bobmacliberty

It’s OK. We’re ready to go. Really looking forward to Kauai.

Good morning from the Pier 2 Cruise Terminal in Honolulu. We are docked and about ready to begin disembarking. No rush for us this morning. We have an 11:40 flight this morning to Kauai. We’ll grab a bite and use the 8:15 suite walk off. Plenty of time to get a taxi to the airport. More to come. Go Bills!

Crew masks became optional in the middle of my current Ovation cruise. I’m in Music Hall right now. Three members of the activity directors staff hosting a guest competition. None wearing masks. Two bartenders and two waiters in view. All wearing masks. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Another great meal. Wow. We started with a grilled Spanish octopus appetizer. Served with olive oil, capers, artichoke hearts, cherry pepper, grape tomatoes, and a bunch of other seasoning. The waiter told us to include a bit of everything in every bite. Great advice. We again both went with the same entree, the Opah fish. Micheline had it grilled and I had it blackened, since the waiter said it was a light spice. I don’t like when the blackened seasoning overpowers the main food item. Apologies for not taking a picture before taking a few bites Fish was served with mashed potatoes that contained Maui onions. The mashed potatoes were almost as good as the fish. The only problem is that I don’t think I left enough room for Ululani’s shave ice for dessert. I might have to wait for Kauai for my shave ice fix.

Dinner tonight at the Lahaina Fish Company. It’s a tradition for us. Different view. And a different Mai Tai recipe. Very tasty but I like the Hula Grill Mai Tai better. It’s made with POG juice (pineapple, orange, guava) where the Lahaina Fish Co. version is pineapple juice and orange curaçao, but no guava. For those concerned with Micheline’s well being, she’s drinking a Babich Sauvignon Blanc. One of her favorites.

Moving to Florida when you retire might be cliche, but you can wear Olukais year round. Oh yeah, and no state income tax. Just ask Tyreek why he chose the Dolphins over the Jets when he left KC.

Pretty easy to take amazing sunset pictures when you’re looking at an amazing sunset. 👍

Yes. I know just what size to order. 😉. I didn’t really need to try them on since they’re the same size as the others that I already have.

Since you guys are obviously men of taste, here’s the new Olukais that I plan to buy when I get home. Nothing says Florida quite like a pair of men’s slip on leather shoes! 🤣

We always like seeing the Big L on the mountain above Lahaina. It’s been there forever. It represents, and is maintained by, the Lahaina High School. https://www.mauihawaii.org/l-lahaina/

Good plan. It’s a bit of a hike from Kahului to Lahaina…45 minutes if you have a car…but worth it. You can take the bus, the #20 bus (Lahaina Islander) from Queen Ka’ahumanu Center and it will take about an hour. If you want to continue to Kaanapali (where the Hula Grill and Whaler’s Village are) you switch buses in Lahaina and take either the 25 or 28 bus to Kaanapali, which ever comes first. There’s a daily bus pass for $4. If you plan to use the bus, download the Maui Bus app. It has the routes and timetables.

We took a taxi from Kaanapali back to Lahaina. $17 one way. We took the Maui bus going to Kaanapali and it was very easy. $2 per ride, $1 if you’re over 55. We planned to take the bus back but it would have been a 20 minute wait and there were already a lot of people waiting for the bus, so we jumped in a taxi. We were on the tender before we would have gotten on the bus. There was a Hawaiian cultural show on the ship last night. It was a large family with multiple generations who’ve been doing this show for years across Hawaii. The did songs and dance from many Polynesian countries and cultures. Very entertaining, especially the 8 year old buy and 9 year old girl. Already heavily into the family business! I took several 15-30 second clips of most of the dances and quickly strung them all together: IMG_9583.MOV

After shopping, it was time for dinner at the Hulu Grill. We started with another round of Mai Tais. Boy are their Mai Tais good. We both got the seared Ahi steaks. Easily the best meal that we’ve had since this trip started. Fresh that day and seared perfectly with a great beurre blanc sauce. THIS is what tuna is supposed to look like: We were about a half hour before sunset and the sun was peaking from behind the clouds for some great pictures. The sunset was getting better and better, and we felt guilty about staying at our table for another 30 minutes without ordering anything, so we had to get another round of Mai Tais. We just relaxed, listened to the guitar player, and watched the sky continually change. Gorgeous. This is one of the many reasons that we love Maui. Maui nō ka ‘oi. There’s a lot of background noise in this video so it’s hard to hear the guitarist. He had a a very chill Hawaiian vibe to his playing. Perfect for the show happening behind him. IMG_9587.MOV

I left off yesterday having just enjoyed a couple of Mai Tais in Kaanapali. We then had a quick and successful shopping trip through Whaler’s Village. The Tommy Bahama store, one of my favorite brands, was fully stocked. I also found a great aloha shirt at Hilo Hattie. Micheline got a couple of outfits at Blue Ginger and a nice bracelet. I found, but did not yet buy, a nice pair of slightly more formal Olukai shoes. I love Olukais. We might not have enough room in our luggage so I’ll order them online when I get home. Although we didn’t do an excursion involving boats or helicopters, we probably spent more money on shopping. 😱

Internet problems this morning. Tried turning off and back on. I get this when I go to login.com???? Fortunately I’ve got cell coverage, although 5G only on our balcony. LTE everywhere else. Updates this morning may be slow.

Good morning again from beautiful Lahaina. The tender boats are tendering. Looks like great weather again with a high in the low to mid 80s. Hawaii weather doesn’t change much. No firm plans for today other than dinner at the Lahaina Fish Company. We had a great day yesterday. More to come…

All sports have changed that way. I saw an NFL defensive back interviewed about how he felt about the WR who scored on him and then celebrated right in front of him. Didn’t bother him at all. Everyone celebrates when they do something good. He celebrates when he gets an interception. It’s nothing personal, just the “look at me” mentality of pro athletes now. Used to bother me but good for them. Celebrate however you want…especially if you’re on a team that I like.

Premature posting. Don’t worry. It happens to everyone. 😉

Slightly painful tendering process to the island but we’re currently sitting at the Hula Grill Bar enjoying a couple of Mai Tais, while looking at the water. Bliss. We’ll do a little shopping at Whaler’s Village, home of a great Tommy Bahama store amongst other things, and then come back for dinner. You should always have a cocktail before shopping, right?

Absolutely. No jet lag at all. If you’ve got the time, and like sea days, it’s a good way to go.

Are you in a GS or a CLS on 17? Other than the stairs in a CLS (which is a show stopper for many people), the deck 17 experience is great. One stop shopping for your suite, SL and CK.

☹️

Random thought while waiting for North Star. I’ve seen one of these pasta makers in every Jaime’s but I’ve never seen one being used. Are they purely for decoration?

Lahaina waiting for us. And Kaanapali off in the distance

Is this you Lenny? 🤣🤣🤣