kind doesn't sting and is quite beautiful (and seldom seen here).

Click HERE for lots more photos from our Sunday ocean adventure.

 

Evening Stroll

We've been too lazy recently to walk outside in the evenings to watch sunset. Fortunately, because the sun is setting much earlier, I've gotten to experience the sunset during my evening stroll around the neighborhood.

 

Few and Far Between

Maui's Pink Cap swimmers were few this morning, as were most sea creatures. Besides a few turtles and a few fish we did not see much. At least we still got to hear the whales singing.

Click HERE for a few more photos from our morning ocean swim.

 

Devil Scorpionfish

Maui's Pink Cap swimmers celebrated Shaun's birthday today and wished Patti well on her upcoming adventures on the mainland.

Besides all the usual and unusual critters we met along the way, we also heard our first humpback whale singing of the season.

Click HERE for lots more photos of our Sunday morning ocean swim.

 

Colorful Carpet

Yet another spectacular sunset yesterday.

Orchid trees strew their flower petals beneath my feet as I approach.

 

Pre-Thanksgiving Swim

Most of Maui's Pink Cap swimmers were doing a five-mile swim out to the small island of Molokini; which left it to the core group of fun swimmers to do the usual Maui Sunday route.

The water was unbelievably clear and we saw lots and lots of turtles once again.

Click HERE for a few more photos from today's ocean swim.

 

Look Closely

Rain was threatening yesterday afternoon, so playing it safe I carried an old underwater camera - which just happens to have a great macro feature. 

My biggest surprise came while choosing the oleander photo (last photo). I always thought the oleander flower is boring and uninteresting, I had no idea there was all this stuff going on in the center of the blossom. Who knew?

 

Earlier Sunsets

Now that winter is on its way, I'm getting to enjoy the earlier sunsets during my after-work walks. Good stuff.

 

Birthday Bubbles Swim

Maui's Pink Cap swimmers celebrated Lynne's special birthday with an ocean swim replete with turtles, turtles and more turtles.

Click HERE for lots more photos from this morning's adventures.

 

Tiny Ray

A few of Maui's Pink Cap swimmers braved perfect swim conditions for a fun ocean swim this morning. 

We saw a number of Green Sea Turtles and one tiny Spotted Eagle Ray.

Click HERE for a few more photos from this week's Sunday swim.

 

Slow Return to Normal

Maui's tourism is slowly returning to normal, including volleyball on the beach.

I've been watching this home going up over the past couple of months, and found it strange that the roof was the first thing constructed.

 

Fishies Everywhere

I'm not sure what happened to the usual swimming crowd, but five of us did show up for our usual Sunday ocean swim this morning. 

There were lots and lots of fishies and quite a few turtles as well.

Click HERE for more photos from today's adventure.

 

Ghost Mantas

Yesterday, the fun group of the Maui Pink Cap swimmers wisely swam the usual course - and got to spend time with two ghost mantas. They were both doing loop-de-loops and kept us moving.