Fun in the Sun

One is never enough--especially when it comes to whale watches.  Ever since my pre-dawn whale watch on the Pacific Whale Foundation, I've been itching to get back on the water.

I finally bit the bullet and bought a whale watch on my favorite boating company on Maui: Trilogy Excursions.  They have a huge fleet of catamarans and have been doing sailing charters for over thirty years.  I've had the opportunity to sail with Trilogy several times, and I've always been happy with the trips, the staff and the boats.  Trilogy consistently offers some of the best customer service on Maui.

{crew member Amy telling us about Humpback Whales}

{Trilogy flags}

{partner in crime: Liz!}

{gorgeous Maui!}

{aboard the Trilogy Elua--the first catamaran in the Trilogy fleet}

{all eyes on the ocean, looking for whales}

{first sighting: Bottlenose Dolphins!}

{this dolphin swam up alongside the boat with her baby}

{whale tail}

{the signature hump of the Humpback Whale}

After seeing several whales at a distance, we finally came across a competition pod.  A competition pod is a group of male whales competing for the attention of a female.

This pod that we saw seemed to be a group of three (there could have been more whales fighting under the surface). The whales swam in a close-knit knot on the surface of the ocean where they trumpeted, slapped the water with their huge pectoral fins and slammed their tails down.

{pectoral fin slapping}

{a little friendly competition}

{whale tail}

{caught in the act: this whale kept slamming his tail down onto the water, over and over again}

{a Teralani catamaran heading home}

{one last whale tail before heading back into harbor}

It was a great afternoon on the water, but I was surprised to find that I got royally sunburned on my whale watch.  I had borrowed some sunscreen from a tourist immediately after I boarded, but it wasn't enough to deflect the crazy sun overload I got from the sunshine reflecting off the water and all the super-white surfaces of the boat.

I am tomato red with ridiculous tank top tan lines and raccoon eyes (thanks to my sunglasses).  The most sunburned part of my body are my lips.  It looks like I got lip injections.  I've got Angelina lips!  Unfortunately, it's not attractive.  And now, a few days after my sun-extravaganza, I'm starting to peel.  Ick.

Anyways...after my day in the sun, I spent the evening off dining at Kimo's with Bryan and my friend Kimo to celebrate Kimo's Employee of the Year win!

We went big.  We got a bottle of Domaine Serene--easily one of the best bottles of Pinot Noir I've ever had, a few appetizers (the smoked marlin and an artichoke), and then, of course, some monster entrees.

{Kimo posing with his prime rib}

{32 ounce prime rib cooked rare, Texas Style, with a 6 ounce Tristan lobster tail}

{I got parmesan crusted Lehi (short-tailed Red Snapper) with coconut crusted shrimp}

Bryan also got the Lehi but done baked Kimo's Style with a lobster tail.  

We went all out.  Obviously.

It was a great way to end the weekend.