Hawaii Days Eight and Nine: Maui

Yesterday we went to Black Rock beach by the Sheraton, which is up the street from our hotel. There is good snorkeling there last year and it did not disappoint this year. The water was just as clear as I remembered. We saw two sea turtles (one of which I think was the big turtle I read about named "Volkswagen" due to his size) and four sting rays, pretty much in the exact same spot as last time. Maybe it was the same family of sting rays.

This time we jumped off of the black rock. Not all the way on the top but the bottom level of the rock. It was cute though, someone had there pit bull up on the rock and I will admit the dog jumped from a higher spot than we did. And I made the mistake of tossing my snorkel gear into the water before I jumped thinking that it would float, and it didn't. I was able to save my fins but my mask and snorkel sunk to the bottom. I tried to get them but couldn't. Some nice guy, though, dove down to get them, it was very nice of him and he cut his nose doing it. I must say we have met so many nice travelers here.

Last night Rodger cooked dinner in our hotel room. The room has a kitchen with cooking supplies. He made steak, salmon, and grilled pineapple.

Today we took our snorkel/dolphin boat trip to Lanai (one of the islands off of Maui). It was so fun. The boat ride out there was great, even though there were no dolphins. We stopped to snorkel on the way out (saw a few turtles and fish) and then the boat dropped us off on Lanai to snorkel and explore. We ate lunch, hiked, snorkeled, swam, and relaxed (and I got sunburned). Lanai is beautiful, the water is so warm and clear, it's really turquoise and just gorgeous. The pictures really don't do it justice.

I really enjoyed sitting on the boat and letting the water blow in my face.

This is one of two resorts on Lanai. Our boat driver said that Bill Gates rented out the whole resort and golf course when he got married.

The hike went up to a plateau across from a big rock where a Hawaiian Princess is believed to be buried by her commoner boyfriend after her father killed her for going out with him. You can see where the rocks are built up on the cliff to mark her grave. Her boyfriend killed himself after burying her because he knew he would be killed for going out with her.

There were quite a few fish to see while snorkeling but it was also nice to just float around in the water and let the waves push us on to the shore.

And there is some big news to announce that I am sure everyone reading this already knows but you know all big news has to be blogged about, Rodger and I got engaged. He proposed on Tuesday September 7th, and I said yes. It was very sweet and I love my ring. We are very happy and excited.

Now comes the big decision.

Should we change Sushi's last name to Long or just keep it as Creekmur? So much to think about.