We slept so hard last night and still slept until after 8 this morning. We were wiped out after our busy day on Oahu yesterday. But, while we were having a light breakfast on the terrace behind the Panorama Buffet, we could see that today's weather was going to be nearly perfect, just slightly windy and we needed to hang in there just more day before we could kick back and relax the next five days. And we were once again entertained by whales right behind the ship. What a view!
The view of the West Maui Mountains as see from our breakfast table on the back of the ship.
I needed to get some serious t-shirt shopping done for the kids. I had decided to wait until Maui for two reasons: they really didn't know much about Tahiti or where it was until we talked about it (I was tickled to overhear McGuy telling his friend I was going to Tahiti "which is in between South America and Australia in the middle of a lot of ocean" He's a quick learner!). However, they had made a family trip to Maui five years ago that they still remember fondly...but they've outgrown the t-shirts they'd bought then. And the other reason is that t-shirts are not big souvenir items in French Polynesia, and the ones that they do have are crazy expensive, like $30. No, Maui it had to be.
I went over on an earlier tender than G to start my shopping. It took a while to find just the right ones. not so hard for the boys, but more difficult for their teenage sisters. They are always trickier to buy for. Finally, I decided to cover my bases and buy two each. Surely one of them will be perfect, and if the other is simply acceptable, I'll be thrilled with that. Laden down with nine t-shirts, I met up with G on the tender pier. He had brought my snorkel gear, and I didn't want to take the time to take a tender back to the ship to leave the shirts so they went with us for the rest of the day. Our goal was to take the 10:30am Maui bus from Lahaina to the Kaanapali resort strip. We had a few minutes before the bus arrived and so walked around to view the original art for sale in the park under the old banyan tree, one of Lahaina's most famous landmarks. The tree is massive, and its branches provide enough shade for the entire park.
The #25 Maui bus, the Kaanapali Islander, has doubled in price since we last took it eight years ago and is now $2pp. Still, it's a perfect way to get between Lahaina and the Kaanapali resorts. We enjoyed the ride, seeing the Safeway we frequented every day during our nearly one week stay at an oceanfront condo in Kaanapali in 1995. We had stayed on four islands during three weeks and had an oceanfront condo with a washer dryer and full kitchen on each island. We'd go out to eat for breakfast, grab a quick lunch on the run but dinner was a home cooked feast. We'd stop at Safeway everyday and buy the freshest beef, chicken or fish and salad makings and a bottle of wine and beer. That night, G would join the other husbands at the huge BBQ grills on the condo grounds, I'd make the salad and open the wine and we'd have a feast served poolside with new friends. We have very fond memories of that trip, and taking the bus up to Kaanapali brought them all back.
We got off the bus at Whalers Village shopping, dining and entertainment area and walked though it to the sidewalk that follows along Kaanapali Beach. Our first stop was the Sheraton on the north end of Kaanapali Beach and the large rock outcropping located there called the Black Rock. It has some of the best beach snorkeling on the island and I couldn't wait to get back in the water there but wasn't expecting how cold the water would be today. I had to think back...I don't think we've ever been in Hawaii in January. Coming from French Polynesia's 85-86F water, this felt pretty chilly...to us, but it wasn't stopping people from enjoying the beach and snorkeling. I did see some beautiful fish and even two sea turtles, but I only went in the water one time. That was plenty today.
The Black Rock near the Sheraton Kaanapali
After we dried off and rested a bit, we gathered up our gear and purchases and started walking south along Kaanapali Beach. There is a sidewalk that runs along the entire length of the beach providing access to all the resorts and restaurants along the water. We eventually had a late lunch at Leilani's on the water at Whalers Village and were entertained by three musicians playing live songs from the 60s and 70s.
Dining on the grass next to the beach with the island of Molokai in the distance.
Another view of the beach with Molokai in the distance.
We absolutely had to catch the 4:30pm bus back to Lahaina; the last tender was leaving Lahaina at 5:15pm. There was a long line when we got to the tender pier and so we walked to the Pioneer Inn right across the street to have a drink until the line died down, just as we have on three other cruises to Maui. And just as happened then, the security supervisor on the tender pier walked over to tell the several of us there exactly when we needed to wrap it up...the last tender was leaving. We were the last passengers on the last tender of the last port of our last cruise on the Pacific Princess. The security team and the coxswains and helmsmen we've gotten to know so well kept reminding us that this was IT. And letting us know that we'd lived up to our reputation on the Emerald Princess when it comes to getting back to the ship on time: seldom early; never late. Yep, that's us. Do we still get off the ship in ports? Heck, we maximize our time in most ports, and we certainly have for the past two days in Hawaii.
Surfers in the waves off Lahaina
We had the best whale watching show of the day right from our tender as whales spouted and breached very close to our boat. What a thrill that was. We had seen them from the ship in Hilo and again today during breakfast, but it was very exciting to see them from sea level. The water may not be warm in Hawaii in January but apparently the whales like it that way; they were everywhere.
We were late to dinner but maitre d' Luigi let us in. I could see why; the dining room was at least 1/3 empty. Our new waiter, Rivelino from India who took Jose's place after he left yesterday, and his assistant Justin had only six passengers...including us. Well, sailaway wasn't until 6pm tonight. I suppose many passengers decided to eat in the Panorama Buffet instead of going to dinner at 5:30pm.
We both had chateaubriand with a merlot, and peach daiquiri sorbet for dessert. We went to the last half of guitarist Dan Riley's show. He had gone home to Wisconsin when we disembarked the Pacific Princess on December 28 but rejoined the ship yesterday in Honolulu. That's as long as we lasted tonight, though. I may not need the five upcoming sea days to recover from Hawaii, but the first one, with two football games, will be very welcome. We've been at this cruising thing too long this winter to cruise with the intensity of the past few days. But we sure have had fun!
Life is good. :-)
