D.T. Fleming State Beach is on a lovely cove just east of the Kapalua resort, and the two are separated by a long, narrow spit of lava called Makaluapana Point. The resort is famous for its two golf courses, and there are paths through the resort itself that run out to the tip of the point. Our route, however, began on the east end of the beach, along which we would walk westward to the rocky cliffs, pick our way upward along them to the north, then follow the lava into the ocean to its northernmost point. The beach walk was nice, with lots of families picnicking and playing in the water. There was no obvious route up the rocks when we got to them, so we spent a bit of time exploring different options – at one point, we found ourselves along one of the golf course fairways. We didn’t think our presence there would be welcome, so we ducked back into the adjacent woods and managed to scramble up another short set of ledges from the beach to reach easier ground. There were others here with the same idea, so we followed them north through the tedious boulder fields. A young boy pointed out a sea turtle in the water along the rocks, and although Jane caught sight of him a couple of times, Chris was unable to take his picture. Eventually, we came to a long row of “dragon’s teeth”, where the lava flows have been eroded into vertical formations that form a natural parapet along the east edge of the point. The further north we went, we found more and more tide pools – apart from a few crabs and some small eel-like fish, we found little wildlife (unlike our familiar California coast, where anemones and mussels are abundant). The surf was choppier as we reached the tip of the point, and the skies began to sprinkle off and on – we could see a squall blowing in from the east, so we began to head back. We found a labyrinth built where the resort trails end, and the guests we could see walking back up the well-worn path seemed to have a much easier go than we had had picking our way out through the rocks – we followed, wondering if we might be challenged or not by any hotel staff. There was a gap in a hedge that seemed to lead back down the fairway we had discovered earlier, so we passed through it and followed the treeline south and east toward the beach, now quite clearly trespassing. A gap in the forest revealed a monument placed to honor a sacred native site, but it was unclear to us whether or not it pertained to the area we had just come through or that which we were about to enter – we went back along the fairway to a point at which we needed to pass by some pavillions where guests were enjoying an afternoon beverage, so we quickly found a pine needle-covered path back down the bluff to the beach and finished our walk along it. We had discussed having a bite to eat in Lahaina, going to Saturday evening Mass there, and then finishing off the day with a longer hike to a hill overlooking the town from which we could watch the sunset, but the sprinkles turned to steady showers just as we reached the car. We decided at the point to head back to our condo in Kihei to clean up and then attend Mass at a church down the street. As it turned out, we spent far more time driving this day than hiking, but it was a non-strenuous day that unfolded on its own schedule – we’ll get back to do more in this area before we leave.