Oh wow what a gorgeous day!  Yesterday was crazy windy so I only swam but today……. PERFECT!  I couldn’t wait to get out there!  I enjoyed calm glassy conditions for paddling and headed straight down to the boat ramp.  Since its holiday time….. Maui has a ton of tourists …. So  there was a boat anchored at the boat ramp with snorkelers in the water.  I managed to visit with two turtles….. One big one that did pose for me to take its photo….. And one pretty small turtle.  The water was so calm!  A paddling friend showed up too so we chatted.  Another paddling friend came in as I went out and she said that way out there were a lot of whales.  That was farther out than I am comfortable going!  I’m hoping that the whales will come closer to shore soon.  It was so beautiful that it was hard to go in but I wanted to swim.  Just after I put my board up onto my racks……. My daughter, her husband and my two grand children arrived.  They are visiting from San Diego.  The grand children had a blast boogie boarding!  I took some photos of them and then headed out for my swim.  I hadn’t gone too far, when a big turtle appeared under me!  It was just meandering so we hung out for a while.   Then I proceeded with my swim down to the reef.  The water was not as clear down there but I saw a lot of fish anyway.  Swimming back I did not see the turtle so it must have moved on or swam out to sea.  It continued to be a perfect day at the beach!  It’s hard to believe that tomorrow starts a new year………