This was our second cruise. Four years ago we took a cruise to Alaska and it was another trip of a lifetime. One of the great things about a cruise is that your scenery changes every day but your hotel room stays the same!

I took this photo later in the week during our helicopter excursion. More about that in a later post.

Our first port of call was on the Island of Maui. Most of the ports in Hawaii are shallow water ports and a tug boat is always on duty to keep everything safe. I love these little workhorses of the sea. I think that if I lived on an island, tug boat captain, would be the job for me.

After the ship docked we caught a bus up to the coastal tourist town of Lahaina. It is a small community with lots of shops and restaurants as well as water sports. The temperature and humidity on this day were about equal and both were over 80. Still, with the occasional trade wind it was pretty pleasant and there is always a great view to enjoy.

We found a couple of restaurants that have been featured on HGTV’s “Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives”. For those of you wondering what Fleetwood Mac does when they aren’t touring, Mick Fleetwood lives and owns a restaurant in Hawaii. The menu looked great but we opted for another place.

We chose Down the Hatch. It is a very casual eatery and the food was just outstanding. We enjoyed probably the best and freshest fish tacos ever.

We spent a little time watching folks sail and para-sail. We decided that we just might try the parasailing thing one of these days. It looked like serious fun.

Back aboard the ship, our next stop will be the big island of Hawaii and stops in Hilo and Kona. I smell coffee!

Aloha!