1982 rolled around and I had an itch — an itch to visit Hawai‘i again, especially Maui. On my first visit to the Valley Isle, I rented a car for only a day or two to explore. One objective (besides seeing the wonderful beauty of this tropical island) was to decide where I might want to stay on my second visit. The area I fell in love with was Napili-Kapalua, north of the more famous Ka‘anapali Beach Resort.

Working with a travel agent (no Internet in those days), I settled on Napili Point Resort, described on their current website as, "Nestled above shimmering Honokeana Bay, Napili Point Resort is a 115-unit low-rise condominium where every condo has an incredible ocean view. In the distance, the islands of Moloka’i and Lana’i rise from the warm waters of the blue Pacific, silhouetting spectacular legendary Maui sunsets."

That would definitely scratch my itch.

Even their parking lot (precious photo as well as this one) screams "tropical paradise". The previous photo features a Plumeria tree, full of fragrant blossoms and this one offers the magnificent beauty of a Royal Poinciana tree.

Ah, the pool. Of course, why do you want to swim in a pool when Mother Nature has supplied this incredible ocean to meet your swimming needs.

One of the features of Napili Point is that they offer both one- and two-bedroom units. The former are pretty much the standard resort variety but the latter are quite unique. They feature two levels — the lower level continues one bedroom, bathroom, living room (with sofa bed), kitchen, and washer-drier. The upper level contains the second bedroom and a second bathroom. The ocean-facing wall is all glass so no matter where you sleep, you wake up to beautiful Pacific Ocean views.

Stand anywhere on the grounds and, in addition to the expected ocean views, you can turn to the east and see lush green hillsides leading to the West Maui Mountains, almost always covered with clouds and abundant rainfall. And that's what makes this side of the island so abundantly green.

Most of the units offer a view of Honokeana Bay — which is a wonderful snorkeling cove, featuring green sea turtles. It can be a bit of a challenge to enter and exit the water because most of the shoreline is rocky. I have watched some inexperienced snorkelers who I thought were going to need ocean rescue — but fortunately, they somehow eventually managed to get out.

Here you can see some of the shoreline that makes entering and exiting Honokeana Bay so challenging.

However, panning to the right, you can view Honokeana Cove condos which has a bit of a beach plus steps that lead to the ocean to make ingress and egress a bit easier. However, I understand that the condo complex discourages people who are not guests from using their property to access Honokeana Bay.

Panning further to the right shows the finger of rocks meeting the open ocean with an incredible tropical home built a safe distance from a sometimes angry ocean. Every time I have visited Maui, I have stared at that home and wished for the magic numbers to win the Power Ball lottery. If I win, that house is mine. In fact, on one visit, it was for sale — but I still did not have those magic numbers. 🥲

On this visit, we experienced morning showers that brought bright tropical rainbows with them. Beautiful.

Condo guests did not even have to leave their unit to see the rainbows — just look out the window.

On the open ocean side of Napili Point, there is a path that leads to...

the rocky shoreline with numerous tide pools. Look for fish, starfish, sponges, crabs, coral, shrimp, opihi, snails, etc. Beware of sharp or slippery rocks and wear proper footwear with grip on soles. And look more than you touch — try not to disturb creatures or their living places.