ALL ABOUT MAUI

 But first, Donald Trump's trial in Georgia will be televised.  When?  Perhaps in March of 2024.

So on to the Pride of American on Maui.  From The Discovery blog site:

In addition to 137 islands, islets, and atolls, the archipelago of Hawaii is also home to eight major islands, six of which are open to tourists. Although it’s hard to go wrong on a trip to Hawaii, each island is so unique, it’s best to do your homework ahead of time. To help you out, we’ve taken into account the cost of accommodations, variety of attractions, crowd levels, and general island vibes, to rank every Hawaiian island open to tourists.

That article ranked the six islands for tourists.  You can read the presentation, but Molokai was #6, Maui #2 and Kauai #1.

I'll get to Kauai at the end of the cruise, but TheDiscoverer.com said about Maui:

With its endless white-sand beaches and swaths of thick, jungle forest, Maui is easily one of the most recognizable — and popular — of the Hawaiian Islands. For many travelers, Maui is ranked at the top of the list, a must-see destination that offers a combination of amazing restaurants, fun shops, and some of the most beautiful scenery on Earth.

#2 is not bad when you consider the latest U.S. News and World Report, which has Maui as the third best place in the World to visit!  #1 was South Island New Zealand and #2 Paris.  Not bad company.  As a slap in the face, Kauai came in at #8.  Never heard of this place, but Maui's Montage at Kapalua Bay was ranked #2 in the Best USA Hotels category.  Montage is 9.5 miles away from Lahaina.

DestGuides has 20 fun facts about Maui.  Here are some of them:

• Second largest of the Hawaiian Islands.
• Haleakala is the largest dormant volcano in the world.

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  Hana Highway has 59 bridges and 620 curves.  I wouldn't want to drive there and back for anything.
• Lahaina was the capital of Hawaii from 1802 to 1845.
• 10,000 humpback whales migrate to Maui each year.  Most of them gather in the region around Lahaina.
• Has the largest banyan tree in the world.  I hope it's alive, for it was badly burned in the Lahaina Apocalypse.  Here is a what it looked like when we were there in April.  Then the bottom photo is after the fire.

Otherwise:

• Maui, the demigod, saved humanity.  Read it here.  You might have seen him, voiced by Dwayne Johnson, in Moana.  Got 95/89 ratings from Rotten Tomatoes.  Israel Kamakawiwoole covered him in Maui Hawaiian Sup'pa Man.

• 
  Maui, Lanai and Molokai were once the same island.
• The last volcanic eruption along Haleakala's Southwest Rift Zone was between 1480 and 1600, so it is capable of further activity.
• Rainfall differences are extreme, from 17 inches/year at Maalaea Bay to 404 inches on the slopes of Haleakala near Hana.

• 
  Whales migrate from Alaska 3500 miles away, mating and birthing between November and April in Hawaii.
• Some history:
• Polynesians from the Marquesas were the original people to populate Maui from about 450AD, followed by Tahitians from 700.  The later arrivals introduced much of Hawaiian culture today, from the Kapu social system to the language.  Human sacrifice was prevalent from around 1200.  
• 
  Captain James Cook in 1778 became the first European to see Maui, although he never landed because he couldn't find suitable landing conditions.  
• King Kamehameha the Great invaded and conquered Maui just before 1800.  
• He controlled the sandalwood trade, effectively decimating the trees by the 1830s, and moved his capital from Lahaina to Honolulu in 1845.
• 
  Then came the whalers to Lanai from around 1800, followed by missionaries from 1821.  Lahaina was the major population and cultural center into the mid 1800's.  There could have been a 100 whaling ships anchored at any time during this period.
• 
  Sugarcane production began in the 1840s, with workers first from China in 1852, mostly replaced by Japanese workers from 1868, followed by Koreans in 1903 and Filipinos in 1909.  During this time 16,000 came from Portugal.   In 1901 the sugar mill at Puunene was one of the world's largest.   The industry made what is the ethnicity mix today in Hawaii.
• 
  Bubonic plague shut down the main port of Kahului in 1900, with the shanty town purposefully burned to destroy the rats.
• Pineapple arrived in 1889.
• The first airport was built at Maalaea in 1927, but the dirt runway was a problem.  Kahului Airport only came in 1952.
• 
  Maui's first tourist hotel was the Hotel Hana in 1946.  Kaanapali in 1961 was the spur for growth beyond Lahaina to what started the resort hotel scene on the island.
• 
  The population reached 40,000 in 1950, but dropped to 36,000 in 1960.  Then a rather quick increase to 170,000 when came the Lahaina Apocalypse.  

Today, our day in reverse chronological order, for we ended the evening with karaoke.  As the photo shows, I sang Hank Williams's Your Cheating Heart.  A group of ladies on the way out came by our table and one remarked, thank you for singing that song, as my mother sang along with you.  Made my cruise with just one statement.

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What did we do on Maui?  Mostly ate and drank, with some dancing and singing.

My pipe with a Midori margarita, with pleasant mountain scenes.  I bought that pipe in my junior year at Stanford, 61 years ago.

Well, still on Maui, and my big decision of the day is whether I walk across the street for some Guri Guri.  What is that?  Return tomorrow.

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