Have A Smile!

There are all kinds of people on Maui.  Maui attracts all kinds of people.  I don't want to judge too much here, so I'll just leave it at that.  I ran into these two free spirits on Front Street during the day Rhapsody of the Seas unloaded all its passengers into Lahaina.

What is interesting though is how these two groups of people interact with each other.  Like a sociology experiment, notice how when people walk by the girl singing perched atop a wooden stump, their reactions not only to her, but to me photographing the whole scene.

This guy is from Oregon and strummed out the instrumentals and background music.

Here's the lead singer from Vancouver Island, B.C. belting out classic rock vocals atop her perch.  The duo met in Maui.

Here are some passers-by, feel free to draw your own conclusions.  If I may suggest, notice facial expressions, physical proximities, and reactions.

Tourists = Ice Cream

Ok, I love ice cream too.  As a matter of fact, sometimes there is nothing I would rather eat than an entire pint of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.  Not the frozen yogurt, but the GOOD STUFF, with enough saturated fat to clog a garden hose.

It seems that if you are a tourist on Maui, you MUST eat ice cream.  Do they hand out flyers on the plane rides over here stating that you have to visit at least 3 ice cream parlors while in the Islands?  Do the cruise ships deprive people of my favorite dessert?  I was on an Alaska cruise once with Princess Cruises' Diamond Princess, and there was enough ice cream on that ship to rebuild the Bering land bridge.

Today in Lahaina, Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of The Seas was anchored off town, and I'm assuming most of the people milling about sucking on ice cream cones were from the ship.  There were signs all over Front Street stating "Boat Day" and "Welcome Cruisers."  How do I know these ice cream aficionados were tourists?  Look and tell me they're from around here.

The interesting part is that I could have gotten within five feet of their faces and taken the shot and they would not have known.  Entranced and enamored with the magical frozen sugar, dairy balls, these people were dedicated to the art of spooning, licking and completely zoning-out.   Word to pick pockets, "Go for the guys with the ice cream!"

In all seriousness, thanks for visiting Maui folks.  :-)

Even the pavement ate some ice cream today.

Here are the tourists lining up to board lifeboat tenders to return them to the mothership, where they'll spend the night.

Welcome to Maui, Cruisers!

So you arrive at Kahului Harbor off of a Norwegian Cruise Lines ship.  In this case, you are on the Pride of America.  As you disembark and take in the environment, you are surrounded by the Kahului shipyards and docks.   If you have never been to Maui before, you might get a certain perspective on things which may differ compared to what the guidebooks or the cruise ship spoon feeds you.  Unless you arrive via cruise ship and actually walk from the dock to Kahului town, I doubt you will ever see this stuff.

Some of the pics represent cool industry in good sunlight and some are just reality.


Here's the view of Pride of America from the end of Puunene Ave next to Cary and Eddie's Hideaway restaurant.

Pan the camera a little more to the right and you see a homeless camp.

Walk around a bit and experience some industrial grunge chic.  If anyone knows the purpose of these tanks, you get 10 points.

More industry

Getting this shot was surreal.  The flame caught my eye and I had to investigate.  On the other side of the fence just off camera to the left, a guy dressed in a dark blue jumpsuit and sunglasses eyed me until I drove away.