Maui 2016 Day 3: Kaanapali Beach, Kihei - Waipuilani Park

 Today was our second attempt at snorkeling!  It was hard deciding where to go, with the limited days we had to explore.  We ended up choosing to go to Black Rock since the beach was so highly rated.  But because of this, I knew we had to go early to secure a garage parking spot, as well as avoid the crowds.

We got to the parking lot around 7:45am (early!) and were just the second car there.  But, there were already people at the beach!  A handful of people already snorkeling, and even in the few minutes of setting things up, another group of people arrived.  I could definitely see how busy it would become as the day went on.

Black Rock is interesting because the snorkeling is more sideways, looking at the coral on the side, instead of straight downwards.  It was a cloudy day, and rained at times, so the water was not that clear unfortunately.  We did see some fish, although they were sporadic.  The further out and closer to Black Rock, the more coral and fish we saw.

Early morning at Black Rock.  Not too cloudy...yet.

Overall, I was happy with our masks and being able to see this famous area, but the snorkeling experience was good, not great.  Eventually there were so many people in the little area that it would have been frustrating avoiding everyone's fins and faces.

Some fish in the not-so-clear water.

Something about looking around underwater makes me slightly nauseous, so I had to take some time to just sit and relax.  Afterwards, we walked down a long stretch of Kaanapali Beach.  What nice soft sand!  Some areas weren't even busy with people.  Everyone seems to congregate towards the Black Rock end, by the Sheraton.  We moved our things to a quieter stretch further South, in hopes of larger waves for boogyboarding.  But, the waves weren't large enough.

Quieter, more-South section of Kaanapali Beach

It was really cloudy and thus, bright, and I wasn't feel great...and ended up just falling asleep on my chair.  Afterwards, I felt much better, and of course we hadn't eaten lunch and it was past 1:30pm.

For lunch, we decided to try exploring South Maui.  We ended up in Kihei, picking up food at Maui Rotisserie Chicken.  After our La Reine's Chicken Shack experience in St Croix, we were in the search for something similar.  While the chicken was not the same caliber, it was good...but I really liked the corn, strangely enough.

The restaurant is right on the road, and it is meant to be a pick-up and go spot.  So, we drove South and found the nearest beach park with parking to enjoy our food, ending up at Waipuilani Park.  What a great decision, it was such a quiet, beautiful beach park.  The landscaping was beautiful and there were fewer clouds and the sun was setting...and there were TURTLES.  We saw at least four or five swimming around while we were eating by the water.  It made my day.

Good corn.

Beautiful Waipuilani Park

Beautiful and peaceful sunset at Wailuilani Park, with TURTLES

Three large scoops from Island Cream

Eventually, we reluctantly left.  It's just so hard to part with the turtles.  We figured we wouldn't be in the Kihei area after this, so we took this opportunity to just drive around and explore from the car.  We drove South and just continued along the main road, seeing the shops and beach parks.  Eventually we reached the Wailea area, and then turned to head back North.

By the time we got to the Lahaina area, we decided to continue with our strange eating patterns and have dessert, before dinner.  Island Creamy was on the top list, so had to try it.  It was pricey, but I loved that there were large pieces of fruit and ingredients in the creamy goodness.  Strawberry shortcake, cheesecake, and coffee.  We relaxed and ate outside, taking our time to savor each bite.

After ice cream, we strolled around this strip mall area for another 15-20 minutes.  There isn't much to see, though.

While we weren't hungry for dinner, we knew that we'd have to plan ahead of time if we wanted it to be convenient and not have to drive far out for it.  There was a pizza food truck across the street from our condo, called Pizza Connection, so we picked up a Hawaiian pizza (had to try it with the fresh pineapple).

Another great, tiring day.  Yes, it rained in the morning, but it ended with really great weather.  And turtles.