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 Island

  We are this morning moored off Kailua-Kona, Big Island.   Yesterday was Lahaina.  I've walked through this town on numerous occasions, and drove past it more times than I can remember for golfing and stays in Kapalua and Kaanapali.  My remembrance was a hot and dusty sugar mill town, with an adjacent Pioneer Sugar Company. Well, yesterday, Day 51 of my cruise, might well have been the best yet, with only one more day to go in Kona.  Yes, I now use the term magical in reference to Lahaina.  Why?  Keep reading. A surprise to me is, by census standards, Lahaina is a widespread city, which includes Kaanapali and Kapalua.   All told, the area has a population of only 12,027.  However, this number jumps to 40,000 when you count tourists during the  high season , which is now--January to April--when the whales are most prominent.  Lele was an ancient name for Lahaina, which was the royal capital on the Maui high chief or king. King Kamehameha the Great conquered Maui and made Lahaina th