Today was our return to the Maui Ocean Center, which we first visited last year. Cindy and I each have our favorites at the MOC, hers being the green sea turtles at the Turtle Lagoon and mine being the sharks in the Open Ocean exhibit. We actually got a pretty good discount on admission because of our family membership with the Pacific Whale Foundation, so if you’re planning a trip out here or come back every year like we do, it’s not a bad thing to have. You actually get 20% tours with the PWF, too, so the $55 membership fee pretty much pays for itself.
Last year, the Turtle Lagoon was closed for maintenance and we only saw Ku’uipo the sea turtle swimming alone in a little tank. This year, she was back with her friends in the Turtle Lagoon exhibit, swimming happily and entertaining all the little keiki that stopped by to say hello. In total, there were 5 sea turtles swimming in the lagoon habitat that the MOC created for them. The turtles are actually lent to the ocean center by Sea Life Park on the island of Oahu. The exhibit featured a few from above where the turtles would swim up to the surface for air and a window on the side where you could seem them dive and swim with their fins. There was also a small patch of sand where they could come out and soak up the sun, but they chose not to while we were there.
Onto the “shark tank” for me. After trying hard last year but coming up empty, I finally got to take some photos of the more active tiger shark. He and all the other sharks seemed to be more energetic this time, and it was probably because it was a little later in the afternoon and they were getting ready for their second feeding. I’ll be looking through the photos later this week and hopefully posting a few here as my proud moment.
As for the rest of the evening, we’ll be getting ready to head back to Whalers Village for my belated birthday dinner over as Leilani’s. Afterwards, I’ll probably make my first trip down to the beach after sunset to do some stargazing. I did a little stargazing earlier in the week from our lanai, but it’s been a busy last couple of days and I haven’t been staying up late enough.
Tomorrow, of course, is Aloha Friday and we have nothing planned, and that’s a great feeling. We’ll probably just hang out by the beach or the pool and just relax a little bit. Cindy wants to book her massage and facial at the Westin for next week, so we’ll probably walk out that way tomorrow, too.
That’s all for now. Aloha and Malaho for reading.
Tags: honu, sea turtles
