John’s birthday began rather frustratingly. He couldn’t successfully pay for the parking (via QR code/credit card) next to the Maalaea Harbor. Rather than check in late at the Sail Maui boat slip for a whale-watching expedition, we gave up and ran down the hill so we wouldn’t be late. Sure enough, there was a ticket tucked under our wiper blades when we returned three hours later.

We actually found it funny, though, because on my 70th birthday (Black Friday), a cop pulled over John in New Mexico for a speeding ticket, and now on his 70th birthday shared with Presidents’ Day, he received a parking ticket.

I digress. Back to the whales.

John chose Sail Maui from among the numerous whale-watching excursion companies to book reservations, because it was one of the displaced Lahaina companies after their horrific fires—and because it also caters to a smaller crowd (around 30 people) on a 64-foot catamaran. Last time I remember being on a boat? Over five years ago on the Sea of Galilee in Israel, September 2019.

The morning turned into a success. The joke was that we saw at least 70 humpback whales to help celebrate John’s 70th birthday. Seriously, though, we must have have seen dozens—none jumping spectacularly out of the water, but many mostly flipping their tails, showing their backs, and blowing air from their blowholes.

This time of year is definitely the best window to see whales as they winter in Hawaii between December and April. Then they return to the waters off Alaska. We watched a pod of males fighting for the attention of a female where they trumpet, menacingly blubber, and blow air.

We also saw at least two baby (calf) whales swimming alongside their mothers. A calf puts on weight daily, sometimes up to 100 pounds a day! Their mother’s milk is 50% fat, and it’s necessary to pack on the pounds to have enough “insulation” before returning to the colder waters off Alaska.

After returning to shore, we drove eastward through the oldest road tunnel in Hawaii all the way to the Nakalele Blowhole, then turned back to avoid increasingly bumpy roads. A welcome stop came at the beautiful D. T. Fleming Beach and then the Ho’okapa Park to watch sea turtles crawl onto the beach. We witnessed about a dozen turtles sunning themselves on the beach.

As we listened to the audio tour, we learned that the volcano on the west part of the island is extinct, but the one on the east side is dormant and could erupt again.

Yikes!