Under the Sea at Airport Beach

Bryan and I had an epic day of errands and shopping on the Other Side on Wednesday, so we decided to take yesterday off to really relax.

It had been a while since Bryan had been to the beach, so we grabbed our gear and camped out at Airport Beach.

My main goal was to fix my terrible tan lines from last week's sun burn, but I also spent a good amount of time in the water with my mask and fins and my underwater camera.

Here are a few snaps from the day:

I saw this sign tucked in among some coral.  Not sure what it means.  I've done a little bit of google researching, but was unable to dig up anything relevant.

The highlight of my swim yesterday was listening to the whales singing every time my head was under the water.  At one point, the song had intensified in volume so much that I knew the whales must be close by.  I surfaced, and as I did, I saw a whale breach.  The whale was less than a football field away from me, and it breached over and over again.  It was absolutely incredible.

After my big swim, I spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach whale watching from the shore.  The action was great yesterday.  I'm hoping to get on an afternoon whale watch sometime soon to get in a little bit closer!

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Spinner Dolphins at Airport Beach

I feel like I'm rubbing your noses in it when I keep telling you how lucky I am to be living here.  Bryan and I had another stellar day off complete with good grub, Spinner Dolphins at Airport Beach and a luscious sunset.

Bryan and I grabbed food at Duke's (crab wontons!  sashimi!  macadamia nut crusted ono sandwich!), then headed to Airport Beach.

I donned my Barbie pink fins and slipped into the water with my camera.

My fish ID book is buried in a box, so I don't know what this colorful guy is.  I like his iridescent blue spots and neon yellow tail.

the sun was mostly stuck hiding behind a cloud during my snorkel session, so the water looks cloudy and dark in all of my underwater photos.

a triggerfish

Barbie Pink fins and Neon Orange toes!

Hello!!

Rainbow arching over the beach (you can see my pink fin under the water)

After swimming around with the camera for half an hour, I headed back to our spot on the beach.  As I was swimming I kept hearing this piercing whistling sound.  It sounded like dolphins, but every time I popped my head above water, I didn't see anything. 

It wasn't until I was back to the beach and chatting with Bryan that I saw them.  A huge pod of Spinner Dolphins torpedoed through the ocean about 100 yards from where we stood in the shallows.  As they sped along, a select few launched themselves out of the water and performed midair acrobatics.  Fellow beach-goers "ooh"ed and "aah"ed like they were watching a fireworks show.

When I saw that the pod of dolphins were a swimmable distance, I tossed my camera to Bryan, threw on my fins and shot off into the water towards them.

As I swam out towards the dolphins, I could hear their whistles and clicking get louder and louder.  I had to keep popping my head above water to see where they were to make sure I was moving in the right direction.  

When I saw their shining backs glisten above the water a few feet away, I knew I was in the right spot. I plunged down into the water and watched the dolphins swim past me.

The sun was starting to set above us, and the dolphins were on the move.  This was a very different dolphin experience than my first swim with them in Lanai when they were in their "resting" mode.  These dolphins were on the hunt.  

Their sleek bodies shotgunned through the water under and around me.  I saw a mother and her a baby,  the length of my arm, glide past.  The power and grace that these dolphins possess is incredible to witness when you are with them in the water.

After the first big wave of dolphins cruised past me, I began to swim back to shore.  I pushed my goggles up onto my forehead and swam backwards, just kicking, so I could keep watching the dolphins swim away.

I made it back to shore and kept an eye on the horizon for the dolphins until they were too far away to watch them spin out of the water.

Then I laid back and watched the sun set.

Not a bad view--especially when you get to share it with this guy:

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More Fish at Airport

On Thursday afternoon, Bryan and I made it back to Airport Beach for a swim to beat the heat.

While I was in the water I took a few photos.

The coral out here is not very pretty...actually, most of the coral around Maui is pretty drab in color.  But we have pretty flashes of color from all the fish!

I like these tiny torpedo guys.

A really big fish!

Actually, it's just Bryan.

This is why our favorite beach is called Airport Beach.

Blogger's feet!

Humuhumu

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An August Afternoon at Airport Beach

I bring you photos from this afternoon at one of my favorite spots: Airport Beach.  But first, a photo of my feet taken while I was reading in bed in my teeny tiny studio--the very same studio that I'm moving out of in a few days time:

Today was my day off with Bryan, and after a late lunch at Longhi's, we decided to hit up Airport Beach despite the ominous growing mass of clouds piling up towards the north.

{rainy skies make for rainbows!}

The wind blew away the darkest of the rainclouds further north away from the beach, so we only get hit by a light sprinkle.  After I assessed that Bryan wouldn't get poured on while camped out on the beach, I trucked out to the water for a crazy hard swim against the current and wind.

It was a blast swimming back towards Bryan after my swim out.  I cruised in with the current with the wind at my back.  I felt so fast!

{looking out at Black Rock at the end of the beach}

I got out, dried off, and read my book next to Bryan until the sunset.

And then I stopped reading and starting taking photos of myself.  Like the one taken above, where it looks like I'm standing on the rainbow.

I love my Jolyn swimsuit!  This is my newest piece from the athletic swimwear company.  It has a criss cross back that ties for an adjustable and stay-put fit.  I love the poppin' neon orange color.

You can check out the back of the suit here:

I'm also sporting Jolyn swim bikini bottoms.  Unfortunately, I'm totally spacing on which style bottoms I'm wearing.  Either way, they are slightly more skimpy than other sporty bikini brands (which is good for Maui because everyone here wears itty bitty bikini bottoms) and they sport a drawstring to get a super tight fit.

After taking a few photos of myself, I decided I needed a partner in crime.

We couldn't keep a straight face for too long, though:

{a catamaran cruising across the sunset}

{shooting directly into the sun--ouch}

{love, love, love how the clouds take on so much color}

{even the clouds hanging over the West Maui Mountains get lit up from the sunset}

{there She goes}

and then the storm clouds started to roll in.  They swept up over the horizon and poured rain out over the ocean.  Bryan and I packed up our things and left the beach with a light drizzle spattering the windshield of the car.

Just another gorgeous day on Maui.  Rainclouds and all.

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