Thanks to the pandemic, Maui was my first beach in a year

Ben's latest passion is pickle ball so we starting most mornings on the court right outside the front door of our condo; Ben's parents joined us in Maui for our first week

We tried to book scuba and snorkeling trips to Molokini and Lanai but everything was booked solid for the next 2 months; rental cars and hotels/condos were sold out with international travel for Americans still largely banned

Kahekili Beach Park offers the idyllic Hawaiian beach experience in Kanapali; many people were doing their required open water dive here to get their scuba certifications

We encountered huge schools of fish when snorkeling around Black Rock; this formation, separating Kanapili in two, was the result of one of the last volcanic eruptions in West Maui

Honolua Bay had the greatest population of turtles I saw on Maui with this photo featuring 4 turtles from the 13 I saw here; Maui prices were even worse than usual since we visited during Spring Break/Easter

Morgan led us on a hike through the redwoods at Polipoli State Recreation Area on the slopes of Haleakala; we were often in the clouds so views were limited (I mostly saw roots as I was constantly looking down to avoid tripping)

Big Beach is the largest and nicest beach in South Maui with great views of Molokini; the snorkeling was better next door at Little Beach although the seas were pretty rough during our stay

This was one of only two eels I saw during two weeks in Maui (I never saw a shark or a ray); the other eel was swimming in a tide pool in Hana

Ben quickly got the hang of surfing but Lee found it easier to practice his yoga poses; they were both put to shame by Church the Surfing Dog who would accompany kids and move on the board as needed for the surfer to maintain balance

Peacock Flounder; snorkeling is supposed to be better in South Maui but I didn't find that to be the case; water visibility was much better at Kanapali and points north

We didn't see any endangered nenes on Maui but there were striking red-crested cardinals; the introduced mongoose has decimated many of the local bird populations

When Ben tired of our pickle ball foursome we would drive into Kihei where people get together every day on the public courts for pick-up games; the crowd skewed older such as these two ladies schooling Ben and Lee

Reef triggerfish; Maui waters didn't have a great variety of fish species and also didn't have the colorful underwater topography I've seen elsewhere

The guys enjoying lunch takeout at Kahekili Beach Park; it seemed to take forever to get anywhere on the island (partly due to us staying on the SW corner)

Ha‘uku‘uku‘ula‘ula, aka the Red Pencil Urchin, are extremely common in the waters off Maui but aren't supposed to be poisonous; different varieties of sea urchins were way too common here (at least there weren't any jellyfish!)

This spotted pufferfish was seen snorkeling in front of our condo in Makena; masks were required when walking outside and on the beach until you were stationary