sunnibel, I absolutely agree. If I had to eat commercial beef I'd give it up altogether, I don't like the greasy mouth feel from the overly fat beef and the conditions those poor animals live in offends me. My animals get 40 acres of pasture to roam about on, they're born on the place and I have a man come here for slaughter. They are never kept in holding pens, trailered, chased or hurt. They follow a bucket of treats everywhere and every bite of food they eat is raised on the farm, other than an occasional Hershey's kiss, which they love, and sometimes part of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, shared by the Grandkids. No hormones, no antibiotics, no chemicals at all. They're healthy and happy just being cattle. Of course, I only have five of them, so it's easier. I'm in a very rural area and no one around me seems to raise meat chickens either, other than me. It's too expensive, the grocery store birds can be purchased for less than it costs me to raise them, and many people are happy with a lesser quality product at a lesser price. I know my Blue Slate turkeys costs me $34.00 each to raise, and that didn't include any labor. A Butterball would have been much cheaper, but not nearly as delicious, IMO. I like Marans, BTW, and when I replace this batch of laying hens with young ones, I plan to get a couple of Marans, only because they lay those dark chocolate brown eggs which make a nice contrast in the egg carton. Yeah, I know, but the kids get such a charge out of getting blue and green eggs from the Aracaunas, dark chocolate eggs from the Marans, reddish eggs from the Welsummers, so I choose heritage breeds based on their cold hardiness, their docile nature and the color of eggs they lay. Annie

I'm trying to remember, and I don't think I EVER saw lamb in...um...where I was before. I could find it an hour away at a (very expensive) meat market, but not locally. I seem to recall seeing veal a couple times, but veal is something I won't touch, and so would not notice its presence/absence. Forget finding any bread that wasn't "fluffy" or any fish that wasn't catfish. Don't even think about finding any kind of "exotic" mushroom/pepper/fresh herb. Basically if it can't be sugar coated or deep-fried, isn't hugely processed, doesn't have at least 20% salt/sugar and doesn't contain transfats, forget about finding it there. And forget eating out unless you like fast food or lower quality chains. (They were all a'twitter when Huddle House opened.) Now here? It's not like California where I could literally find anything, but it's pretty darn good. The only thing I've found really lacking is availability of fish (except that d#mned catfish...what the heck is it with the blasted catfish everywhere?) and I do have to really hunt for things like tahini, miso, etc.

jadeite, a lot depends on which brand of oyster sauce and kecap manis you're using. I've noticed the small glass bottles of ho yau (oyster sauce in Cantonese) almost never spoil. But I buy it in gallon cans, and decant it into smaller squeeze bottles - and if I leave any of it out, it DOES spoil. Nice little gray-green fuzzies appear! I think it's the higher sugar content and corresponding lack of salt, which of course differs between brands. Since practically everyone in CA is on a low-salt diet [grin], I am usually going with brands that taste less salty than others. Note that even low-sodium soy keeps (virtually) forever, btw. Also, the Chinese make a sweet soy (the label will call it exactly that) is a direct sub for the Indonesian kecap manis. If you ever find the Pearl River Bridge brand of lite soy sauce, it has a surprisingly sweet taste for a regular soy. I've switched to it in place of kecap manis as it's a little more versatile in the dishes we make at home.

Our next port of call is Lahaina on the island of Maui. Arrival was at 8:00 and we were due to sail away at 6:00. Lahaina does not have a pier for cruise ships, the ships tenders are used to shuttle passengers back and forth. There were many people on our ship who used walkers and those folks managed to get ashore without too much of a problem. However, those in battery operated scooters just would not be able to make it. Rather than just turn loose all those who want to go ashore, there are tickets given out shortly after dropping anchor. The numbers on those tickets will determine when you go ashore. They also are working with passengers who have paid the ship for an official excursion (tour) and those get priority. Once again we rented a car. I headed for the small town of Makawao using as many side roads as possible. We went to Maui Hands, where we, once again, spent money. We ventured into a couple of other stores that offered art from local folks. Then, again, using side roads, we headed to the famed Hana Highway. We did not go to Hana, but aimed back toward the small town of Paia, where we went to the Maui Crafts Guild store. More local art. Lunch was at Thai Spice there in town. However, if you ever get to Paia, you must consider the Paia Fish Market restaurant! Communal dining with fresh, fresh fish! We took our time driving back to Lahaina to return the car. Free shuttle back to the ship was convenient. If you are ever on Maui, consider going to their aquarium, the Maui Ocean Center. A great place with two restaurants. Also on Maui is the shield volcano, Haleakala, a long drive away, but wonderful views and some good hiking to the top. That is a US National Park and some folks like to get there for sunrise (reservations recommended for that). There are some great stores in Lahaina, so if shopping is your thing, spend your money there. Back on the ship, Adagio performed in the Explorers Lounge (always called Adagio with different violist/pianist). The Ocean Quarter had the evening off, but Johnny held forth in the piano bar. The Lion King was shown a couple of times in the theater. In the Mainstage, Hyperion Knight (billed as a virtuoso pianist) had shows at 7:30 and 9:30. Since there was no live music in the Ocean Bar, at 8:30 and fun time was with Majority Rules Game, what a blast that one is. There were promotions throughout the ship for Rudi’s Sel de Mer dinner. Very French, with a menu of mostly fresh fish, inspired by Master Chef Rudi Sodamin. This is in the Pinnacle Grill and there is a $49 charge for this special event. Reservations required.