Rare Swim

I was allowed to join a select group of Maui's Mermaids for a rare Wednesday swim to the Aquarium this morning. Life is great.

Reef Clean Up

It was my very great honor to be included in a reef clean-up expedition this morning. We cleared a considerable amount of debris from two different reefs, which will help prevent entrapment of turtles and other aquatic life.

Click HERE for lots more photos of today's ocean adventures.

And a HUGE "thank you" to Bruce and Alan without whom Maui's reefs would not be nearly as beautiful as they are.

Best of All Possible Worlds

Maui's Pink Cap swimmers had the best of all worlds Sunday with warm, clear, flat water.

The fun group even had encounters with a Spotted Eagle Ray and a Manta Ray.

Click HERE for a few more photos of yesterday's ocean swim adventures.

Silverbacks and Greens

It was another perfect morning for an ocean swim today. I saw lots of Silverbacks and a few Green Sea Turtles too.

Musical Bubbles

 Maui's Mermaids were back in South Maui waters once again this morning, where I was given lessons on playing SCUBA bubbles.

I've missed swimming with them and was thrilled to be back in the pod.

Daredevil Helicopters

A large brush fire threatened a portion of south Kihei as well as Maui Meadows this morning.

I was in awe of the four helicopters fighting the fire. They would zoom barely above the tree tops to the nearest backyard pools in the Maui Meadows neighborhood, fill their buckets, zoom back to the fire and dump their water, then head back to the nearest pools again. They were making their round trips in less than two minutes, which meant that water was being dumped on the fire every thirty seconds. Amazing!

Another Blurry Sunday

 I must apologize, I seem to be having technical difficulties with my underwater photos recently. I will work diligently to figure it out.

Even though we may look blurry, we actually were sharp as tacks and thoroughly enjoyed excellent ocean conditions for our swim Sunday.

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

Find the Flounder (top photo) . . .

. . . which is much easier when it's moving (middle photo)

Cleaner Wrasse doing its job on waiting Goatfish (bottom photo).

Clear Water Returns

Hooray, a return to clear water on Maui's south shore. Will it last? I plan on making the most of it while it is here.

Cock Fight

Maui has lots and lots of feral chickens. In fact chances are really good that wild chickens will be climbing over your feet looking for crumbs at most outdoor restaurants.

But this morning was the first time I'd seen two roosters battling it out.

Another Murky Swim

The Maui Pink Cap swimmers encountered yet another Sunday morning of far less than clear ocean water. I don't know why the murky conditions affected all of my photos, both above water and below.

Click HERE for a few more photos from another brief swim.

Neoclassical

I've seen lots of creative arches for beach weddings here on Maui, but today was the first time I'd seen a neoclassical one.

The moon is getting full and the sunsets continue to wow.

Coral Bleaching

A lot of our coral is transitioning from its natural yellowish color to a blue as it begins the bleaching process in the warmer than usual ocean water this year.

My hair is growing back quickly.

Rainbow turtle from refraction of light through the surface of the sea.

Boy with a Fishing Pole

The top photo is from my morning beach walk.

Sunset a couple of days ago.

The only thing the last photo is missing is a little boy with a fishing pole.

No Poops

Hooray! Clear water has returned to the south shore of Maui which allowed me to spot, and swim with, two large Manta Rays this morning.

They were busy feeding and were doing loops and swoops but no poops.

Ho'okipa

Maui's Pink Cap swimmers like to mix it up a little by swimming at a different location the first Sunday of each month. Yesterday we visited Ho'okipa on the north shore, a place famous for big waves and strong winds.

Click HERE for more photos of Sunday's ocean swim.

Pre Fireworks Fireworks

We didn't feel any need to wait for the fireworks on the fourth because nature gave us all the spectacle we could ever want.

The sunset started out okay, then morphed into one for the record books. The bottom photo was taken at 7:00 p.m. on July 4, 2019, the top photo was taken at 7:25 p.m. It is hard to believe that we are seeing the same sunset taken from the same location in these two photos, but we are.

Brief Break

A brief break in the recent (seemingly unending) high surf allowed me to do a full ocean swim this morning. Even the turtles were back in the water today.