Every night at sunset, it’s traditional to blow a conch shell here at the Condo Called “Done Working.” I call it the Kihei Phillharmonic because everybody blows a different note, but they (mostly) are in harmony. Sounds like bunch of out-of-tune bassoons, but is not unpleasant.

I don’t even know if conch shells are local – I think they’re actually imported from the Caribbean, or they’d be on all the trendy menu items here.

Today’s activity was simple – head to Lahaina for a late brunch, which we had at the Pioneer Inn. Then we mooched around town taking pictures (especially near the harbor and the area where the traditional canoes are built and stored) and then stopped to watch whales from the high-pali lookout points for a while.

Tonight, we’ll head to Five Palms for dinner, yum.

Yesterday was kind of a recovery day from Wednesday’s all-day snorkel trip; we slept in, snorkeled at Ahihi Bay (where we saw the amazing zebra eel David photographed) and had some ono takeout from Da Kitchen. We were virtuous and cooked a kind of orange garlic beef stir-fry “in.”

So far I’ve read two books, one called The Lost City of Z and another called Up In The Air (yes, the one the George Clooney movie is based on). Both pretty good, now need another book. Fortunately there’s a stash in the cabinet and there’s also a stash in the laundry room downstairs.

The sound of the surf is always an undercurrent here, along with some “happy kid” laughter as the beach is pretty popular with families. There’ve been several monumental sand castles built and destroyed by enemy waves since we arrived; tomorrow they will be rebuilt anew and destroyed yet again. The timeless rhythms of the beach are always changing and unchanged: there will always be waves, and people bobbing in them. Also, there will always be these little surges and retreats of seawater up and down the sloping sand, and sometimes a stronger wave than usual will conquer a previously dry and untouched stretch of sand, and little bubbles will come up from below where burrowing crabs are waiting out low tide.

It’s a restful place, more restful than some cheaper condo farther from the sound of the water, and we’re always up for a walk on the beach. It’s a good place.

Tomorrow, we’ll meet up with some Twitter acquaintances at the annual Whale Day festivities, and there will be lots of music and food and stuff to buy. The parade will form up at the corner near us so I’m hoping to get some shots of the floats or whatever – it’s called the Parade of Whales so I’m hoping for plenty of homemade whale-type units.