Today we packed up our beach seats, umbrellas, and swim trunks and headed to Big Beach at Mākena State Park just south of Kihei. The sun was shinning and we were prepared for swimming, body surfing, and maybe some snorkeling if there was a good place for it. As we got there, we began to see signs for rough surf conditions and bad currents. Still optimistic, we headed to the beach hoping parts of it might still be open and safe for swimming. Once we arrived though it quickly became apparent swimming might not be in the agenda after all.
The surf was indeed very rough. Waves forcefully pounded the shore and the lifeguards repeatedly warned of the hazardous conditions. Instead of swimming we decided to just walk along the shore and let the waves wash over our feet and ankles. Not the same as going for a swim but it at least cooled us off a bit.
I took a bunch of pictures at the beach since it was still a beautiful day. I got some great shots along the beach and some good shots of Haleakala since it was poking out of the clouds.
There were still some people swimming, boogie boarding, and surfing; some were experienced islanders who knew how to read the surf. Others were tourists who really shouldn’t have been out in the dangerous surf. It was really hard not going out in the water; it just looked so inviting! …aside from the huge waves.
For our part, we were content to sit back, relax, and enjoy the scenery from the comfort of the shade of our beach umbrellas.
Once we had enough sun and the wind started picking up, we returned home to Kihei stopping off at The Pint & Cork in Wailea for a delicious lunch. We lounged around the rest of the afternoon and this evening had a nice sunset barbecue. All around a nice, relaxing day!
