Over the past two weeks, we have been traveling the beautiful island of Maui. There are many gorgeous beaches in Maui with white soft sand and turquoises blue water. Some beaches are good for swimming while others have large waves perfect for boogie boarding. We did many activities at the beach such as boogie boarding, surfing, fishing, running, gymnastics, and snorkeling. Each beach was good for different activities. One of our favorite beaches was Mauna Kea located on the south side of the island as it had waves that were the right size for boogie boarding. We had two boogie boards so my siblings and I partnered up and rode the waves all together. At this beach, my sister practiced gymnastics and entertained the crowds with her flips. I ran on the beach and at times, the sand sunk my feet which was hard but great exercise.
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| Friendly birds |
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| Michael and dad swimming together |
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| Boogie boarding |
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| Surfing |
During the
junior life-guarding program, I learned how to surf so I begged my dad to rent us a surf board. The next day, I taught my siblings how to surf and we had fun on the waves at Cove Park! This beach is perfect for surfing as the waves roll in far away allowing you to ride the wave all the way in. We walked approximately 200 feet to the waves and the water level was only waist deep! It was difficult at first to paddle on a wave but my sister, Sarah helped push me on to waves and I returned the favor when it was her turn.
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| Playing on the board |
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| Snorkeling on the south side of the island |
Another highlight of Maui was the snorkeling. The best snorkeling spot was the Ahihi Kinau Natural Area Reserve which is located on the southern coast of
Maui. One of the things I like most about snorkeling Ahihi Kinau is that the
coast line is mostly made up of lava rock intermixed with coral. The crevices of the lave rock and coral make it the perfect place for fish and other sea life to flourish. Many of Ahihi
Kinau's most beautiful marine life make their homes in the shallow so we didn't have to swim far to see these large multicolored fish. Some of the fish that we encountered were the Yellow Tangs, Parrot Fish, 4 Spot Butterfly Fish, the Moorish Idol, Trumpet Fish, and our favorite, the
Humuhumunukunukuapua'a, the state fish. Another sea animal that we commonly saw was the sea turtle. Sea turtles are gorgeous animals as they gracefully glide through the water around fish. As soon as we see one, we race after the turtle in hope of touching it. One evening, while swimming waste deep in the water, something pushes off my leg and I start screaming. It turns out to be a giant sea turtle! Snorkeling in Maui is always exciting as you see different fish every time.
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| Snorkeling |
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| Michael caught a goldfish |
My brother enjoyed fishing at our local pond. My dad would take him to the pond in the evening and he would catch gold fish. Michael and my dad caught 13 fish but they were two small to eat so they let them go.
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| Watching the sunset |
Maui is known for its breath taking sunsets. Every evening, we would go down to our local beach and wait for the sun to wither away. The sky turns gorgeous hues of pink, yellow, red, and orange. The sunset is different every night but just as gorgeous. During our stay in Maui, everyone had at least one beach activity they enjoyed and that is the spectacular part about Maui.
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| Gorgeous sunset |
During our Maui vacation, my siblings and I worked on a synchronized dance in the pool. This was our second summer attempting to choreograph a routine that emphasized every team members skills and was creative. I choreographed the routine while my sister, Sarah, taught my other siblings how to do the skills. Sarah is a gymnast so she was able to teach us some gymnastics to incorporate these skills into our routine. We worked for the entire vacation and finally finished on the last day of our trip. Here is the video from our routine from two years ago. 
