We headed off to the south side again to try another beach.  Our MO was to wake up early, between 5:30 and 6:00 have breakfast while getting ready and talk about the day then drive over to Starbucks and get a Venti Carmel Macchiatto to share.  Once all that was done, we were off on our adventure.  Maluaka Beach was our destination for the morning.  I think this was my favorite because it had restrooms, a shower, a grassy area, and there was a place to rent gear.  It was run by the hotel but anyone could rent stuff.  We ended up renting a paddle board and trying it out.  It wasn't that hard however I did get knocked off when I was waving at John to come out and a wave hit it.  It would take a much longer time for me to learn how to surf the waves with it than to just paddle around the water.  While I was out there, a turtle popped it's head out of the water and then swam a circle around me as I was trying to get pointed in it's direction.  It then dove and I could never catch up to it.  It was so close, I could have reached out to touch it.  The turtles are amazing, so graceful in the water.  I guess that they are a favorite meal for sharks and I couldn't imagine how they could ever defend themselves against a shark or even swim fast enough to get away.  We stayed here for quite a while and snorkeled.  It was just amazing and fun and relaxing.  We left to have lunch in Kihei at a little fifties theme diner with real milk shakes that were so good.  We spent a little time at the hotel pool and then off to the northwest coast of the island.  With our trusty Maui Revealed book we read about the sites along this highway.  There was a blowhole that we stopped to see however it wasn't doing much at the time. Then there were Olivine pools that you could swim in but it wasn't very inviting so we just hiked down there and back.  We continued on until the road became a windy one lane road along the cliff.  At that point it was time to turn around. I think we were impressed with the variety of ecosystems on this tiny island.  The North East side of the island I would consider tropical jungle, the south east side was dry and had catcus.  The North west side reminded me of the Oregon coast, it was rocky and rugged with lots of cliffs.  Each was so beautiful in its own way.  The only part that we didn't get to see was the central part of the island.  Maybe some day, who knows. There is a huge world out there waiting for us to explore.