When we awoke on Thursday, the wind still howled, but the skies soon cleared for a sunny day.
After toast and cereal along with coffee and orange juice in the room, we drove into Lahaina to find Boss Frog’s, where we used a coupon to get $6 tickets to Molikini or Coral Beach (depending on the weather) with the rental of snorkel gear. Most of us didn’t need snorkels and masks, but we rented fins for $8 or the cheapest snorkel combo for $9 in order to get the cheap excursion tickets. Otherwise, the trip to Molikini would have cost $29.95.
From there, we drove back to Ka’anapali, with most of the group getting out of the cars at the Sheraton Hotel, which is located at the best snorkeling spot in Ka’anapali, Black Rock. The rest of us dropped off our cars at our hotel and hiked back to Black Rock along the beach.
Despite getting a little sandblasted on the shore by the wind, we enjoyed snorkeling through clear blue water with a colorful array of fish. The fins we rented from Boss Frog’s made getting around in the water much easier, and I highly recommend fins for Ka’anapali snorkeling, where the ocean floor drops off quickly, taking away the crutch of occasionally walking through the water.
The women watched soap operas in the afternoon in one of the rooms, while the rest of us enjoyed reading by the pool or taking in the gorgeous ocean panorama. 
Jay, Amy, my niece Kelsey and I played a rousing game of shuffleboard with handicaps based on age. At this point in our lives, I gave all of them handicaps. I hope they remember that in thirty or forty years when I need a little advantage to compete.
At 3:00 PM, we drove back to Lahaina for some souvenir shopping. The wind in Lahaina seemed far milder than in Ka’anapali, which made me wonder if the wind was only pounding our hotel rather than the whole island. I bought a new hat to provide shade from what we hoped would be a bright sun the rest of the week.
We went to Cheeseburger in paradise for dinner. The singer sang many great songs by artists like James Taylor and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, mixing in enough Jimmy Buffett to remind us of where were dining. All of us had either hamburgers or cheeseburgers, and none of us was disappointed by the taste. Our family of four ordered one basket of fries ($3.75), and that was plenty for us, despite the fact that my wife was a voracious French fry eater before her Atkins days. “The Best Burgers in Paradise” aren’t massive, but they’re delicious and filling at $6.75. Jay and Amy bought the bottomless soda mug ($5.75), which allowed them to keep the color-changing mugs as souvenirs. After more shopping in Lahaina, we returned to our rooms about 8:30 for cookies and television, followed by a good night’s sleep.
