Capturing the Moment

  The Safari Explorer loads up guests for a week long adventure through the islands at the Kona Pier in downtown Kona. Before I meet my expedition cruise ship, the Safari Explorer, and sail out between the Hawaiian Islands, I wanted to take in our cute starting town of Kona, on Hawaii's southernmost island, the Big Island. Being on the most isolated island chain on earth, it does mean that it takes a long flight to get here...from pretty much anywhere. The closest large landmass is 2,400miles away. But as I walked out of the Kailua-Kona airport, I was greeted with a beautiful rainbow, swaying palm trees, and that fresh salty air. I felt invigorated to walk the town and really take it all in. So come along with me and check it out! The town of Kona used to be the capitol of the Hawaiian Kingdom back in the early 1800's. After Kamehameha, a chief from this island, conquered all the islands, he returned here to live out the rest of his life. His personal temple can still be seen h...

   I had always heard that Maine was a beautiful place, with cute historical villages, and a rugged coastline. I had heard the tails of fishermen and lobsters but until now have never gotten a chance to experience the state myself. Heidi had planned a four day road trip to Maine for us and I was excited to finally see it first hand. Rockland Breakwall and tall ship   One things we always try to do when we go on road trips or to new places is to look up old friends. Not only is it a great way to reconnect but they can give you the local knowledge about their area. We first headed to Camden to track down our friend Phoebe who I last saw underwater scuba diving in Bali.   We had a wonderful time checking out towns like Rockland and Camden which all seem to be situated around bustling harbors filled with beautiful boats and wooden tall ships zipping in and out. We had a wild dinner at a wonderful little restaurant called the Rhum Line where the weather chan...

View into the secluded back bay of Elfin Cove   Located on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, just on the outside of Alaska's famous Inside Passage is the tiny fishing village of Elfin Cove. The inhabitants of this village, which can number in the single digits in the heart of winter, are cheerful and welcoming for visitors during the summer. Some small adventure cruise ships stop in to admire the boardwalks connecting the buildings around the secluded back bay of Elfin Cove, and to let their passengers try and find all of the small elfin and gnome statues that dot the trails through town. This is actually where the town got its name many years ago. A boat dog awaits the return of its family   There is a small post office and the town does hold local elections but the theme throughout is fishing. Boats go in and out of the harbor bringing in their daily catch and even a few fly-in fishing lodges have popped up supplying adventure fishing for tourists float planing ...