2 PaddlersYour total including Hawaiian state sales tax is $XXX.XX, your confirmation number is: Karen, and your customer number is 47075. Check in no later than 7:00AM for an event start time of 7:15AM.

Meet at Makena Landing, which is on Makena Road just before the Maui Prince Hotel (vendor name is South Pacific Kayaks). Call them the day before your tour to reconfirm the meeting time and to get precise instructions. Their number is 808-875-4848. Plan to bring sunscreen, a hat, a sweatshirt, and a towel.

Call them when you arrive on Maui to reconfirm the meeting time and place and to give them a lunch order. Their number is 808-875-4848. Plan to bring sunscreen, a hat, a sweatshirt, and a towel. Snorkel gear and lunch is provided.

Adventuremaui.com will charge your credit card for this activity five days prior to your trip to Hawaii. The charge will appear on your credit card statement from “Hawaii Travel and Tours.”

It was a good day out- we were done at noon after making a couple of stops – we were supposed to go to a third site, but the wind and waves started to kick up and it would have pushed us over a shallow reef too much, I think so the guide took us for an extended paddle.

The highlight of the trip for us was probably when a big turtle came up with a school of large fish behind it – David thinks he got video.

The lowlight was when I got into the water incorrectly the second time from the kayak, didn’t alert David first, and dumped him, the kayak, his mask, and my sunglasses over. We had to wait for the guide to come back and retrieve them, as at that point he was taking three people in who had taken the “short” tour. I stayed on station over David’s mask and my sunglasses, and Steve retrieved them both handily.

We were on a longer one that included a picnic lunch on the beach. We paddled around, looking at reefs from above while Steve, our guide, explained about wildlife in the islands, and also about living in Maui. It was really interesting, but then we just made a big loop and paddled around some dive boats. I got tired a lot, but tried to keep paddling. David got pretty frustrated because I was consistently pulling to the right, because my left side isn’t as strong. I did my best, and at least I felt I was getting the hang of it. Next time we do it, I’ll have to try harder to push forward, oddly enough, with my left arm, because it’s the overhand push that’s supposed to be the power stroke.

Steve was good at finding things and bringing them up to us (gently), such as a wee little octopus, a slate pencil urchin, and a collector urchin. The slate pencil is beautiful – I never knew how it looks like its shell is encrusted with garnets, in addition to having the bright red “pencils,” which wave about. I could feel it moving its little foot-like pedicles (or whatever they’re called) against my hand.

We came in one boat at a time – just two boats after the reduction in our party – and had to come in carefully to avoid snagging some fishermen’s lines. Once again, I tried to exit the kayak as gracefully as I could, meaning falling to my knees and dumping myself okole over coconuts in sandy surf. It was my second finest moment of the day. I could hear David cackling away – he was avenged.

The locals were there with their gear, their food, and their kids, including one little keiki urchin running around nakedy jaybird on the beach. He looked like he was about 4, but would grow up to be a strong fisherman who could live off the sea like his dad. He was watching his dad intently, watching the waves, and also having fun old-school.

During lunch seated on driftwood logs under the kiawe trees, Steve showed us urchin shells and how different they look after they’ve died. He talked about how some of the beautiful homes lining the Makena strand go for $9-11 million dollars, and are probably used for only 2 or 3 weeks of the year. Yet they drive up property prices and tax rates for everyone.

We stopped off after lunch at Serendipity to pick up a fancy-schmancy outfit for going out in, and then came back to the condo, showered, and collapsed.

Never really napped, but conked out for a good long while, and then what did we do? Watched an SG-1 episode and ate the rest of the cookies from lunch. It was the episode with the two fish-out-of-water scientists on an offworld mission, played by Patrick McKenna and John Billingsley -I believe it’s called “The Other Guys.”

We are such geeks. And tonight, if we don’t order a pizza and stay in, we’ll go out for Greek! Yum!

Tomorrow, the plan is to pick up David’s parents and he’ll drive them to the condo in their car, and I’ll stay with our car in short term parking and pick up my college buddy Debbie, and she’ll stay in our second bedroom. More activities ensue.