Day 10 - Kahului, Maui

Awoke this morning after a fairly rough night.  the waves were pushing our ship around quite a bit, but when we woke up, we were pierside at Kaului.  One thing about the ports is that they aren't great places for tourists to sight-see.  We were beside a big barge that was being unloaded and then re-loaded with shipping containers.  It was interesting to watch that process over the day.  They use big forklifts to lift the containers, and it is amazing to watch those guys drive them.

Stern of our Ship

Starbucks in Kahulia

We went for breakfast at about 8:30.  Waffles again.  By the time we were finished, I was very full (and starting to get tired of waffles).  Back to our cabin to clean up (have to wash that syrup off my hands), and then down to deck 3 to disembark (a nautical term meaning "get off the boat" ;-)).We found a free shuttle to a shopping center, so took it.  It was about 5 miles from the ship, so it would have been a fairly long walk.

This place had a Sears and a Macys, but we weren't looking for stores like that.  We walked around the mall for a while, not seeing any stores that were of interest to us.  Within half an hour, we were ready to head back to the ship, so we waited for the shuttle outside a Starbucks.

Back at the ship, there wasn't much going on.  We were facing away from the pier so couldn't see much there, but that barge was still there, still being loaded.  Just as we arrived back at the ship, a barge that had been being loaded in front of our ship was just leaving.  This one had a big crane on it, which they used to load the containers.  It would have been interesting to watch that one.

I didn't feel much like doing anything, so went out on our deck to read.  The wind was blowing fairly hard, and there was now shade for our chairs, so it was quite pleasant.  Dawn went up to the pool deck to read and work on some crossword puzzles, so we had some "apart" time for much of the afternoon.  I was very sleepy, but in spite of that, I don't think I fell asleep.

Pushing on our Ship

About 4:30, we heard the big tug starting up, so went out on the deck to watch.  Turns out it was a woman who was driving that boat.  We were supposed to sail at 5:00, so I assume the purpose of the tug was to ensure that when they started throwing off the ropes, the ship wouldn't blow away.  She stayed very close, until almost 5:00, and then moved to just under our deck,, put her nose on our ship, and powered up.  It sure sounded like they were very powerful engines.

Guarding us From the wind 

She stayed that way for about 10 minutes, then backed off a bit, and then we were moving.  The tug moved with us as we moved out into the channel.  The wind was still blowing strong, and she stayed with us until we had cleared the channel, and then back to her dock she went.  We started bouncing along.  It was very rough, and we were starting to get some of the spray from the bow hitting into the waves.  

Rough Seas

Then it was time for supper, so down we went to the dining room.  We both had port roast.  It was the meal that we least liked, of all those we had this trip.  There was nothing wrong with it.  It just wasn't spectacular.

After dinner, we headed back down to the Cabaret room to watch the evening show.  This was another musical/dance show with the young singers and dancers.  The music was Motown, and the show was called Motor City.  They did a great job, showing lots of energy and excitement.  We very much enjoyed this show.

Kahalui Coast

After 45 minutes (which went by very quickly), it was over and we returned to our room.  I read some more (I'm really enjoying the book), and then it was time for bed.  With the ship rocking and rolling, it was likely going to be a rough night.  We'll see.