We got to ride on the Viking tender into Maui this morning, reminiscent of Santorini, Greece. A tender is a boat used to service or support a larger ship, accessible where that ship is not. In this case, all passengers were able to get into Maui even though there were not enough local workers to enable us to utilize a dock. We anchored just outside of the island and as I ran this morning I could see these tenders beginning to transport both fellow passengers and departing crew members into shore. 

Since we’re on a cruise ship where we’re entertained every night by performers, I also couldn’t help but think about Elvis and imagining him on a tender like ours singing “Love Me Tender.” I know this is a stretch of the imagination but I’m a bit stir crazy after all this time at sea. It’s been both relaxing on boring, so bear with me as I present these lyrics:

Love me tender, love me sweet
Never let me go
You have made my life complete
And I love you so

[Chorus]
Love me tender, love me true
All my dreams fulfilled
For my darling I love you
And I always will

[Verse 2]
Love me tender, love me long
Take me to your heart
For it’s there that I belong
And we’ll never part

[Chorus]
Love me tender, love me true
All my dreams fulfilled
For my darling I love you
And I always will

[Verse 3]
Love me tender, love me dear
Tell me you are mine
I’ll be yours, through all the years
‘Til the end of time

[Chorus]
Love me tender, love me true
All my dreams fulfilled
For my darling I love you
And I always will

Our vivacious Aussie cruise director led us in songs of ABBA, The Beatles, Broadway tunes, and Jersey Boys, to name a few of his selection, plus I’m quite confident there were some Elvis tunes and gyrating hips in the mix. I also read about the death of Elvis while aboard in the book, Killing the Legends, by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, so all these influences have me singing “Love Me Tender” as we depart from Maui and head to Honolulu for our final day on the ship. 

This will be my final post until we get home and I wrap everything up about this voyage in a poem. Aloha from Hawaii and Love Me Tender. Good Day!