Sexy Fins

 My buddy, Ryan, accompanied me on my first deep-water swim of the season this morning.

At one point he asked, "What's that?" as he pointed at my feet. A Sting Ray was attempting to mate with my swim fins! Totally freaky. When I pulled back and took a photo, it dove for the depths and quickly disappeared into the gloom below. Weird.

A little later a large female Humpback whale surfaced with a splash next to Ryan, swam under him, then surfaced again on his other side only feet away. Wow! What a day.

Year End Dolphins

 Twenty-two Spinner Dolphins came by to check me out on my ocean swim this morning.

They were wonderfully interactive and one of them played the "leaf game" with me for a while.

Click HERE for lots more photos from today's swim.

Hidden in Plain Sight

 

 Wailea Beach is packed with families here on Maui for the Holiday week.

It is possible to find seclusion despite the crowds. This little hidden gem of a beach is at the south end of Wailea beach, sheltered by rocky outcrops.

The photo below is an old Keawe tree which is home to a colony of feral cats.

Greatest Front Yard

I have the greatest front yard. The water was so calm this afternoon that I just had to go for a swim, and I'm glad I did. 

Reflective Time

I finally found a moment to dig through photos from my trip to Kipahulu with the in-laws. I was surprised to find several that I liked, including this one of my sister-in-law crossing the stream below Waimoku falls.

I also liked this reflection I saw in one of my neighbor's pools this morning.

Antique Like Me

 Just a few of my very favorite Christmas tree ornaments from our tree.

My parents no longer put up a tree, so they sent me a portion of their old ornaments. These are from my youth, so they are (like me) antiques.

Magnetic Personality

 

 Lucky me!

Christine found herself in Kihei this morning with nothing to do, so I was able to drag her out into the ocean for a swim.

Just like with people, turtles and fish were drawn to her magnetic personality.