This week in Kailua-Kona, it’s all about the coffee. Kona coffee, that is.

The Kona Coffee Cultural Festival—one of Hawaii’s oldest food fests—begins its 39th annual celebration of the bean that made the Kailua-Kona coast famous on Friday, Nov. 6. If you’re on the Big Island of Hawaii this week, make sure you’re in Kona for at least one of the fest’s nine days of activities, parades, coffee picking contests, farm tours, coffee competitions and, of course, multitude of Kona coffee tastings.

Festival events begin on Friday, Nov. 6, run through Nov. 15, and happen all over Kona—from the upslope farms in Holualoa where Kona coffee is grown to the Kailua-Kona town resort area. Click here for a complete schedule of Kona Coffee Cultural Festival events.

With dozens of interesting coffee-related activities spread out over so many days, the schedule is a bit daunting. Trust us, we’ve been in those shoes before.

To help you out, on the following pages we’ve compiled a rundown of the four Kona Coffee Cultural Festival events that give us the “best buzz” (translation: are “must attends” in our book).

Click on the following pages for our Top 4 fest events (in no particular order):

 

Lately, we’ve been asking our HAWAII Magazine Facebook fans about a few of their favorite things.

A few of their favorite “Hawaii” things, that is.

If you're one of those fans, perhaps you've seen our “What’s your favorite Hawaii _______?” poll questions on our HAWAII Magazine Facebook fan page.

We're seriously impressed! You’ve been voting and sharing some great "favorites" with us and other HawaiiMagazine.com readers.

So we knew we’d get some interesting answers from our Facebook ohana (that's "family" in Hawaiian) when we posted the “Hawaii favorite” poll question: What’s your favorite Hawaii snack?

Sure enough, we got votes for every kind of Hawaii-made snack under the local sun: taro chips, mochi (pictured), Maui onion rings, andagi, lilikoi sorbet, saimin, POG, li hing mui or anything li hing, banana bread, ahi poke, Spam musubi. Unless a comma was left out of one of our respondent’s choices, we even got one vote for a Spam pineapple-upside down cake. (Don't write us for the recipe.)

We’ve tallied up your faves and have the Top 5 results from our poll in the pages ahead.

If you’d like to join and vote along with our growing Facebook fan page ohana, click here. You’ll get our “Hawaii favorite” poll questions as soon as we post them, and also get instant updates on your Facebook wall when we post all of our daily HawaiiMagazine.com stories and features.

Already part of our Facebook ohana? Check out the HAWAII Magazine Facebook fan page to sound off on our most recent poll question: What's your favorite Hawaii beach?

Then click ahead to reveal our Facebook ohana’s Top 5 Favorite Hawaii Snacks:

 

Maui Land & Pineapple, Inc., announced Tuesday that it would shut down all pineapple operations by the end of the year, after a century of growing the signature Hawaii fruit on the Island.

The Kahului, Maui-based land, resort and ag holding company said its Maui Pineapple Co. subsidiary would cease new planting immediately, and end its fresh pineapple harvesting and distribution operation by the end of the year. Maui Land & Pineapple is currently the largest pineapple grower in Hawaii. The company harvested more than 92,000 tons of pineapple in 2008, primarily retailing the fruit in stores and online under its Maui Gold brand.

The end of pineapple production on Maui will leave Oahu as the sole Hawaiian Island with any significant acreage of the fruit. A pineapple operation owned by Dole Food Co., the world's largest fresh fruit and vegetable producer, currently farms pineapple on 2,700 acres in central Oahu.

Maui Land & Pineapple also announced today that it would restructure operations of West Maui’s luxe Kapalua Resort, part of its Kapalua Land Co. subsidiary. The company’s plans for Kapalua Resort call for more strongly positioning the property as a world-class resort and streamlining operations to run more efficiently.

Part of the restructuring will include partnering with outside companies to manage some resort operations currently run by Kapalua Land Co., such as shuttle service, its Kapalua Adventures outdoor activities unit, and its Kapalua Villas hotel/condominium.

In a statement, Maui Land & Pineapple chairman and interim CEO Warren Haruki said that Maui Pineapple Co. had lost $115 million on its agriculture business since 2002, while investing $20 million in a new fresh-packing facility.

“Realizing that these losses could no longer continue, we spent the last year exploring options to keep pineapple operations going on Maui. Despite our best efforts, it became clear that there were no other financially viable options,” said Haruki.

“The painful decision to close pineapple operations at MPC (Maui Pineapple Co.) after 97 years was incredibly difficult to make, but absolutely necessary. We realize this ends a significant chapter in Maui’s history—an important part of many lives, over many generations."

The shutdown of Maui Land & Pineapple's pineapple operations will leave up to 285 employees without jobs, nearly half of the company’s 624-employee workforce. The closure also marks the end of an era for Maui Land & Pineapple, which began growing pineapple on the island as Maui Pineapple Co. in 1912.

Introduced to the Islands in 1813, pineapple grew into one of Hawaii’s largest exported crops in the early 1900s after significant Oahu land investments by Del Monte and Hawaiian Pineapple Co. (today known as Dole Food Co.). Hawaiian Pineapple Co. president James Dole purchased the entire island of Lanai for pineapple production in 1922, eventually growing acreage there into the world’s largest pineapple plantation.

Hawaii pineapple production declined in the 1980s as Dole and Del Monte relocated much of their acreage elsewhere in the world, primarily due to high U.S. labor and land costs. Dole closed down the entirety of its Lanai pineapple operations in 1992, while Del Monte harvested its final Hawaii crop in 2008.

Hawaii remains the only state in the U.S. where pineapple is grown.

 

After a long journey across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the relic of Hawaii’s Saint Damien last week finished its three-week journey—from the Vatican City, through Michigan and California and, finally, to the Hawaiian Islands.

Saint Damien de Veuster cared for the people who suffered from Hansen’s disease (leprosy) in Hawaii for 16 years on the island of Molokai’s Kalaupapa peninsula. He eventually died of the same disease that took the lives of his patients. He was canonized a saint by the Catholic Church on Oct. 11, 2009, but his dedication and hard work are admired by many people of different cultures and religious faiths. This was clearly apparent at a celebration on Sunday, appropriately held on All Saints' Day (Nov. 1).

The ceremonies began at noon in downtown Honolulu with a “Celebration of Mass in honor of Saint Damien” at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace—the same church where Damien was ordained a priest. The church was filled to capacity. Large tents, chairs and television sets were set up outside to accommodate the crowd. Not a single seat was empty. Some even stood and watched from the side.

But it wasn’t a day only for the Roman Catholics. After mass, the relic—Damien's right heel bone, which was in a closed koa box—was taken to nearby Iolani Palace, where an interfaith ceremony was held in Damien's honor. The relic was greeted at the palace’s gates with an oli (chant) and a Hawaiian conch shell blower. (Click here to watch the video.)

Hundreds attended—many sporting Damien aloha shirts and dresses, while others carried Damien-themed banners. Iolani Palace was even “dressed” for the occasion, decorated in the colors of the Hawaiian flag. A large Hawaiian flag and a flag displaying the family crest of King Kalakaua was draped over the palace entrance.

Damien was not a stranger to the alii (Hawaiian royalty/chiefs). He often wrote them letters written in Hawaiian language asking for clothing and other supplies for his patients in Kalawao on the Kalaupapa peninsula. He even impressed then-princess Liliuokalani so much during her visit to the Kalaupapa peninsula that she asked her brother, King Kalakaua, to award Damien the Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Kalakaua.

Descendants of the Hawaiian monarchy, including Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa and David Claren Laamea Kaumualii Kawananakoa, also attended the celebration. Other guests included members of the Hawaiian royal societies, Hawaii Catholic Bishop Larry Silva, Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels, Belgium’s ambassador Jan Matthysen, Hawaii’s Lt. Governor James Duke Aiona and religious leaders from various Christian faith groups.

“As we embrace this memorable relic, a symbol of God’s divine favor,” said Abigail Kawananakoa, “we shall forever remember with the highest esteem, the goodness, the charity and the aloha of our blessed Saint Damien.”


 

HAWAII Magazine reader Bill Parker wrote us with a question about our sun and surf :

What are the best months, weather-wise, to visit Hawaii? I also would like to know the water temperatures for Honolulu and the island of Kauai.
 
You ask. We answer.

Rarely is there “bad” Hawaii weather—high-pressure zones and resulting tradewinds make Hawaii’s climate consistently temperate.

While it’s impossible to predict the weather, know that annual trends in Hawaii’s average temperatures aren’t that different from the rest of the country: Warmer temperatures come during the traditional summer months of June through September, while the winter season of December to February means cooler climes.

Don’t believe us? Take a look at the chart below—compiled from data collected by the National Weather Service in 2008.

	Honolulu, Oahu	Kahului, Maui	Kona, Big Island	Lihue, Kauai
January	73.5	68.9	74.3	71.4
February	74.8	68.6	74.6	73
March	77.3	71.7	76.5	75.3
April	77.2	74.3	77.1	74.2
May	79.2	76.2	77.2	76.4
June	80.4	77.4	76.5	77.6
July	82.2	78.5	79.8	79.3
August	81.6	79.2	79.6	80.7
September	80.4	78.1	79.1	78.5
October	79.7	77.9	79.7	77.7
November	77.2	74.9	77.4	74.2
December	75.3	73.5	75.7	72.5

As you can see, the greatest climate change during the year comes between the summer and winter months. In places like Kahului, Maui, the decline in temperature is as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit—dropping from an average temp of 79.2 in August to a chilly (for Hawaii) 68.9 average in January.

You won’t need an overcoat for our brand of cold weather. Still, we suggest packing extra layers—as temperatures can drop another 10 degrees at night.

Hawaii’s water temperatures mirror climate trends—expect warmer temps in the summer and cooler in the winter.

According to data from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (NOAA), the warmest water off Honolulu can be found from July to September—averaging 80 to 81 degrees Fahrenheit. However, Honolulu water temperatures drop to only 76 degrees in January, according to NOAA.

Click here for a complete list of water temperatures from NOAA-monitored stations across the state, updated daily. Or, click here for water temps across Hawaii in Google Maps form.

Bottom line: If you’re looking for the warmest climate and ocean temperatures during your next Hawaii vacation, stick to visiting in the summer.

But really, it's great here all year, folks.

 

In the November/December 2009 issue of HAWAII Magazine, we take you, in words and pictures, to Makawao (pronounced Mah-kah-Wow!). It's Maui's historic cowboy town, filled with both horses and homegrown boutiques.

As always, we had more photos from HAWAII Magazine photographer David Croxford  than we could publish, so we’ve put together a slideshow tour of this fascinating, but not often seen part of Maui, exclusively for HawaiiMagazine.com. 

Take a look, both here and in the HAWAII Magazine print edition's feature Hidden Hawaii: Stand Up for Makawao: You'll meet some real paniolos—as we call our cowboys in Hawaii—plus some other fascinating folks, from glass blowers to asparagus farmers to sausage makers to bakers.

(Click on slideshow frame to enlarge photos.) 

 

I am trying not to get used to this.

I am currently sitting in a cabana next to the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea’s new $9 million Serenity Pool.

Why serene? Guests under the age of 21 have to confine themselves to the resort's two other pools.

At this one, there's only the sound of the small bubbling fountains at the pool's borders. You’re on an elevated terrace here. All you can see past the pool's infinite edge are the West Maui Mountains some 10 miles across Maalaea Bay.

A cabana at the Serenity Pool costs $300 a day. In addition to a pair of lounge chairs, each 160-square-foot cabana has a large sectional couch, a safe, a refrigerator complete with chilled Evian spritz, a ceiling fan and a flat screen television with wireless earphones.

If that's not enough creature comforts for you, there's a spa therapist on duty, should you need a poolside facial with all organic products.

Of course, there’s a waiter bringing by drinks and snacks, plus a full breakfast and lunch menu-—not to mention a swim-up bar with underwater bar stools.

What you don’t see much of is actual swimming. People read, doze, dunk in to cool off, wade over to the bar, perhaps hang on the far edge to admire the view. 

But when I put in my daily laps, I suddenly heard music. Speakers below the surface play Hawaiian melodies that you can only hear with your head underwater.

Really, I'm trying hard not to get used to this.
 
Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll order myself a classic mai tai and drift over to the pool's edge to watch the sun set between Maui and Kahoolawe.

Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, 3900 Wailea Alanui Drive, (808) 874-8000, www.fourseasons.com/maui

 

The humpback whales are back!

The Maui News last week reported the first sighting of a pod of North Pacific humpback whales, spotted off the West Maui coast. Since then, even more whales have been spotted offshore around the Islands, marking the start of Hawaii’s annual humpback whale season.

After spending the summer months feeding in the waters of southeastern Alaska, thousands of North Pacific humpback whales make a 3,000-mile journey south to various winter breeding areas to mate, give birth, and nurse. Fortunately, for Hawaii residents and visitors, our islands have traditionally attracted the majority of the seasonal humpback whale population—as many as 10,000 per season.

The whales are arriving a bit early this year—they were expected in early- to mid-November. Peak viewing months are January to March. The last remaining mothers and calves usually leave our Hawaiian waters for Alaska by early May.

Commercial whale watch cruises are popular, and are still the best way to see the whales up close and breaching. But if you take a drive on the Islands’ coastal roads and highways during peak viewing months, you’ll find scenic lookouts full of people—eyes, cameras and binoculars fixed toward the ocean in search of the gargantuan mammals as they relax in Hawaiian waters.
 
Where are the best places to watch from shore?

• Oahu: The Makapuu Point lookout and lighthouse and Halona Blowhole lookout on Oahu’s south shore offer great vantage points, with wide ocean vistas. Both lookouts are located off Kalanianaole Hwy, and have free parking.

• Maui: The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Learning Center in the south shore resort community of Kihei has an on site viewing scope and personnel available to answer any questions you might have on whales and whale behavior. The center, located at 726 S. Kihei Road, is open Monday to Friday; from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free. Driving to and from Lahaina? There are also several good lookouts for whale spotting along West Maui’s Hwy 30.

 

Thinking of a Hawaii vacation sometime in  2010? 

Aston Hotels and Resorts' “Early Bird” special is promising discounted room rates at 25 Aston properties on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii for bookings from Jan. 2 to Dec. 21, 2010.

Sound good? There’s a catch.

You must reserve your room by Saturday, Oct. 31, to qualify for the savings. That's right. This Saturday!

On Oahu, room rates at eight properties are being slashed as part of the “Early Bird” deal—seven of them in Waikiki, including the Aston Waikiki Joy Hotel (which starts as low as $97 nightly) to the posh oceanfront Aston Waikiki Beach Tower (beginning at $301 nightly).

Nine Aston Maui hotels also qualify—ranging from the Aston Maui Lu ($89 a night) to The Whaler on Kaanapali ($230 a night). All five of Aston’s Kauai properties are part of the “Early Bird” deal, with rates ranging from the Aston Aloha Beach Hotel ($95 a night) to the Aston Waimea Plantation Cottages ($172 a night).

On the Big Island of Hawaii, three Aston properties are part of the deal, with rates ranging from the Aston Kona by the Sea ($168 a night) to the Aston Waikoloa Colony Villas ($184 a night).

Click here for the complete list of participating Aston hotels with links to each individual property. Or, to book by phone, call (877) 997-6667 and mention "2010 Early Bird Deals."

 

George Lanakilakekiahialii Naope, one of hula’s most revered kumu hula and co-founder of the Merrie Monarch Festival, passed away today at his residence in Hilo after a long battle with cancer. He was 81.

Naope, who is credited with reviving the art of male hula, co-founded the Merrie Monarch Festival in 1963 with Dorothy “Auntie Dottie” Thompson. Merrie Monarch is hula’s premier event; an annual, by-invitation-only competition attracting hula halau (hula groups) from Hawaii, the Mainland U.S. and worldwide. The festival’s home for much of its nearly half-century existence has been the Edith Kanakaole Tennis Stadium in Naope’s hometown of Hilo.

Naope was easy to spot in the festival crowd or anywhere else. He often dressed in bright colors and sported his signature straw hat, which was usually adorned with flower lei. Though larger than life to many kumu hula (hula teachers) and their students, Naope was always approachable.

He would enjoy much of Merrie Monarch from the comforts of a peacock-fan wicker chair, but often couldn’t resist taking the stage to dance hula during the festival’s finale. Naope was spotted in a wheelchair at this year’s Merrie Monarch Festival in April, but even that couldn’t interfere with his enjoyment of the competition.

Naope lived and breathed hula. He opened his own hula school after graduating from high school and often traveled around the world to promote the art of hula. Naope didn’t start enjoying hula until he was about 15 years old, an age when he said he was “a little older and little wiser.” As an adult, he was an inspiration and role model to countless hula students in Hawaii, Japan, Europe and Australia. In addition to being a kumu hula, Naope was a master Hawaiian chanter and the founder of the Humu Mo‘olelo, a quarterly journal of the hula arts.

Naope received numerous awards in his lifetime, including the National Heritage Fellowship Award from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2006. Hula festivals were also named in his honor, including the George Naope Northwest Hula Invitational in Seattle, Wash., and the George Naope Kane Hula Festival in Modesto, Calif.—the latter, the first male-only hula competition. The George Naope Keiki Hula Festival was established in Modesto in 2008 and named in his honor. It is promoted as “the only keiki hula competition on the Mainland.”

Memorial services for Naope are tentatively scheduled for Nov. 6 and 7 at Hilo’s Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, located just next door to the Edith Kanakaole Tennis Stadium.

The next Merrie Monarch Festival is scheduled for April 4 to 10, 2010.

Rest in peace, Uncle George. The world of hula won’t be the same without you.


  

Hawaii’s Father Damien was at the center of international interest earlier this month when he was canonized a saint by the Catholic Church in ceremonies at the Vatican.

Those ceremonies and celebrations in Rome are now over. But a tour of a Damien relic concludes in Hawaii this week, accompanied by many events happening at neighborhood churches and parishes statewide—click here for a complete schedule. A handful of Hawaii artists are also honoring Damien through their artworks.

Hawaii-born printmaker Maria Lee (pictured below) is one of many artists who have included images of Damien and Kalaupapa in her artwork. The idea for her exhibit, Kalaupapa: Keep In, Keep Out, was born after her work on a three-week National Park Service (NPS) project on Molokai’s remote peninsula, where Damien ministered to and cared for Hansen’s disease patients.

“I had the opportunity to meet patients and people employed in Kalaupapa—listening to and learning about their lives and personal histories,” says Lee. “I learned about leprosy’s devastation in the Hawaiian Islands, the consequences of isolation and stigma. I learned about those who died there, their hardships and sacrifices.”

The purpose of Lee’s three-week stay in Kalaupapa was to assess the condition of the headstones in the peninsula’s graveyard. As a member of the NPS conservation team, she counted and measured the cracks on each headstone.

“Most of the graves are crumbling and deteriorating,” says Lee. “It was our job to indicate which headstones needed repairs and which ones should be marked ‘high priority.’ We also indicated in the grave marker condition survey whether the inscriptions were readable or not. If these repairs aren’t made in time, valuable information will be lost forever. It’s important to preserve Hawaii’s history.”

Lee found headstones with inscriptions written in many languages, including Japanese and Chinese. She was also amazed at the sheer number of headstones on the peninsula.

  

The "train to Flavortown" has finally made a stop in Hawaii.

Food Network personality Guy Fieri has been busy running around Oahu this week, filming segments for his popular show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. It’s the show’s first visit to the Islands.

On Diners, the ebullient Fieri—known more, perhaps, for his over-the-top antics at the DD&Ds he visits and spiked bleach-blonde hair than culinary chops—takes viewers on a continuing gastronomic road trip across America, showcasing dozens of casual eateries and dining institutions. For the restaurants Fieri checks out, a segment on “Triple D” is huge, guaranteeing exposure to millions of viewers across the U.S. who tune to the weekly show.

So where did Fieri wind up dining on his inaugural Hawaii visit?

Food Network wouldn’t tell us. So we did what any curious fan of the show would do given the situation: We asked around town, made some phone calls and followed the tweets of Honolulu followers on our Twitter page—which, as it turns out, was flooded with Guy sightings all week. As a result, we were able to trace Fieri’s footsteps to a number of eateries across Oahu.

Click the next few pages to find out where on Oahu Guy ate, what he ate and some behind-the-scenes stories of what went down at each stop. Hope you’re hungry.

 

HAWAII Magazine subscriber Donald Hinds of Florida recently called us to ask:

“Is there any way I can purchase a t-shirt to help generate money for the Kohala Ditch restoration effort? I was on the Flumin’ Da Ditch ride two months before the earthquake hit, that damaged it.”

You ask. We answer.

There's good news for Donald, and anyone else who wants to help restore the ditch. The Kohala Ditch Steering Committee would be more than happy to sell you a t-shirt.

The Big Island of Hawaii non-profit organization printed the shirts to raise funds and public awareness within the community for the ditch repair. Two large earthquakes centered off the Big Island's South Kohala Coast demolished sections of the century-old irrigation system in late 2006, immediately stopping the flow of water to the area’s farms and businesses. The popular Flumin’ Da Ditch ride, which used a portion of the 14-mile system of flumes and waterways, was among the causalities.

A t-shirt goes for $20, plus shipping and handling.

The group doesn’t have an official website or phone number. So the best way to contact them is by e-mail at oluolufarms@mac.com. You can place an order or inquire about available sizes. Other donations are gladly accepted through this e-mail address as well.

We’ve included a picture of a couple of the t-shirts, above. A different slogan such as “Got Water?” or “Save the Ditch” is printed on the front, while a picture of one of the ditch’s flumes—in its pre-quake state with water freely flowing—is on the back. We've got a few. Trust us, they look great, and will look great on you.

You can find a feature on the Kohala Ditch restoration effort and the current status of the Flumin’ Da Ditch ride in the November/December 2009 issue of HAWAII Magazine. The issue is arriving in subscribers’ mailboxes now, and available for purchase in a digital edition here. Look for the November/December issue on newsstands and in bookstores nationwide.

 

HAWAII Magazine reader Raymond Bertrand of Grapevine, Texas, sent us an e-mail with the subject line: “Help! Help!”:

While in Hawaii, I really like those mai tais. However, I cannot seem to find a decent mai tai mix here in Texas. Could you help us? I've looked on Google, but I'm not sure which one of those mixes are good or not. Your help in finding a mai tai mix that's not all corn syrup (I'm allergic to corn, by the way) would be greatly appreciated.

You ask, we answer.

We’re pleased to have discovered on our last trip to Kaua‘i an excellent mai tai mix bottled by Hawaiian Kukui Fruit Specialties, a small Kauai company with a rich history on the island. Kukui’s Authentic Hawaiian Mai Tai Mix is made with cane sugar from Maui and fresh Kaua‘i fruit juices.

Claims Kukui, “Unlike other mai tai mixes that use corn syrup for sweetness, our Kukui Brand insures sweetness all the way through the drink because there is no settling of the sweetness to the bottom of the glass like with corn syrup.”

We’ve got a bottle in our refrigerator right now.  Although we are not usually fond of premixed cocktails, we have to admit Kukui's mix makes a simple, quick and quite delicious mai tai.

That’s especially true when you mix it with Kauai’s first rum, Koloa, just coming into production from the same company.

Hawaiian Kukui's Mai Tai Mix is available by mail order in the U.S. and Canada, at  $5.95 a liter, by calling (808) 332-9333, between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. (Hawaii standard time). More info here.

Look for a feature on the revival of the Hawaiian Kukui Brand and the distilling of Kauai’s first rum in an upcoming issue of HAWAII Magazine.

Oh, and if you’re willing to go through the trouble of making a mai tai from scratch, we have a couple of recipes you can make yourself—courtesy of Waikiki's Moose McGillycuddy's Pub & Cafe and The Royal Hawaiian hotel Mai Tai Bar. Just click here.

 

When we rang up Hawaii singer-songwriter-musician Jack Johnson at his home on Oahu’s North Shore, he immediately gave us a weather and surf report: two to four foot surf, breaking off shore, and clear blue skies.

The surf wasn't tempting enough for a seasoned surfer like Johnson. But that's good, he's supposed to be staying off his surfboard because of a strained hamstring.

“It happened a couple of months ago,” said Johnson. “I kept surfing on it, but it just didn’t feel right so I’ve been limiting myself to bodysurfing, which has been good.”

It's hard to believe that the same guy who once told me he kept surfboards on his tour bus just in case he pulled into a town with decent waves, would be satisfied with just … bodysurfing.

But Johnson has time to heal. He’s spent most of this year at home on a long break, following a 2008 world tour in support of his fifth studio album Sleep Through the Static. He and his wife, Kim, also recently became parents to a new baby girl—the couple’s first daughter after two boys. 

“That’s the big thing in my life,” said Johnson.

On November 13 and 14, Johnson will take a break from his break.  He'll do his only full live shows of 2009—right in his backyard, at the Hawaii Theatre on Oahu. The acoustic shows—also featuring his bandmate Zach Gill—will be benefits for Johnson’s Hawaii-based Kokua Hawaii Foundation and his more recently formed Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation. These concerts will also be his only ones supporting his new live CD/DVD Jack Johnson En Concert—out on October 27. (We have video from the DVD on the last page of this post.)

Directed by Johnson’s manager, film partner and longtime friend, Emmett Malloy, the En Concert DVD captures the singer on stage and off during his summer 2008 European tour.

The En Concert CD brings Johnson a bit closer to home, with 19 tracks culled mostly from U.S. stops on the Sleep Through the Static tour—including three songs from Johnson’s last pair of Kokua Festival benefit concerts at the Waikiki Shell.

 

Several hundred fans of the hit ABC TV series Lost gathered in a Waikiki theater on Saturday evening to learn, well, absolutely nothing about the sixth and final season of the mystery drama, currently filming on Oahu.

Not that there was any surprise in that.

The guests of honor at the Hawaii International Film Festival-sponsored “Evening with Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse” are well known by the show’s rabid worldwide fan base for being unflinchingly protective of Lost secrets. Officially, Lindelof and Cuse are the series’ co-creators, longtime showrunners and deciders of Lost past, present and future plot lines. But the duo have also grown as popular with fans as the series' cast thanks to their humorous, crafty storyline-summarizing appearances on countless Lost episode recap shows and five seasons of DVD box set extras.

Joined by cast members Jorge Garcia, Terry O’Quinn, Yunjin Kim and Michael Emerson, as well as producer/director Jack Bender and co-executive producer Jean Higgins, the duo were at their cagey, entertaining best at the 90-minute Q&A session/awards program at the Royal Hawaiian Theater.

The evening program capped a full day of HIFF Lost master class seminars for fans, led by Bender, Higgins and select members of the series production staff. Taken as a whole, however, the night was hit and miss.

After a couple of HIFF honors were handed out—a “Vision in Film Award for Lindelof and Cuse, an inaugural “Mahalo Nui Loa Award” for Bender and Higgins—emcee Brian Lowry, chief television critic for entertainment trade journal Variety, began peppering the guests of honor with questions on series minutiae.

 

Usually, we’re telling you what you’re missing because you’re not in Hawaii. Here’s a switch.

You can have a gala sushi and champagne dinner at Hawaii superchef Roy Yamaguchi’s restaurants next month—everywhere but in Hawaii. 

Yamaguchi's five-course "Champagne & Sushi Dinner" takes place in his restaurants nationwide on November 10 (and November 9 in Baltimore, Md., a city always ahead of the curve).

The “sensual dining experience,” as Roy’s describes it, includes three courses of sushi, a Waygu beef entrée and dessert, all paired with Moët champagnes, including Moët Impérial, Moët Rosé Impérial, Moët Nectar Impérial and Moët Grand Vintage 2000.

For $75, it sounds like a deal.

Here’s our favorite Hawaii detail: The evening will begin with the Moët & Chandon Impérial “POG” Cocktail – a passion fruit, orange and guava mimosa. (If you don’t know what POG is, click here.)

Roy Yamaguchi has been bringing vivid tastes of Hawaii to the whole world. Where can you find a Roy’s?  In 31 cities nationwide, but if you're in Hawaii on Nov. 10, you won't find the "Champagne & Sushi Dinner" at any of the Hawaii locations. 

We're not miffed. But we are curious why Hawaii—and, apparently, Roy's Pebble Beach location—were left out of this dinner deal.

If you’re braving the growing chill of the fall season on the Mainland, however, enjoy the evening! And feel free to tell us about it.

For a list of Roy’s locations in the U.S. (it's a long list), see next page:

 

Film fanatics rejoice! The Hawaii International Film Festival is back!

The 29th annual installment of HIFF begins today and runs through the Oct. 25, 2009, with films screening at Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Cinemas on Oahu.

Since its founding in 1981, HIFF has become the premier festival in the Islands for Hawaii, domestic and international independent film. The fest's signature mission in recent years, however, has been procuring the best cinema from Asia and the Pacific Rim—often films you won’t find anywhere else in one place. This year, more than 170 films from around the world will be screened at HIFF, continuing the festival’s global span.

You’ll find the entire HIFF schedule here

But enough talk about the fest. What you really want to know (at least in my perfect dream of matching Roger Ebert thumb for thumb in the realm of film criticism) is what HIFF films you’ll find me taking an aisle seat at.

So here they are: The 4 films I’m looking forward to seeing most at HIFF (in no particular order):


I always enjoy a good Korean psychologial thriller. So it's just my luck, I guess, that one kicks off the festival’s opening night. In Mother, an acupuncturist’s quiet, small-town life turns upside down when her mentally challenged son is accused of murdering a young woman. As she races to prove her son’s innocence, secrets about the small town slowly unfold. The film is Korea’s official entry into the Best Foreign Language Film category for the 2010 Academy Awards. It makes its international premiere tonight at HIFF.

Screening: Thurs., Oct. 15, 8:00 P.M., Fri., Oct. 16, 8:45 P.M.

 

Hawaii interisland air carriers go! and Mokulele will merge air services in a partnership announced today by the parent companies of both airlines. 

Got a reservation for either carrier? Here’s what you need to know:

• Both go! and Mokulele will continue to operate Hawaii interisland flights and book reservations under their respective brand names, but will fly as one airline go! Mokulele.

• Passengers can continue to book reservations on go! and Mokulele through each carrier's respective Web sites.

• Existing reservations on go! and Mokulele will be honored.

• Passengers will now check-in at co-branded go!/Mokulele ticket counters.

go! and Mokuele have set up a joint Web site to answer passenger questions about the possible effects of the merger on their travel plans. Click here for the site.

Under the terms of the partnership, go! parent company Mesa Air Group, Inc. will own 75 percent  of the new company while Mokulele parent Mokulele Flight Service Inc. (and majority shareholder Republic Airways) will own 25 percent.

The merger of the two air carriers effectively creates Hawaii’s second-largest interisland airline, after Hawaiian Airlines.

Founded in 1998, Kailua-Kona-based Mokulele Airlines added interisland jet service to its turboprop schedule last November, immediately putting itself in direct marketshare competition with go! and Hawaiian. The carrier quickly became known for its agressive fare promotions. When Mokulele, on Aug. 24, introduced a $299 interisland flight pass, good for unlimited travel during the entire month of September, go! and Hawaiian Airlines jumped into the fray within hours with their own $24.99 one-way fares.

go! launched Hawaii interisland air service in April 2007, competing with Hawaiian Airlines and then still-operating Aloha Airlines for marketshare.
  

The best time to watch the Missouri's big move is 6:30 a.m.—when the Bowfin opens to the public—to 7 a.m. According to Missouri museum staffers, from the Bowfin vantage point you'll be able to see the ship back out of its pier and rotate in the open harbor before heading to drydock.

The Missouri officially closed to public tours last Friday. The 68-year-old battleship will reopen again in January 2010.

Wednesday’s drydock marks the first time the Missouri has left its Ford Island mooring since arriving in Hawaii in 1998. Over the next three months, crews will be busy sandblasting and repainting the 887-foot long Missouri’s hull and restoring the boat’s teak main deck, among other repairs.

 

Over  the last few weeks, we’ve been sharing a few of our favorite "favorites" lists from our annual HAWAII Magazine “Best of Hawaii” issue here on HawaiiMagazine.com.

Our favorite Hawaii road trips?  You saw ‘em here.

Our favorite Hawaii places to shop? Right here.

Our favorite Hawaii snacks? We had your between-meal treats covered here.

You'll find more of our Hawaii favorites in our Sept./Oct. 2009 “Best of Hawaii” issue—still on sale at bookstores and newsstands nationwide, or available instantly online here in a digital edition. As always, the issue is loaded with tips and advice for finding the best of just about everything in the Islands, all of it courtesy of our always-up-for-getting-out-of-the-office editorial staff and knowledgeable HAWAII Magazine reader ohana.

On the following pages, you’ll find another one of our favorite categories from the 2009 “Best of Hawaii” issue: HAWAII Magazine’s Favorite Places to Eat.

We’ve picked out a trio of restaurants HAWAII Magazine editor John Heckathorn dug most this year, and collected a whole page of restaurant picks from HAWAII readers for Oahu, Maui, Kauai and Big Island of Hawaii travelers.

Click on the next page to begin. We hope you brought an appetite.

 

Hawaii celebrates its first official Catholic saint, Father Damien de Veuster, this weekend in Rome and in the Islands.

Several hundred Hawaii residents have traveled halfway around the world to attend the canonization in Rome on Sunday. (The ceremony will be broadcast live on television and streamed live online. For more on the canonization events and a TV schedule, click here.) In Hawaii, Catholic parish and school groups across the state will celebrate Damien’s sainthood in dozens of parish halls and churches.

Regardless of religious backgrounds, the life's work of Molokai’s beloved priest has inspired many, including HIV/AIDS sufferers. But how did Damien finally attain sainthood? What did this Belgian priest do for the Hansen’s disease (leprosy) patients living in Kalawao and Kalaupapa on Molokai?

On the following pages is a look at Damien's path to sainthood, and the story of how he dedicated his life to an entire community of Hawaii residents cast away from the populace because of their illness—as published in HAWAII Magazine’s September/October 2009 issue.

Web Extra: At the end of the article, you'll find a photo slideshow of Damien's personal artifacts—including a scarf that was given to him by Mother Marianne Cope.



“You may stay as long as your devotion dictates.” Those words from his superior in the Sacred Hearts order changed Father Damien’s life—and put him on a path to sainthood that will culminate this year on Oct. 11.

In 1863, Damien’s brother, Father Pamphile de Veuster, was headed to Hawaii on a Sacred Hearts mission, but illness prevented him from going. Although Damien (formerly known as Joseph de Veuster) was only a choir brother, he was determined to take his brother’s place. Damien petitioned the highest authority in the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary—and won. His determination eventually led him to spend the rest of his life on a remote Molokai peninsula, where he cared for Hawaii’s exiled sufferers from Hansen’s disease (leprosy). His self-sacrifice certainly influenced his path to sainthood.

 

Fishing is big in Hawaii, and that's why nearly 20,000 people show up for the annual Hawaii Fishing & Seafood Festival, happening this Sunday at the Honolulu Fishing Village at Pier 38.

You don't have to be a fisherman to enjoy this festival. In fact, the ratio of fishermen to foodies definitely weighs in favor of the food lovers. There are plenty of food booths, with an array of local food and seafood industry vendors.

If you're simply curious about how fish gets to your plate, you can tour a fishing boat and the place where Honolulu's famous fish auctions happen on weekdays. A definite must-see is the throw net demonstration, a technique reflecting the fishing methods used by early Hawaiians.

There will be live fishing demos and workshops ranging from "Tuna Quality and Safety" to "Dive Safety." Plus, there's entertainment, cooking demonstrations, an auction of fish paintings and plenty to do for the whole family.

Our favorite part of the fest in years past: On most mornings, the fishing boats that pull in and the fish auction require a massive ice machine, which on the day of the fest is fired up to create a large pile of "snow" for the kids to play in.

Admission and parking is free. The fest runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free valet parking is available at the pier on a first come, first served basis, but it fills up fast. Your best bet is the free parking with shuttle service from nearby Honolulu Community College.

For a full schedule of fest events, click here. For more info, click here.

 

Outdoor activities and sports—both extreme and not-so-extreme—are perennially popular in the Islands. In a place where the passing of seasons from, say, fall to winter is marked mostly by a change from warm sunny days to, well, cool sunny days, that's not much of a surprise.

But each October, we're reminded just how perfect Hawaii's location and weather are for a diversity of outdoor activities. This comes courtesy of two of the state's most-enduring, challenging and world-renowned homegrown sports events—The Ironman World Triathlon Championship and the Molokai Hoe.

The Ironman Triathlon, celebrating its 31st birthday today, is the granddaddy of the sport—a 2.4 mile ocean swim in Kailua-Kona Bay, followed by a 112-mile bike ride across blazing hot South Kohala Coast lava fields, finishing with a 26.2 mile marathon back into the lava fields. The Molkai Hoe, happening on Sunday, is a 41-mile open-ocean single-hulled team canoe race from Molokai to Oahu, across the unforgiving Kaiwi Channel.

We wrote about both of these annual events in a HawaiiMagazine.com feature preceding last year's events. Click here for the feature.

If you're on the Big Island's Kailua-Kona side today, the best place to watch the Ironman is at the start and finish line, which are fortunately at the same location: the Kailua-Kona Pier. The triathlon's 1,800-plus participants cutting into the calm waters off the pier at 6:45 a.m. makes for a very cool Kodak moment. Be sure to occasionally return to the pier the rest of the day to watch triathletes finish each stage of the event.

 

CBS is readying a brand new version of its classic Aloha State crime drama Hawaii Five-O for the age of high definition screens and reality television.

Think you’ve read that here before? You have.

It’s the same opening line we used in an August 2008 post, when the network announced Hawaii Five-O would be returning under the guidance of Ed Bernero, executive producer of the network’s then-popular crime procedural Criminal Minds. Bernero’s gone this time out, but the duo who put together FOX’s critically-praised, but ratings-challenged sci-fi serial Fringe are in.

Entertainment trade journal The Hollywood Reporter reports that Fringe co-creators/executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have been given a green light to film a pilot for a post-millennial take on Hawaii Five-O. Also on board for the production will be CSI: New York executive producer Peter Lenkov. Kurtzman and Orci will put together the Five-O pilot storyline; Lenkov will write the script.

No other details were provided on where the trio would take the new Five-O story-wise, or if the pilot would have the same characters as the classic version. (Bernero, last year, frightened us with a promise that the fictional Hawaii state police department “Five-O” unit would be headed by a Chris McGarrett—the son of square-jawed, no-nonsense Five-O head Steve McGarrett. Ick.)

Also unclear is whether the new pilot would be filmed in Hawaii, though not doing so would seem just this side of sacrilege.

The original Hawaii Five-O’s 278 episodes were filmed almost entirely in Hawaii during its 1968 to 1980 run. The crime drama was one of the longest-running programs in TV history. Repeats remain popular in syndication around the world and on the Web.

CBS is again mum on when the new Five-O will go into production and when it might air. In the spirit of our last post on the possibility of a new Five-O, we’ll end this post the same way we did that one:

Look for a premiere just after a return of Jake and the Fatman is announced.
  

HAWAII Magazine reader Dixie Hergenreter emailed us requesting ingredients and instructions for a longtime Waikiki watering hole’s take on an ever-popular tropical cocktail.

Can I get the recipe for the mai tai at Moose McGillycuddy's?

You ask. We answer.

A Waikiki fixture for decades, Moose McGillycuddy’s restaurant/bar/nightclub draws steady patrons with its casual pub fare, draft beers, streaming ESPN feeds and extensive tropical cocktail menu.

We called Moose's for the recipe. They were happy to share it.

The ingredient list for the Moose Mai Tai is simple: orange juice, pineapple juice, rum and a few other ingredients. The recipe calls for two types of rum—light and dark. Moose’s uses Hana Bay rum—a brand that despite its name, is actually made in California.

Feel free to substitute a light rum and dark rum of your choice.

Here we go with the recipe:


Ingredients:

3/4 oz. Hana Bay premium light rum
3/4 oz. Hana Bay premium dark rum
10 oz. Moose’s Mai Tai Mix (see recipe on next page)

Fill a 14 oz. rocks glass with ice and add light rum, Moose's mai tai mix and a ¾ oz. float of dark rum. Garnish with pineapple wedge, Maraschino cherry and orchid.

To make Moose’s Mai Tai Mix, combine the following ingredients in a pitcher and refrigerate:

3 quarts orange juice
3 quarts pineapple juice
3 quarts sweet and sour mix
1-750 ml bottle orgeat syrup

Moose’s Mai Tai Mix recipe will make 10 to 15 mai tais. If you’re entertaining fewer people, reduce the mai tai mix recipe ingredients to 1/3 of the original recipe.


If you’d like to try a more contemporary take on the mai tai, try the recipe on the next page—one of our favorites. It was crafted by Hawaii master mixologist Joey Gottesman exclusively for the Royal Hawaiian Hotel’s beachside Mai Tai Bar in Waikiki. If you’re a HAWAII subscriber, you may recall the recipe from our Contemporary Tropicals feature in our July/August 2009 issue.

 

Continental Airlines is expanding its service to the Hawaii with three new flights between California and Hawaii, beginning March 7, 2010.

The additional flights include a daily Los Angeles, Calif.-Maui flight, a four-day-a-week Orange County, Calif.-Honolulu flight, and a second daily flight between Los Angeles and Honolulu.

The bad news for bargain hunters used to fall season air deals to Hawaii? We couldn’t find a one-way fare on Continental.com below $810 for any of the flights on their first week of service. There were also no introductory fares announced for the flights.

Continental’s Los Angeles to Maui flight will depart LAX daily at 5:05 p.m. (West Coast time), arriving in Kahului at 7:45 p.m. (Hawaii time). The return flight from Maui to Los Angeles will depart Kahului daily at 9:15 p.m. (Hawaii time), arriving at LAX at 5:45 a.m. (West Coast time). Lowest first-week fare we found: $885.

The carrier’s new Orange County to Honolulu flight will operate on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, departing John Wayne Airport at 5:20 p.m. (West Coast time), arriving in Honolulu at 8:05 p.m. (Hawaii time). The return flight from Honolulu to Orange County will depart Honolulu International Airport at 11:10 p.m. (Hawaii time), arriving in Orange County at 7:45 a.m. (West Coast time), on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. Saturday return flights on this route depart Honolulu at 11:40 p.m. (Hawaii time). Lowest first-week fare we found: $810.

Continental’s new Los Angeles to Honolulu flight will depart LAX daily at 1:55 p.m. (West Coast time), arriving in Honolulu at 4:40 p.m. (Hawaii time). The return flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles will depart Honolulu International Airport at 1:50 p.m. (Hawaii time), arriving in Los Angeles at 10:25 p.m. (West Coast time). Lowest first-week fare we found: $810.

If you find lower one-way fares on any of these flights than the ones we did, please let other HawaiiMagazine.com readers know by leaving a comment here, or on our HAWAII Magazine  Facebook or Twitter pages.

Houston-based Continental Airlines also flies to Hawaii from Houston, New York and Guam.
 
For more information, or to book a reservation, visit www.continental.com.
  

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano hasn’t been making the kind of worldwide headlines it did in the spring and summer of 2008— when underground lava and ocean water regularly met with explosive force on the Puna coastline, and high sulfur dioxide levels forced the closure of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park twice in one month.

But that doesn’t mean the still very active Big Island of Hawaii volcano hasn’t been up to anything worth noting.

Though less reported on—likely for being somewhat less than explosive—activity at Kilauea summit’s Halemaumau crater vent continues. The steam and ash plume rising from the vent since March 2008, though less consistently voluminous, still emanates from an expanding crack in the crater floor. And the evening glow made by lava deep within the vent— though significantly less luminous after a July wall collapse—has sporadically returned, too.

On the Puna coastline, molten lava continues to create new land as it enters the ocean—with less explosive drama—through an underground delta of tubes.

Perhaps intent on proving that even a somewhat cooled down Kilauea is still, well, pretty cool, geologists at summit Hawaii Volcano Observatory have recently taken to sharing more video of the day-to-day goings on at the volcano—photographed with heavily-reinforced United States Geological Survey field cameras like the one in the photo above.

On this and the next few pages, you’ll find five of our favorite recent videos from the HVO crew (just click on the frames, to view the videos):




A finger of pahoehoe (smooth) lava flows into an old skylight at the top of the Royal Gardens subdivision. The subdivision overlooking the Puna coastline is now almost completely inundated by a quarter-century of  lava flows from Kilauea volcano’s Puu Oo vent. (Click on frame above to view the video.)

 

Mitzi Gaynor was back on Kauai, for the first time since filming South Pacific there in 1958. 

Now 78, Gaynor is still glamorous, vivacious—and whole a lot of fun to talk to.

We sat with Ms. Gaynor ("Mitzi, please," she told us)  in the spanking new lobby bar of the St. Regis Princeville Resort. 

Right outside was the bluff where she filmed the “Some Enchanted Evening” scene with Rossano Brazzi. In the distance was the beach where she sang “I’m in Love with a Wonderful Guy.”

After we got her to stop asking us questions (“If we’re going to be friends, you need to tell me about yourself,” she said), we prevailed upon her to answer five questions of our own.

HAWAII: You haven’t been back to Kauai since South Pacific, 51 years ago. Why so long? Were we mean to you the first time?

GAYNOR (laughing): Oh God, no. Because we’d go to Honolulu and all the friends we made here would, say, We haven’t been off the island for a while, and come visit us there. I always had something to do in Honolulu, an personal appearance or something, so I never had much time. We figured if we ever came back over here, we’d never leave.

 

After a year and $100 million renovation, Kauai’s luxury Princeville Resort has reopened. 

Now branded as a St. Regis, the hotel began receiving guests Oct. 1 and last night threw itself an opening gala.

The resort looks spectacular for a night arrival, as you can see from the picture above.

HAWAII Magazine flew over the event, which was attended by hundreds of invited guests, assorted dignitaries and people involved in the project. 

Among them was the designer responsible for the hotel’s new look, Rhonda Rasmussen of Wimberly Allison Tong and Goo.

Rasmussen was still working, staying up late to do last-minute tweaks on the décor when most guests were asleep.  She also has a few major suites to finish.

We congratulated her on the warmth she’d brought to the property.  We never liked its former expanses of marble, grand but hardly welcoming.  “Ah, that was the style in the ‘80s,” she said.  “We wanted more of a Hawaiian residential feel.”  Now there’s plenty of wood, bamboo flooring, koa furniture, warm earth tones.

Which is not to say there aren’t luxury touches, including Italian gold leaf on the walls of the entry and a chandelier, meant to mimic the area’s waterfalls, made from 4,225 hand blown pieces of Murano glass.

The rooms are as spacious and comfortable as ever, now filled with Hawaiian-style materials, but they keep one notable feature of the old Princeville Resort.  The shower has a large picture window, through which you can look out across the room to the large windows on the hotel’s spectacular view of Hanalei Bay and the mountains beyond.  (If you’re feeling modest, flick a switch and the shower window clouds up.)

 

On Oct. 11, Father Damien de Veuster will become Hawaii’s first canonized saint.

The Catholic Church will officially recognize Hawaii’s beloved priest as a saint during a canonization ceremony in Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican City. During the Rome ceremony, Pope Benedict XVI will present Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva with a Damien relic—his right heel bone. (Another relic, Damien’s right hand, is buried outside St. Philomena Church in Kalawao, Molokai, on the Kalaupapa peninsula).

Throughout October, the relic will travel to Michigan, California and, finally, Hawaii. 

Damien is most known for taking care of Hansen’s disease (leprosy) patients on remote Kalaupapa peninsula. His canonization comes 120 years after his death from the same disease that took the lives of 8,000 people in Hawaii. Today, he’s also known as the unofficial patron of those with HIV and AIDS.

Several Hawaii residents have already left the Islands for a pilgrimage to Damien’s birthplace in Belgium before traveling to Rome for the canonization.

If you can’t be in Rome on Sun., Oct. 11, you can watch a live broadcast of Damien’s canonization on television here in Hawaii. Rome is 12 hours ahead of Hawaii time, which means Damien’s canonization will take place on Saturday evening in Hawaii.

The live broadcast airs Sat., Oct. 10 at 10 p.m. (Hawaii time) on Hawaii television stations KGMB, KITV and KHON.

Hawaii Catholic parish and school groups will celebrate the historic event together in various parish halls or churches. For updates on locations and times, click here.


If you miss the live TV broadcast, the canonization will be replayed Oct. 11 at 7:30 a.m. (Hawaii time) on EWTN Digital Channel 408. The Damien documentary with replay at 1 p.m. on OC 16, followed by another replay of the ceremony.

UPDATE, 10/8/09: Not in Hawaii? We just learned that CatholicTV will air Damien's canonization on Sun., Oct. 11 at noon and 8 p.m. (Eastern time).

In the weeks ahead, HawaiiMagazine.com will continue to post features about Damien—both on his life and life on the Kalaupapa peninsula today.

For now, on the following pages you'll find the complete travel itinerary for Damien’s relic, as it is brought from Rome to Hawaii:

ROME

• Oct. 11: St. Peter’s Square (Rome, Italy)—10 a.m. (Rome time) Pope Benedict XVI presents the second relic of Father Damien to Bishop Larry Silva. Note: If you’re in Hawaii, tune in to Oceanic Cable OC 16 on Oct. 10 at 10 p.m. (Hawaii time)

 

HAWAII magazine reader Ken Fiske emailed us with a question regarding travel options to Hawaii:

We have friends who want to come to Hawaii with us but don’t want to fly. Are there any passenger ships operating between the West Coast and Hawaii?

You ask, we answer.

Good news. Several cruise lines have Hawaii port calls on their schedules. Bonus: These cruises won't  just get you to and from Hawaii, each also stops at multiple ports throughout the Islands along the way.

There are currently three cruise lines offering sailings specifically to the Hawaiian Islands from California. 

• Holland America Line's current schedule takes passengers to four of the eight main Hawaiian Islands. The cruise line offers 15-day and 14-day "circle Hawaii" itineraries on the ms Zaandam. The 15-day cruise will make stops in Hilo and Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii; Lahaina, Maui; Lihue, Kauai and Honolulu, Oahu. With the exception of Kailua-Kona, Holland America's 14-day Hawaii itinerary is identical. The 14-day cruise starts at $1,499 for an interior stateroom; a 15-day cruise starts at $1,599. Both cruises are round-trip from San Diego, Calif., with a stop in Ensenada, Mexico, on the way back from Hawaii. Click here for more info.

• Princess Cruises’ Sapphire Princess and Golden Princess offer 14-day cruises to Hawaii, roundtrip from Los Angeles, Calif. Prices start at $1,199 for an interior stateroom on the Golden Princess and $1,995 aboard the Sapphire Princess. Both ships stop at Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii; Lahaina, Maui; Lihue, Kauai and Honolulu, Oahu. Click here for more info.

• The Cunard Line's Queen Victoria will be setting sail on two 14-day Hawaii adventure cruises in 2011—on Jan. 30 and Feb. 17. Both cruises are roundtrip from Los Angeles, Calif., with port calls in Lahaina, Maui; Lihue, Kauai and Honolulu, Oahu. Prices start at $2,495 for an inside stateroom, on both cruises. Click here for more info on the Jan 30 sailing; click here for more info on the Feb 17 sailing.

Keep in mind that cruise prices are per person and based on double occupancy. In addition, prices do not include government fees and taxes and possible fuel supplement charges per person per day.  

 

The fate of the Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial—the aging salt-water public swimming pool and standing war monument—grows more dubious by the day.

Last week, a task force appointed by Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann voted 9-3 to demolish the natatorium’s dilapidated pool and façade, and relocate the memorial’s iconic Beaux Arts-style entrance arch to nearby Kapiolani Park.

What will take the 82-year-old natatorium’s place? More Waikiki beach, and lots of it. The task force proposed building two groins to extend adjacent Kaimana Beach roughly 100 meters.

According to the task force, demolishing the natatorium and expanding the beach will cost $15.1 million. But fully restoring the natatorium would cost $57 million.

Built to honor 101 Hawaii soldiers who died in World War I, the natatorium opened to great fanfare on August 24, 1927. Legendary Hawaii surfer Duke Kahanamoku swam the saltwater pool’s inaugural lap in front of a capacity crowd. Notable athletes like Olympians Buster Crabbe and Johnny Weismuller also swam in the natatorium pool.

Years of neglect led the natatorium to fall into disrepair, and the state shuttered the facility in 1979 for safety concerns. It has been closed ever since. In 1995, the National Trust for Historic Preservation included the natatorium on its list of the 11 most endangered historic sites in the U.S.

Mayor Hannemann will decide what’s next for the landmark. Not a good sign for memorial supporters: Hannemann has been vocal about razing the natatorium in the past.

There’s “no definitive date “ to when Hannemann will make his decision, says city spokesman Bill Brennan. “The mayor would like to put in some plan of action sooner than later.”

 

Three nights at the Westin Maui Resort & Spa in Kaanapali, including round-trip on United Airlines, starting at $462 per person? Click here.

Rooms from $96 a night at the Aston Kauai Beach at Makaiwa? Click here.

Three nights at Waikiki’s Hilton Hawaiian Village, perhaps as low as $330 per person? Click here.

There are Hawaii travel bargains galore these days, and you’ll find dozens more deals like these posted on HawaiiMagazine.com’s new Hot Deals page. The page is constantly updated, so keep checking back regularly for great hotel room and airfare packages, hotel only specials and car rentals—ready for whenever you’re inclined to visit Hawaii. Click here to check out the deals—bookmark the page, along with HawaiiMagazine.com.

A few more details on the deals above?

The $462, three-night Westin Maui Resort and Spa deal is per person, based on double occupancy for a terrace view room, and valid for travel between Nov. 2 and Dec. 7, 2009. The package includes round-trip airfare between Los Angeles, Calif., and Kahului, Maui, on United Airlines. Outbound L.A. to Maui flight dates for the package are Nov. 2, 9, 16, 30 or Dec. 7. Click here for the package. And click here to find more of our Hot Deals page Hawaii hotel+air packages from Sheraton and Westin.

The Aston Kauai Beach at Makaiwa is a room-only special, with rates at $96 a night for a garden view room, $106 a night for an ocean view room, $120 a night for an oceanfront room to $160 a night for a deluxe oceanfront room. The special is good for reservations made now through Jan. 2, 2010, so it’s good for Christmas. Click here and use the "reserve a room" booking engine to get the deal.

A three-night stay at Waikiki’s Hilton Hawaiian Village might be as low $330 per person, based on double occupancy, if you book for some stays between now and Dec. 23, 2009. Click here to see how low your deal can go.

Taxes and fees are not included. These kind of deals are subject to dates and availability, so book as soon as possible.

  

Got the munchies? Need a snack?

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been sharing excerpts from HAWAII Magazine’s annual “Best of Hawaii” issue, on sale now at bookstores and newsstands nationwide. Grab a copy and you’ll find it loaded with tips and suggestions for finding the best of just about everything in the Islands—all of this advice courtesy of our always well-informed HAWAII Magazine reader ohana and our own island-hopping editorial team.

Here on HawaiiMagazine.com, we’ve shared picks straight out of the Sept./Oct. 2009 “Best of Hawaii” issue of our favorite Hawaii places to shop, and favorite Hawaii road trips. After much driving and rampant consumerism, we figured it was high time for a snack.

So here are a few picks from one of the categories our editorial staff had the most fun writing up and, uh, researching (with one pick from HAWAII readers tossed in for good measure): HAWAII Magazines’s Favorite Hawaii Snacks and our Favorite Places to get ‘em:

Just click to the next page and dig in!

 

A tsunami watch for the Hawaiian Islands has been lifted, but beaches on the Big Island of Hawaii will be closed today.

The state of Hawaii was briefly under a tsunami watch this morning after a magnitude 8.3 undersea earthquake occurred off of the islands of Samoa.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu issued the tsunami watch at 8:05 a.m. (Hawaii time), while determining whether there was a threat of a destructive wave striking Hawaii. The United States Geological Survey said that the Samoa earthquake occurred 20 miles below the ocean floor at 6:48 a.m. (7:48 a.m., Hawaii time), 125 miles from Samoa and 120 miles from American Samoa.

The islands of Samoa are 2,600 miles southwest of Hawaii.

The tsunami watch for Hawaii was canceled at 10:23 a.m., and downgraded to an advisory. An advisory means a tsunami is not expected, but swimmers and boaters should watch for powerful surges and/or rip currents.

Pacific Tsunami Warning Center officials said a 2- to 3-foot surge could still affect Hawaii’s coastal areas between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., but there would be no need for evacuations.

Hawaii County Civil Defense officials issued a statement at 10:30 a.m. this morning saying that, as a precaution, all Big Island of Hawaii beaches would be closed until Wednesday morning. Beaches on all other Hawaii islands remain open, but caution is advised.
 
 

On Oahu this Saturday? Curious about the history of Hawaii’s monarchy? Want to eat, drink and be cultured—all for a good cause?

Here's an event you won't want to miss.

A “Day at Queen Emma Summer Palace” is Daughters of Hawaii’s annual fundraiser for the restoration of Queen Emma Summer Palace in Honolulu and Hulihee Palace in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. The event takes place this Saturday, Oct. 3, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Queen Emma Summer Palace in Nuuanu Valley.

Admission is $6 for adults and $1 for children. The event is open to the public.

Chef and poke master Elmer Guzman of Hawaii seafood restaurant Poke Stop will on hand, preparing culinary creations. You'll find poi pounding, kapa making, quilting and feather lei making demonstrations. Baked goods, crafts, haku lei and Hawaiian plants will also be on sale.

 

A HAWAII Magazine reader asks via email:

We had the Hula Pie at Duke’s. Would you have the recipe?

You ask. We answer.

Hula Pie has been a longtime staple of TS Restaurants (which owns five eateries in the Islands, including the popular oceanside Duke’s Canoe Club Waikiki.) It’s a favorite dessert with Island visitors; so much so that the TS Web site devotes a whole page to how to eat a slice. (Hint: try a fork.)

The recipe (and reader question) became a subject of fascination for our always-inquisitive HAWAII Magazine team, especially when the staff at Duke’s didn't return repeated phone calls on the subject. (Update: They've finally promised us the recipe, but it hasn't arrived yet. We'll share it when we get it.)

Perhaps no one wants you to know just how simple a concoction Hula Pie is. There's no baking, and you can find most of the ingredients ready made: chocolate cookie pie crust, macadamia nut ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, chopped mac nuts.

Once you pile all this stuff dizzily high, however, the Hula Pie turns into a mountain of pure dessert indulgence that impresses the heartiest of eaters.

On the next page is our recipe, which we think is identical to the “real” thing.  Try it for yourself and let us know what you think.

 

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island and Haleakala National Park on Maui both figure prominently in director Ken Burns’ latest super-documentary The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.

The 6-part, 12-hour documentary series on the grand, arduous and often contentious history of America’s national park system premieres on PBS, Sept. 27, with episodes airing nightly until Oct. 2.

National Parks narrative begins with the mid-1800s beginnings of the national park idea, charting the evolution of the national park system over 150 years to 1980. The series first episode, "The Scripture of Nature (1851-1890)" digs into Hawaii's parks right away, opening with crisp footage of glowing Kilauea volcano lava flows entering the sea off the Puna coastline just before sunrise.

But a segment in the series’ third episode, “The Empire of Grandeur (1915-1919),” goes deeper into our state's national park history, revealing the decade of lobbying by naturalists, scientists, businessmen and others to designate acreage on Kilauea, Mauna Loa and Haleakala volcanoes as Hawaii National Park.

The massive park on Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii—later divided into two separate national parks—finally got its national park title on Aug. 1, 1916. Still, even its brand new title couldn't win Hawaii National Park any immediate respect. According to National Parks, Congress initially refused to provide any funding for Hawaii National Park because, as one senator explained, “It should not cost anything to run a volcano.”

 

Museum junkies, make your Saturday plans now.

Thirteen Hawaii museums will be offering free admission this Saturday, Sept. 26—we'll let you know what you'll need to do to get in. It’s all part of Smithsonian Magazine’s fifth annual Museum Day, an annual celebration of the cultural and educational significance of nationwide museums to their communities.

More than 1,000 museums nationwide are participating in the daylong event. It'll also be a great day for museums and museum enthusiasts—sure to raise the public profile of museums across the U.S., many of which have taken a hit in visitor numbers and operating budgets due to the sluggish economy.

A list of participating Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day venues statewide follows on this page and the next:

Big Island of Hawaii

• Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii, Hilo (pictured, right)


Maui

• Bailey House Museum, Wailuku

• Baldwin Home Museum, Lahaina

• Wo Hing Museum, Lahaina

 

Where do Hawaii residents eat?

Back in June, HawaiiMagazine.com readers salivated over an excerpt we shared from our HAWAII Magazine feature Discovering Hawaii Through Food—an island-hopping food travelogue compiled by our intrepid editor John Heckathorn. John's mission? Sharing some of the small places to eat and food sources that only Hawaii residents know about.

A few of you e-mailed us that were hungry for more, so we’ve got more for you.

Here’s part two of our excerpts from John’s Discovering Hawaii Through Food notes: more local favorite eats and food sources he found on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii.

Missed part one? No worries. You can still check it out by clicking here.

But if you’re ready—and hungry—let’s dig in for more!

OAHU

Side Street Inn
We once walked into Side Street to find TV chef Anthony Bourdain in one of the booths. Colin Nishida’s unpretentious neighborhood bar is the choice of many Hawaii chefs and just plain folks because of its extensive, reasonably priced menu full of great local flavors. Do not miss the pork chops and fried rice.
1225 Hopaka St., (808) 591-0253.

PacifiKool On the Beach
PacifiKool became famous in Hawaii for drinks made from fresh ginger syrups. The company now sells bottled syrups, which are hard to take home because they have to stay refrigerated, but you can taste the zingy creations at PacifiKool’s Waikiki beach stand. Try the ginger cooler: a ginger ale with muddled basil leaves and lemon.
Waikiki Shore Condominium, 2161 Kalia Road, (808) 921-0099. You’ll also find PacifiKool at the Hawaii Farm Bureau’s Saturday Farmers’ Market at Kapiolani Community College.

 

Add the Big Island of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea Beach Hotel to the list of luxe South Kohala Coast resorts offering ever-popular resort credits.

The newly-renovated resort’s “Legacy $500” promotion is rewarding guests with a $500 resort credit for every three nights of their stay. The credit may be used for activities such as the resort’s full-service spa, rounds of golf at its Mauna Kea course and dining at all property restaurants.

In a down economy, resort credits are becoming the must-have guest perk even among the South Kohala Coast’s high-end lodging properties. Down the coast, the Four Seasons Hualalai recently extended a $1,000 resort credit promotion—originally limited to August and September stays—to reservations made through December 17, 2009. Meanwhile, the uber-secluded Kona Village Resort extended a pre-summer $800 airfare credit promotion indefinitely, though it now applies to guests staying five nights or more.

How to qualify for the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel’s $500 resort credit? Just book a three-night stay from now until December 22, 2009 in the resort’s Golf Vista room category or higher. The $500 credit is not applicable toward room rates, nor can it be combined with any other deal.

The best part of the deal?  The longer you stay, the more credit you get. Credits are awarded based on three-night increments. So a six-night stay gets a $1000 credit, nine nights gets $1,500, and so on.

To use the credit, guests must sign all charges to their room. The credit will be deducted from the final tab upon check out. You’ll want to make sure you use the entire credit, as well, since none of it will be refunded or carried over to future stays.

For reservations or more information click here, or call (866) 977-4589

 

The 63rd annual Aloha Festival's two most-popular events are coming up on two Saturdays—tonight and Sept. 26. If you’re on Oahu—especially if you’re staying in Waikiki—you’ll want to save check both of them out:

• Sept. 19, 7 p.m. — The Aloha Festivals Waikiki Ho‘olaulea (celebration) takes over Waikiki’s main drag Kalakaua Avenue (between Lewers and Kapahulu Avenues), with hula performances, live music stages and food and lei booths spread along 12 blocks. The massive block party is always a great night in Waikiki.

• Sept. 26, 9 a.m. — The Aloha Festivals Floral Parade offers folks staying in Waikiki the best curbside spots for viewing. It's likely the most colorful parade you’ll ever see, too, with its procession of equestrian riders, hula halau (groups), marching bands and, most famously, its large floats lavishly decorated with Hawaii flowers. The parade starts at Ala Moana Park on Kapiolani Boulevard before turning onto Kalakaua Avenue, and ending at Kapiolani Park.

The Aloha Festivals was originally created in 1946 to mimic the Makahiki celebration season (Hawaiian New Year), which honored the Hawaiian god Lono.

At its 1940s inception, the festival was called Aloha Week—a volunteer observation of Hawaiian culture, that even then featured a floral parade through the streets of Honolulu and Waikiki as its highlight. As more events were added to its schedule, Aloha Week’s seven days proved too few. It was renamed the Aloha Festivals in 1991—a name more fitting for what was then a two-month, six-island celebration, with more than a hundred events.

Sadly, Aloha Festivals events since last year have mostly been limited to Oahu due to a downturn in funding. Even the much beloved Aloha Festivals Floral Parade was in danger of cancellation in 2008 until funding from the City & County of Honolulu and private donors eventually saved it.

Aloha Festivals events are again fewer this year, but the parade and ho‘olaulea go on.

For a complete schedule of 2009 Aloha Festivals events and more info, visit www.alohafestivals.com, or call (808) 391-8714.

 

On Oahu this weekend and jonesing to see a cadre of Air Force jets fly within inches of each other at speeds of 400 mph? You’re in luck. The Thunderbirds are coming to town.

The celebrated military air demonstration squad will take to the skies above Oahu’s Hickam Air Force Base on Saturday and Sunday for the base’s “Wings Over the Pacific” open house.

Hickam Air Force Base will be open to the general public for this weekend’s festivities. Gates open at 9:30 a.m. on both days. Admission, and on-base parking, is free. However, Hickam officials suggest arriving early, as space will likely be limited.

The Thunderbirds attract serious crowds wherever they perform. The squadron tours the U.S. and world regularly, performing precision aerobatic formations and daredevil solo flights—similar to the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels, but in special U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon jets.

The Thunderbirds last soared through Hawaii’s skies in September 2007—that time, tearing over metropolitan Honolulu and performing aerobatics over waters off of Waikiki. Oahu will be the Thunderbirds’ final American stop before embarking upon a month-long tour of Asia.

  

HAWAI‘I Magazine reader Verlin Bulmahn e-mailed us with a question about da kine:

Based on your Web article (and watching his TV show),  I know Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" and Beth Chapman’s business is named Da Kine Bail Bonds. But even using Internet-based Hawaiian-English dictionaries, I cannot find the English translation for the word “kine.”

I believe "da" is the equivalent of “the.”  I was guessing "kine" might be Hawaiian for "dog" or "man." But the dictionaries indicate I am wrong.  Can you answer this question for me?

You ask, we answer.

We can see why this is confusing. Da kine is not Hawaiian. It’s a widely used expression in Hawaii pidgin English.

Roughly translated, it means “the kind,” similar to the pidgin expression any kine, which itself means "any kind." But da kine’s meaning is more complex. 

You can use it when you can’t think of a word—sort of like the English words “thingie” or “whatchamacallit.”  (“I can’t find da kine.”)

But da kine can also be an adjective (as in Da Kine Bail Bonds). It can refer to a person as well as a thing (Are you bringing da kine to the party?). And it can be a sometimes abstract concept (I wish he didn’t act so da kine).

Da kine sounds like the speaker can’t think of a word. But, really, it implies that the speaker and the listener understand each other so well there’s no need for unnecessary da kine words.

"Dog the Bounty Hunter" airs on cable channel A&E.

  

Lost addicts unite! Or at least start planning to be on Oahu on Oct. 17.

That’s when the annual Hawaii International Film Festival will celebrate the cast and crew of the ABC TV series Lost—currently filming its final season in Hawaii—with a full day of events no fan of the show will want to miss.

We’ll start with the main event: “An Evening with Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse,” at the Royal Hawaiian Theater in Waikiki, at 8 p.m.

For diehard fans of the Emmy Award-winning series, co-creators and showrunners Lindelof and Cuse are the real Lost luminaries—the creative masterminds who’ve guided the direction of the series' complex, multi-layered story arc since Lost's premiere in 2004. A good portion of the evening will likely be turned over to the duo's behind-the-scenes stories and history with Lost, as well as fielding questions from the audience on all manner of series minutiae. (One from us: Do Richard Alpert’s feet have four toes each? Trust me, if you're a Lost addict this is not a stupid question.)

The evening will also feature guest appearances by Lost cast and crew members—though exactly who will show up hasn't been announced yet. Lindelof and Cuse will also receive HIFF’s “Vision in Film Award"—previous recipients include directors Ang Lee and Zhang Yimou. The fest’s inaugural “Mahalo Nui Loa Award” will be presented to Lost executive producer and director Jack Bender and co-executive producer Jean Higgins.

Brian Lowry, chief television critic for entertainment trade newspaper/magazine Variety, will emcee the program.

But the evening Q&A/awards program with Cuse and Lindelof isn't the only event for Lost fans on Oct. 17.

  

HAWAII Magazine’s annual “Best of Hawaii” issue is out!

As always, you’ll find it full of tips and suggestions for finding the best of just about everything in the Islands—all of this advice straight from our well-informed HAWAII reader ohana and our own editorial staff.

We’re sharing a few of our “Best of Hawaii” lists here on HawaiiMagazine.com, such as this one featuring our picks for favorite Hawaii road trips. Now it’s time for some shopping.

We asked Kathryn Drury Wagner, author of The Ultimate Guide to Shopping on Oahu and executive editor of our sister publication HONOLULU Magazine, to share a few of the hippest shopping spots in the Islands with HAWAII Magazine readers.

You’ll find her selections for shopping on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii on the page ahead, and a list of our reader favorites on the final page.

Take us shopping, Kathryn!

Oahu

If you want to shop where the local hipsters go, check out The Butik (1067 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite A-3, Honolulu, 808-593-4484, www.thebutik.com). One of the owners, Lan Chung, is behind the label Fighting Eel, one of the hottest brands to ever come out of Hawaii. The Butik always has Fighting Eel’s latest, and also carries women’s clothing from other Hawaii designers, such as Allison Izu’s denim line for petites. The clothing is all warm-weather appropriate, and prices are reasonable—around $40 to $200.

 

Hawaii travelers who stayed at Aqua Hotels & Resorts properties this hot season may be familiar with the company's “99 Days of Summer” special, which slashed nightly rates at most Aqua properties statewide.

We’re guessing the promotion was a hit. Are you ready for “99 Days of Fall”?

Aqua is discounting room rates at 15 properties on three Islands, for fall travelers on a budget. Nightly rates start at $99 or less at 12 Aqua hotels in Waikiki—including the iconic and recently-saved-from-shutdown Ilikai Hotel & Suites.

What kind of starting daily rates will you be looking at? Here’s Aqua’s “99 Days of Fall” deal hotel list:

Oahu

$59        Continental Surf Hotel
$69        Waikiki Marina Hotel
$79        Aqua Island Colony
$79        Aqua Waikiki Pearl
$79        The Equus
$80        Aqua Aloha Surf & Spa
$89        Aqua Waikiki Wave
$99        Aqua Bamboo & Spa
$99        Aqua Waikiki Beachside
$99        Park Shore Waikiki
$99        Aqua Palms & Spa
$99        Ilikai Hotel & Suites
$129      Best Western Coconut Waikiki

Molokai

$132      Aqua Hotel Molokai

Maui

$189      Hotel Wailea Maui

The promotion is good for stays from September 8 to December 16, 2009. There is no minimum night requirement for stays. And yes, we counted— there really are 99 days between Sept. 8 and Dec. 16

For reservations or more information click here, or call (866) 406-2782.
 
 

HAWAII Magazine reader Nancy Slater emailed us requesting the recipe for a cocktail she enjoyed while on Oahu:
 
Would you have the recipe for a cocktail called a key lime colada? We had them at Ko Olina Resort this past summer and they are awesome.

You ask. We answer.

The drink you are referring to is available at the Marriott Ko Olina Resort’s Kolohe’s Beach Bar & Grill, which was kind enough to share the recipe with us. Although you won’t be drinking it in Hawaii, Nancy, we're hoping the recipe you asked for (and a new one from us, for other HawaiiMagazine.com readers) brings back memories of your time in the Islands.

Kolohe's key lime colada recipe is a variation on the old tropical favorite, the piña colada. In order to make this dessert-inspired cocktail Kolohe’s way, you will need a few basic ingredients and a blender.


1 oz. vanilla rum
1 to ¾ oz. Keke Beach Key Lime Cream liqueur
1 splash piña colada mix and pineapple juice
1 cup of ice

The key to the Ko Olina key lime colada is the use of vanilla rum and fresh pineapple juices. If you don’t have access to fresh pineapples, store bought pineapple juice will do in a pinch.

Recipe continued on next page

 

HAWAII Magazine reader Leanna Connelly emailed us from Green Valley, Arizona:

I know of a couple places on Kauai, but PLEASE tell me where I can find great  saimin on Maui.  Mahalo.
 
You ask, we answer.

With one major exception—which we will get to in a moment—we didn’t know where to get great saimin on Maui.  

We asked no less a personage than the dining editor of the Maui News, Carla Tracy, who said that with the decline of the old mom-and-pop outlets on the island, she wasn’t sure you could find great saimin on Maui.  She got hers at the health food store and doctored it herself.

But not wanting to let Leanna down, we did a lot of checking and came up with four possibilities:

Suda Seafood Deli, 30 Manao Kala St, Kihei, (808) 875-6600.  The landmark Suda Store closed in Kihei in 2003.  The good news: It’s been reopened by the same family at a new, nearby location.  The saimin is well-reputed, but many insist the noodles to eat here are chow fun.

Treats & Sweets, 1824 Oihana St., Wailuku, (808) 244-4170.  Treats & Sweets used to be a Dairy Queen and still looks like one.  Word is that Dairy Queen headquarters didn’t want them selling local food, like saimin, so they simply quit being a Dairy Queen and kept supplying Maui folks with what they liked to eat.

 

HAWAII Magazine reader Paul Zaludek of Toronto, Canada wrote to us with some questions about traveling to the beautiful, yet little-visited Hawaiian Island of Molokai:

In spring of 2010 we plan to spend three weeks on Maui and, if practical, also spend three days on Molokai. We have several questions:

1.    Can we fly to Molokai from Maui? What airline(s) and how much does it cost?

2.    Are there hotels on Molokai that allow us to book two-night stays?

3.    What car rental agencies operate at the Molokai Airport?

You ask. We answer.

Molokai has long been known for its quiet, old-world Hawaii feel. Residents are even proud of the fact that you’ll find no traffic lights on the entire island. So it makes sense that options are somewhat limited for travelers interested in visiting.

Still, we pulled together some information Paul and other readers planning a visit to the Friendly Isle will appreciate.  

Click the next two pages for our tips for getting to and staying on Molokai:

 

HAWAII Magazine reader Ty Brisgill wrote us with a question about a Kauai outdoor activity we’d never been asked about, but thought other readers might be interested in:

Do you have any information on pheasant hunting on Kauai?  I hunted on Parker Ranch on the Big Island of Hawaii a couple years ago. My wife and I are going to Kauai in November.

You ask. We answer.

Kauai has long been known for its abundance of nature and wildlife—game birds included. Partridge, francolin, quail, dove, and, of course, pheasant, all roam the island’s lush landscape.

There are a number of public hunting areas on the island. According to representatives from the Kauai branch of the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife, the best public spot to hunt pheasant is the Kekaha Game Management Area, near Kokee State Park. Several varieties, including the Chinese ring-necked and green pheasant, call the Kekaha reserve home.

Hawaii’s bird-hunting season runs from the first Sunday in November (Nov. 1, this year) through Martin Luther King Day or the 3rd Sunday in January, whichever occurs later (Jan. 18, 2010). During that period you can only hunt on Saturdays, Sundays and state holidays. On Kauai, you're allowed to bag up to three pheasant a day, and 15 birds total.

For all the rules for game-bird hunting on Kauai, and statewide, click here, or call (808) 274-3433.

Before you embark on your hunt, however, you’ll have to have a Hawaii hunting license. A license is required to hunt or have bagged game in your possession.

Licenses can be obtained online here, through a state Division of Forestry and Wildlife Office or from a registered hunting license agent. Hunting licenses for residents cost $10, non-resident licenses are $95.

License applicants must show proof of having completed a hunter education course recognized by the National Hunter Education Association.  The only exception is if you were born before January 1, 1972, and have a Hawaii hunting license issued prior to July 1, 1990. 

If you want more info about hunter education courses in Hawaii click here, or call (808) 587-0200.

 

The Maui Prince Hotel at Makena Resort will remain open at least for the near future.

The resort’s mortgage lender, Wells Fargo Bank, yesterday announced the selection of Texas-based Benchmark Hospitality Management as the resort’s new management company, effective Sept. 17. The resort’s current management company, Prince Hotels Hawaii, will end its operating contract, as planned, the day before.

Benchmark plans to change the name and branding of the resort.

Prince Resorts Hawaii announced on Aug. 31 that it intended to terminate its management contract on Sept. 16—a move that threatened continued operation of the Maui Prince Hotel and its Makena North golf course. At the time, Prince Resorts Hawaii cited that it had been unable to secure funding for the hotel and golf course’s payroll and operating expenses from the owners and lenders of the Makena Resort, on which both properties are located.

A consortium of Makena Resort lenders led by Wells Fargo Bank had filed a foreclosure action on the resort on Aug. 24, alleging that the property’s owners had defaulted on a mortgage loan of $192.5 million.

Prince Hotels Hawaii said on Aug. 31 that it decided to terminate its contract when owners and lenders failed to guarantee future funding of the hotel and golf course by a deadline both parties had set.
 
 

If you ask us, it was only a matter of time before the Travel Channel’s gluttonous food travelogue Man v. Food made it to Hawaii.

Not that we consume food here the way Man v. Food host Adam Richman does. (For those not in the know, Richman likes his eats “in very large quantities.”) It's just that Hawaii's seemingly endless array of fantastic dishes, born of our multicultural population, seems a perfect match for a man with a bottomless appetite and a camera crew in tow.

Richman and the Man v. Food production team were on Oahu in June to film a “Honolulu” episode for the series' second season. The hopefully tasty results of that visit will air Wednesday on the Travel Channel at 10 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific), 7 p.m. (Hawaii).

The gist of Man v. Food? It’s basically Richman traveling across America in search of restaurants that specialize in indulging serious appetites. Each episode focuses a single city. Richman soaks in a little bit of culture, but mostly digs in to exploring the city's favorite local eateries—their specialty dishes, quality of ingredients, the restaurateurs and chefs who create the dishes. Each episode ends with Richman taking on a pre-existing restaurant food challenge during which, to put it bluntly, he gorges himself silly.

We were happy to hear that Richman sampled some tried-and-true Hawaii favorites at his first two Oahu Man v. Food stops. There was imu-cooked kalua pig, home-smoked pipi-kaula style short ribs and other luau standards at 50-plus-year-old Kalihi landmark eatery Helena’s Hawaiian Food (that's Richman in the pic above, right side of the table, with sunglasses). On the Windward Coast, Richman stopped by Laie’s Hukilau Café for its famous "two-massive-hamburger-patties" take on the traditional loco moco.

His choice of Oahu food challenge, however, confounded us a bit: the MAC Daddy Pancake Challenge at Waikiki breakfast-all-day restaurant MAC 24-7.

 

When Bali Hai calls, Mitzi Gaynor answers.

The actress who famously portrayed effervescent U.S. Navy nurse, Ensign Nellie Forbush in the classic film version of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific will return to Kauai in October to help celebrate the movie musical’s 51st anninversary.

It will be Gaynor's first visit to the Garden Island since the film was made there in 1957 and 1958.

South Pacific is a great film to celebrate—No. 5 on our list of the Eight Best Movies Filmed in Hawaii.

The bulk of South Pacific’s outdoor scenes were filmed on Kauai’s picturesque north shore. Fans of the film still make pilgrimages there to visit virtually unchanged locations made famous in the film such as Lumahai Beach (where Gaynor romped while singing “I’m In Love With A Wonderful Guy”), Hanalei Bay (the backdrop for Juanita Hill as Bloody Mary’s take on “Bali Hai”) and Mount Makana (which stood in for the mysterious island of Bali Hai).

  

72 weeks and counting.

That’s how long singer-songwriter-musician Jason Mraz’s wildly popular hit song “I’m Yours,” has spent on Billboard Magazine’s Hot 100 singles chart, as of this week. As it turns out, it's also the most weeks any song has spent ensconced on the influential music chart in its entire 50-plus years of existence.

The previous record holder? Pop-country singer LeAnn Rimes’ 1998 hit “How Do I Live,” which spent 69 weeks on the chart in 1998 before dropping off.

It might surprise many to know that “I’m Yours”—a longtime Mraz live show favorite, which finally wound up on his 2008 album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.—was heavily influenced by Mraz’s time in the Islands. Mraz is a frequent Hawaii visitor, vacationing on Kauai a couple of times a year since 2004.

“My time is often spent bouncing up and down from Kapaa to Hanalei,” Mraz told HAWAII Magazine, earlier this year. “Meeting people is easy on Kauai, and the hospitality is unlike anywhere else in the world. So by the end of my stay I’ve usually been in two or three homes while always giving myself a night or two under the stars.”

“I’m Yours” wasn’t written on one of Mraz’s Hawaii trips. But his shaping of the song over the next four years in concerts and early recordings would be influenced by his time in the Islands.

 

Want a free set of wheels on your next Hawaii vacation?

Check out our new Hot Deals page for a chance to win a FREE five-day mid-size car rental from HAWAII Magazine and our friends at Dollar Rent-A-Car.

Win and you can choose the island: Oahu, Maui, Kauai or the Big Island of Hawaii.

While you’re on the Hot Deals page, be sure to dig into our growing selection of great Hawaii travel deals. Many of the deals on the page are all-in-one packages for air, hotel and/or car rental that can lower the cost of a Hawaii vacation substantially.

The Hot Deals page is updated electronically by travel vendors, so if you don’t find a Hawaii deal that interests you today, just check back again on another day.

But back to that free car rental.

You’ll find the banner and link for the sweepstakes on our Hot Deals page here. The contest closes after Sept. 20, 2009. No purchase is necessary to win.

But just make sure you enter. Hawaii has more amazing road trips than might be expected for a tiny group of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

So many, in fact, that we couldn’t resist compiling a list of our favorite Hawaii road trips for our annual HAWAII Magazine “Best of Hawaii” issue, out on newsstands now. Or just click here for the complete list.

Good luck! Enjoy the ride!

  

A new fall fare sale from Alaska Airlines includes one-way flights between Hawaii and many of the carrier’s Mainland destinations for as low as $148.

The sale is for the carrier’s daily flights to Maui, Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii, from Sept. 14 to Dec. 16, 2009, but you’ll have to decide soon. Reservations must be made by Sept. 10, 2009, and seats are limited.

Among the lowest-priced fall fare sale flights we found …

• Seattle, Wash.-Honolulu, Oahu                             $148

• Portland, Ore.-Kahului, Maui                                 $149

• Seattle, Wash.-Kona, Big Island of Hawaii            $159

• Seattle, Wash. –Lihue, Kauai                                $179

• Anchorage, Ala.-Kahului, Maui                              $199

For more info on Alaska Airlines' fall fare sale, or to make reservations, click here.

 

The management company for the Maui Prince Hotel and Makena North golf course announced this evening that it intends to end its operating contract—a move that could shut down both properties on Sept. 16.

The West Maui property’s possible closure was announced by its management company, Maui Prince Hotel LLC, which gave notice it would be terminating its contract and shutting down the hotel and golf operations. Maui Prince Hotel LLC said in a statement this evening that it had been unable to secure funding for the hotel and golf course’s payroll and operating expenses from the owners and lenders of the Makena Resort, on which the properties are located.

A consortium of Makena Resort lenders led by Wells Fargo Bank had filed a foreclosure action on the resort on Aug. 24, alleging that the property’s owners had defaulted on a mortgage loan of $192.5 million.

Property management company Maui Prince Hotel LLC said in its statement today that it made the decision to shut down the property when owners and lenders failed to guarantee future funding of the hotel and golf course by a deadline today.

An attorney for lender Wells Fargo said in statement this evening that Wells Fargo would act immediately tomorrow (9/1) to appoint a receiver to take over operation of the Maui Prince Hotel and Makena Resort. "If approved, the receiver and its team will transition to a new management company to be approved to operate the Maui Prince Hotel and Makena Resort," said the attorney.

Guests with questions about a future reservation may call (888) 977-4623.

The Maui Prince Hotel and Makena North golf course employs 380. The 310-room hotel has been in operation since 1986.

UPDATE, 9/1/2009:

Wells Fargo Bank filed a request in Circuit Court this morning to appoint a receiver to take over operations of Maui Prince Hotel and Makena North golf course. In a statement released this morning, Barry Sullivan, attorney for lender Wells Fargo, fired back at Maui Prince Hotel management claims that the lender had not secured funding for the hotel and golf course's payroll and operating expenses. Sullivan said that Wells Fargo advanced $247,000 yesterday to pay the hotel's vendors and suppliers.

 

In the current issue of HAWAII Magazine, writer David Thompson takes you right off the Big Island, where the lava from Kilauea’s pours explosively into the sea.  Here’s video of the same trip, courtesy Lava Ocean Adventures.

In the September/October 2009 issue of HAWAII Magazine, writer David Thompson takes you right off the Big Island, where the lava from Kilauea’s pours into the sea.

There’s nothing like bobbing around in a small boat at the violent intersection of cool seawater and 2,100-degree lava. The sea roils and boils as molten rock sometimes gushes, sometimes oozes and often explodes into it.

Steam plumes, weird weather, superheated floating rocks, water hot enough to cook a lobster.

Thompson was on the Lava Kai, with Capt. Shane Turpin of Lava Ocean Adventures. The pictures were spectacular, but here’s something we couldn’t put in the pages of the magazine: not one, but two videos of the experience. 



 

It was the guided nature hike that would not die.

In November 2002, staffing issues forced the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge to end its popular Crater Hill guided hike. Years later, fans of the hike were still letting staff know how much they missed it.

It’s an amazing hike—traversing the bluffs above Kilauea Point Refuge’s picturesque 32-acre peninsula and historic, much-photographed lighthouse, then slowly ascending the precipice of Crater Hill’s majestic sea cliffs. There are sweeping sea-to-mountain views of Kauai’s north shore, and up-close glimpses of the winged wildlife—Hawaiian nene goose, red-footed boobies, frigate birds and more—the refuge protects year-round.

Crater Hill devotees, and anyone who missed the hikes the first time around, might want to lace up their hiking boots. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages Kilauea Point, is once again opening the hike. Reservations are being taken for limited guided hikes during National Wildlife Refuge Week, Oct. 11-17.

Call (808) 828-0762 for reservations or more information.

Weekly hikes may resume in 2010—likely in the summer and fall when nene goose nesting season ends.

Kilauea Point rangers invited HAWAII Magazine for an advance preview of the hike earlier this year. We take you along on that hike in the September/October 2009 HAWAII Magazine feature “To the Top of Crater Hill.” The issue is on newsstands nationwide now, but if you want to purchase a digital edition right now, you can do so here.

As we always do on our Hawaii travels, we took many more photos on Crater Hill than we could share in the magazine. So on the next few pages you’ll find a slideshow of the best of the rest of our Crater Hill photos and video we shot of the views from the best scenic points on the hike.

Just click the next page to begin the hike …

 

HAWAII Magazine reader Katherine Spahr emails:

We recently watched the movie Diamond Head with Charlton Heston. Can you tell us which island it was filmed on?

You ask, we answer.

In 1959, Columbia Pictures paid Honolulu Star-Bulletin reporter Peter Gilman $100,000 (nearly $750,000 in today’s dollars) for the film rights to Such Sweet Thunder, his best-selling novel about power, politics and interracial romance in Hawaii.

The 1963 movie, renamed Diamond Head, was supposed to star Clark Gable, but Gable died before filming could start.  The part went to Charlton Heston, fresh from winning an Oscar for Ben Hur. Heston’s character, a pineapple planter and senatorial hopeful, is still nicknamed “King,” which was Gable’s Hollywood nickname.

You’d think a film called Diamond Head would be filmed on Oahu.  After all, the movie poster features a view of Diamond Head Crater from Waikiki Beach, though your attention maybe distracted by the image of a young Yvette Mimieux superimposed over it.

A little of the movie was, in fact, filmed on Oahu, with the Royal Hawaiian Hotel figuring in several scenes.

Where was most of it filmed? See the next page.
 

Not one but two HAWAII Magazine readers asked us about this drink.  

Wrote one: When in the airport in Honolulu, I had a drink called a Lava Flow while waiting to go to Kona.  Can you share the recipe?  

You ask, we answer.

We have two recipes. The Lava Flow at the airport (and most other places) is a drink made in a blender, a colorful variation on a pina colada.  

The blended drink is perhaps heavy and sweet for some tastes, so we contacted Hawaii’s tropical cocktail guru, Joey Gottesman of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki, for his recipe, which we thought might be more refreshing.

So here they are. 

First the conventional blended recipe and then on the next page, the recipe from Dr. Joey, as we call him.  Having tried both, we prefer Dr. Joey’s. But chacun à son goût, as the French say. Or as we say in Hawaii, whatevahs.


1 oz. coconut rum
1 oz. light rum
1/2 banana    
2 oz. pineapple juice    
2 oz. coconut cream    
2 oz. frozen strawberries

The key to preparation is to blend the strawberries and rums separately from the other ingredients, rinsing the blender between steps. (If using strawberry puree, you can skip this and simply blend all ingredients except the puree.)

Pour the strawberry mix or the puree to the bottom of a large glass (a collins or hurricane glass).  Then add the blender ingredients, or as it’s often done, reverse and pour the strawberry mix on top. The red strawberry mix swirls in the drink, simulating a lava flow.

For much the same ingredients, but a fresher, lighter version of a Lava Flow cocktail, see next page.

 

HAWAII Magazine reader Tewania Canterbury emailed us with a question:

For all of my life, I have dreamed about being able to visit Hawaii. With the economic climate, I am beginning to wonder if that dream will ever become a reality.

I have been giving serious consideration to just biting the bullet and doing whatever is necessary to visit some time next year.  I was wondering if you could let me know which island(s) would be best and any cost saving measures I could take in order to make my dream a reality ?

You ask, we answer.

Don’t wait. Now is one of the best times to plan a trip to the islands.  With the decline in travelers, there are Hawaii deals on everything from airline fares to the cost of tours and activities.

Usually the best deals come in packages—air, hotel, car rentals, all wrapped into one price.  One place to start is our Hot Deals page.  Or you could try our new booking engine on the left side of this page to see if there is a package that suits your budget.

There are many other ways to cut costs, looking for bed and breakfasts or condos with a kitchen, staying somewhere off the beach, and eating at the small restaurants where Hawaii residents eat—with their amazing variety of cuisines.

Now for your question of which Island to go to, tastes vary.  HAWAII Magazine editor John Heckathorn has written a quick guide to choosing one or more of the six major islands.  This may help those trying to choose.  Click the next page to get started.

(Veteran Hawaii travelers, please feel free to add your comments and talk about your own favorite island.)


  

HAWAII Magazine reader Judy Fleischer wrote to us with a question about the only movie theater in Waikiki that comes complete with sand, surf and the sound of swaying palms. 

Aloha! I am planning our next trip to Oahu. On our last trip in 2004, an event called "Sunset on the Beach" was going on. It was really nice. Can you tell me it it is still an event in Waikiki? If so, when during the month is it scheduled?

You ask. We answer.

The quickest answer to your first question, Judy, is, "Yes, sort of." The answer to your second question: "Weekly Sunset on the Beach events are no more, but a couple of stand-alone ones are happening this weekend."

But first, an explanation of what exactly Sunset on the Beach is might be appreciated.

Sunset on the Beach is a popular evening event, capped off by movies screened on a 30-foot screen set up in the sand fronting Waikiki Beach's Queen's surf break. The flicks run the gamut from the latest Pixar movie, to action films and romantic comedies, to preview episodes of Hawaii-filmed TV series Lost before broadcast on ABC. But movies aren't all the event is about.

Live music or hula often kicks off the Sunset on the Beach first in the afternoon, coaxing hundreds of residents and visitors to come out a bit early to stake a place in the sand for their beach mats. Food booths set up by local restaurants serve everything from shave ice to plate lunches to loco moco.

 

Cue up Sinatra crooning "Come Fly With Me" and check out these Hawaii airfare deals!

Even as summer travel season comes to an end, yet another skirmish in the Hawaii interisland airfare war is sure to keep the heat up in September.

This week, Hawaii-based air carriers Hawaiian Airlines, Mokulele Airlines and go! each announced deals on September travel aimed at luring island hoppers aboard their flights instead of the competition's.

The choices are intriguing enough. Book a la carte flights with Hawaiian Airlines or go! for $24.99 each one-way. Or opt for a winged buffet from Mokulele Airlines—all the interisland flights you can handle during the month of September for $299 total.

Here are the deal breakdowns by air carrier, in order of who flew in with its deal first:

 

The Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows is shutting its doors … temporarily.

The popular luxe resort—situated on the Big Island of Hawaii's Kohala Coast—will be closed from September 1 to October 31, as small renovations are done on public spaces and its 343 guest rooms. The hotel is referring to it as a "refreshment" of rooms and facilities. The resort's award-winning CanoeHouse and other restaurants will also be closed.

A small remodel is welcome news, but why shut down the entire resort to accomplish it?

Some hotels often offer discounted rooms in the wake of construction. The Mauna Lani has long opted to do things differently, so as not to compromise its guest experience with the noise and mess of ongoing construction.

Plus, an empty hotel means a faster remodel. Reservations are already being taken for stays beginning November 1, just in time for the winter travel season. For more information, click here or call (800) 367-2323.

“We’ll make more mess, but do it quicker,” says Mauna Lani communications manager Susan Bredo.

The other resort on the Mauna Lani property, The Fairmont Orchid at Mauna Lani, will remain open. As will the Mauna Lani Hotel's two award-winning golf courses.

We’ll keep you posted as more news on the Mauna Lani "refreshment" develops.
 

 It’s so new that it hasn’t even had its grand opening yet, and its signage isn’t all in place.

On the other hand, the Koa Kea Hotel & Resort harkens back to the old days on Kaua‘i, and has the relaxed, intimate feel of the ’60s resort it replaced.

The new Koa Kea is built on the footprint of the old Poipu Beach Hotel.  Although all the interiors of the Poipu Beach were wiped out during Hurricane Iniki in 1992, the lava rock walls and foundations still stood.  It was mainly financial considerations—insurance, ownership changes, a slow Kauai economy—that kept it closed for 16-1/2 years.

The good news: The new resort is beautifully done, but it’s still small scale and directly on Poipu beach, in a way that only older resorts are still allowed to be.

The rooms now boast free wireless, tasteful furnishings, comfortable beds, marble showers and large flat-screen televisions.  The lobby is opened up and comfortable, with a small spa and a serious restaurant, named for Kauai’s famous Red Salt.  (Don’t neglect to order the New York steak with truffle butter and red salt fries.)


 

Your next Hawaii vacation could be a little greener.

Hoping to appeal to environment-conscious Hawaii travelers, Enterprise Rent-A-Car Hawaii is expanding its fleet of gasoline/electric hybrid vehicles at four of the company’s rental locations on Oahu and Maui.

Interested? You’ll find Enterprise’s "hybrid branches” in Honolulu, Waikiki and Kailua on Oahu, and at Maui’s Kahului International Airport.

More rental and consumer-owned hybrids on Hawaii roads is positive news for our fragile Island-based ecosystem. A bonus for the budget-conscious traveler? More hybrids means more relief on wallets as fuel costs steadily rise—especially in Hawaii.

Enterprise’s Hawaii locations are renting three gas/electric hybrid models: Honda Civics, Honda Insight SUVs and the Toyota Prius (photo). The Honolulu, Kailua and Waikiki dealerships feature the Prius and Civic. The Maui location offers the Insight and Civic.

At the moment, each of the four locations have anywhere from 6 to 13 hybrid vehicles in their fleets. Branch operators expect to increase the number of hybrids in their fleets in the weeks ahead.

To reserve a gas/electric hybrid vehicle from Enterprise’s hybrid branch locations click here, or call (800) RENT-A-CAR.

  

Hawaii celebrates its 50th anniversary of statehood on Friday—quietly.

There are events on all the major islands, but celebrations are muted. (If you’re interested in finding the events, click here for a full schedule.)

Why muted? You need to understand the long campaign from 1903 to 1959 for Hawai‘i statehood—and its implications today. Here’s a look at the events that transpired—as chronicled in HAWAII Magazine’s feature story on the rocky road to statehood. 

If after you read it, you have any comments, observations or memories, feel free to add them in the comments field, or on our Facebook or Twitter sites. We look forward to hearing your views on Hawaii’s 50th anniversary of statehood.



On March 22, 1959, Hawai‘i buzzed with excitement.

Hawaii had just been declared America’s 50th state. Schools were dismissed. Government offices shut down. Retail shops closed. Hundreds danced in the streets and lawns surrounding Iolani Palace. On Sand Island, a bonfire roared two stories high, while fireworks bathed the night sky in a colorful glow.

The excitement was understandable. Statehood hadn’t happened overnight. It took more than six decades of campaigning, petitioning and politicking before Hawaii received its star on the U.S. flag.

The push for statehood began in the early 20th century. Hawaii was a much different place then. Only 154,000 people called the Islands home—one-tenth of today’s population. The pineapple and sugar industries drove the economy.

Hawaii governor, Sanford Dole, signed a joint resolution proposing the topic of statehood to Congress for the first time in 1903. Hawaii had been annexed as a United States territory just five years prior on July 7, 1898; Iolani Palace's Kingdom of Hawaii flag lowered a month later (photo, bottom).

The prospect of statehood raised numerous concerns. Critics cited the young territory’s undeveloped infrastructure and isolated location, while some opponents worried a new state would disrupt the balance of Congress.
 

Sick and tired of finding “Made in Taiwan” stickers clinging to the bottom of your Island souvenirs?  Looking for gifts and goods that can really claim to be “Made in Hawaii”?

Swing by the 14th annual Made in Hawaii Festival this weekend for a sampling of the things that make Hawaii special … all in one place. It runs from Friday though Sunday, August 21-23, at the Neal S. Blaisdell Exhibition Hall and Arena.

The festival is by far Hawaii's largest and most diverse marketplace of Island-made products—with more than 420 booths featuring books, fashion, ceramics, organic produce, prepared food and more. It attracts more than 35,000 residents and visitors annually.

To carry a “Made in Hawaii” label, an item must by law have most of its value and ingredients produced in the state.  No monkeypod from the Phillipines. No souvenirs from China. No “Maui” potato chips manufactured in California.  That’s why we named it one of the best festivals in Hawaii in our brand new annual “Best of Hawaii” issue, which should be arriving in your mailbox, or on a newsstand near you.

A fest bonus? Along with all the Hawaii goods for sale, the Made in Hawaii Festival is also offering a series of cooking demonstrations—sponsored by our sister publication Honolulu Magazine. Throughout the weekend, a cadre of award-winning Island chefs will be preparing their most popular dishes, using only fresh Hawaii ingredients.

Here’s a rundown of this weekend’s cooking demos:

Friday, August 21

2:00 p.m. - Ronnie Nasuti (Roy's Restaurant) with Dean Okimoto (Nalo Farms)

4:00 p.m. - Patrick Yamaguchi (Big City Diner)

6:00 p.m. - Jon Matsubara (Azure)

Saturday, August 22

12:00 p.m.- Marc Anthony Freiberg (Mariposa)

2:00 p.m.  - Chai Chaowasaree (Chai's Island Bistro)

4:00 p.m.  - Rodney Uyehara (Beachhouse at the Moana)

6:00 p.m.  - Ed Kenney (TOWN and Downtown)

Sunday, August 23

12:00 p.m. - Ryan Loo (Twist at Hanohano)

2:00 p.m. - Elmer Guzman (Poke Stop)

Made in Hawaii Festival hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, August 21 and Saturday, August 22; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, August 23.  Admission is $3, and free for children six and under.

For more information, click here or call (808) 533-1292.


 

The 2009 edition of one of HAWAII Magazine's most popular issues of the year is here! Our annual “Best of Hawaii” issue.

As always, it’s packed with picks from our well-informed HAWAII readers and editorial staff sharing their insights on the best of everything in the Islands.

HAWAII subscribers are already receiving the “Best of Hawaii” issue in their mailboxes, already using it to plan their next vacations in the Islands. Not a subscriber? You can purchase a subscription to HAWAII Magazine here, or pick up the September/October 2009 “Best of Hawaii” issue in bookstores and on newsstands nationwide now. You can also read the "Best of Hawaii" issue instantly online by purchasing a digital copy of the magazine here.

For our 2009 “Best of Hawaii” issue, we’ve collected who, what and where HAWAII readers selected as their favorite towns, favorite places to stay, favorite places to shop, favorite places to eat and more. And we’ve got our own editorial staff picks for our favorite Hawaii snacks, favorite festivals, favorite indoor and outdoor activities, favorite restaurants and more.

More than 101 Hawaii travel secrets, hotels, beaches, restaurants and festivals throughout the issue.

You’ll have to pick up a copy of the “Best of Hawaii” issue to see all of our reader and editor picks. But for Web site readers, we've decided to share picks from one of our favorite editorial staff categories: HAWAII Magazine's Four Favorite Hawaii Road Trips.

Enjoy the ride!


1. Kauai’s North Shore

The Garden Isle’s best road trip is traveling to Kauai’s North Shore starting from Lihue and ending in Haena. You’ll see green mountains and meadows on the left side, and beautiful beaches on the right. On the way to Haena and Princeville, you’ll pass many towns, including Wailua, where the famous Coco Palms Resort once stood in its glory. There are wet and dry caves to explore, eating places to try and landmarks to visit, such as the Kilauea Lighthouse and the Hanalei taro patches. 

Here’s a great reason for our HawaiiMagazine.com friends in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to leave the cold behind and visit us in Hawaii this winter: Direct flights starting at $254.

Air Canada is adding up to five non-stop flights a week between Calgary and Hawaii, beginning Dec. 5. The carrier’s new seasonal flights—the only non-stop service between Calgary and Hawaii—will comprise two flights weekly to Honolulu and up to three flights weekly to Maui.

Flights are available for purchase now at AirCanada.com. Fares begin at $254 (U.S. dollars) one way between Calgary and Honolulu, Oahu, and $281 (U.S. dollars) one way between Calgary and Kahului, Maui.

Calgary-Maui flights will operate on Saturdays (beginning Dec. 5) and Mondays and Fridays (beginning Dec. 21). Maui to Calgary flights depart Maui at 7:55 p.m. (Hawaii time), arriving in Calgary at 5:15 a.m. (Alberta time). Calgary to Maui flights depart Calgary at 2:20 p.m. (Alberta time), arriving on Maui at 6:35 p.m. (Hawaii time).

Calgary-Oahu flights will operate on Sundays (beginning Dec. 6) and Thursdays (beginning Dec. 24). Oahu to Calgary flights depart Honolulu at 7:40 p.m. (Hawaii time), arriving in Calgary at 5:10 a.m. (Alberta time). Calgary to Oahu flight depart Calgary at 2:05 p.m. (Alberta time), arriving in Honolulu at 6:20 p.m. (Hawaii time).

Air Canada officials said the new flights were timed to accommodate convenient connections to and from Edmonton and other cities in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Toronto and points across eastern Canada. The addition of direct flights between Hawaii to Calgary is expected to save travelers more than two-and-a-half-hours of trip time in each direction compared to other routes between the two destinations.

The Hawaii-Calgary flights will complement Air Canada’s 15 weekly peak winter season flights between Hawaii and Vancouver, B.C.


 

Another day. Another hot Hawaii hotel deal for the fall season.

But Starwood Hawaii Hotels & Resorts' “Value in Paradise” promotion sounds like a particularly good one—discounted daily room rates at 10 Starwood properties statewide, located on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii.

More good news? The number of Starwood Hawaii properties in the promotion means there’s a deal here for just about every type of travel budget.

Among the hotels included in the “Value in Paradise” promotion are the Sheraton Kauai Resort on Poipu Beach, Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas on Kauai’s rugged north shore, The Westin Maui Resort & Spa on Kaanapali Beach, the Sheraton Waikiki and Westin Moana Surfrider. Even the luxe, recently renovated Royal Hawaiian Hotel is offering rooms as low as $300 a night in the promotion.

According to Starwood’s Web site, the bulk of the rate deals for individual properties are good for travel from now through Dec. 20, 2009. A Starwood representative confirmed to HawaiiMagazine.com that there was no deadline to book for most of the properties.

Properties that did have a deadline for the deal included:

•    Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa on the Big Island: rates from $129 per night for partial ocean view room. Book by August 26, 2009, for travel through December 25, 2009.

•    Sheraton Princess Kaiulani in Waikiki: rates start at $109 per night, from now through August 31, 2009.

•    The classically luxurious Westin Moana Surfrider in Waikiki: rates start at $250 a night, from now through September 29, 2009.

All rates in Starwood’s “Value in Paradise” deal vary by property and availability, so booking sooner rather than later is recommended. Taxes and fees not included.

Click here for a list of Starwood properties in the promotion, categorized by island, with links to booking pages that include the special rate.

To book by phone, call Starwood Hotels & Resorts at 866-716-8140 and ask for promo code "RVA."

 

The rebranded, reimagined and soon-to-be-reopened St. Regis Princeville Resort promises to be the luxurious grand dame of hotel properties in Kauai’s Princeville resort community. But it’s not your only option should you want to stay on the island’s picturesque north shore.

Just minutes from the rustic charms of Hanalei and Kilauea towns—and a short drive from the area’s famed bay and beaches—condo property Castle at Princeville is a peaceful, budget-priced respite for those staying on the north shore.

The resort’s Summer on Sale deal sounds like sweet relief for Kauai travelers on a budget. Prices for a number of Castle at Princeville’s 34 kitchen-equipped suites and cottages are discounted significantly. On a search of the resort’s Web site, we found Internet-only room deals as low as $125 a night, from now until Sept. 30, 2009.

Rates for Castle’s Hale Moi cottages start at the aforementioned $125 for a mountain view studio, $151 for a one-bedroom. Rooms in the resort’s Pali Ke Kua room class are priced as low as $134 for a one-bedroom mountain view suite, $162 for oceanfront suites and $170 for two-bedroom mountain view rooms. Taxes and fees not included, of course. All rates are subject to availability.

The discounted rates are only available online through Castle at Princeville’s Web site. Rooms in the Summer on Sale deal are usually priced between $220 and $380.

Click here to book a room. Or for more information on Castle at Princeville’s Summer on Sale deal call (808) 826-9066.

 

Time to catch up with our most-popular Web posts again!

Every couple of months, we bring our brand new HawaiiMagazine.com readers up to date with the best of our daily Web site posts.

We know that more of you than ever have been regularly checking out HawaiiMagazine.com these last few months to find out what’s new and what’s fascinating us in Hawaii. But we also know that even regular visitors to the site may not be able to keep up with our daily updates every day.

That’s where our frequent “Best of HawaiiMagazine.com” posts like this one come in.

We’ve written 670 posts in total since January 2008—all of ‘em still here in our HawaiiMagazine.com archives, all of ‘em searchable by subject or island. Features on Hawaii’s people, places, and products. Travel tips, travel deals and travel news. Slideshows of the photos we take on our travels throughout the Islands. And updates whenever lava activity happens at Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island.

We’ve covered a lot of stuff since we last did one of these updates in March. Click the links below to catch up with HawaiiMagazine.com’s staff and readers favorite posts.

And be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay connected with our daily features the moment we post them to HawaiiMagazine.com.

Start catching up here:

• New Disney Hawaii resort underway. What it will look like.

• How to make Hawaii chocolate haupia pie. Here's a recipe.

• Say goodbye to Waikiki's International Market Place? An update.

• Turn! Turn! Turn! How to make Huli-Huli Chicken.

• Where to learn Hawaiian language online

• Kauai in just one day: 5 things to do, part two

• Kauai in just one day: 5 things to do, part one

• Make Hawaii-style ahi poke wherever you are. Here's a recipe.

• VIDEO: How "Hawaii Five-O" made the Ilikai Hotel an icon.

• Where in Hawaii is Dog the Bounty Hunter?

• At last … a great place to stay in Paia, Maui

• Location scoops from "The Bachelorette" Big Island of Hawaii finale

• Hawaiian Airlines contest giving away free Hawaii-West Coast trips.

• Hawaii's Mauna Kea gets world's largest optical telescope

• Google goes Hawaiian language with homepage

• Is Donald Trump's name still on Waikiki's nearly done Trump Hotel?

• Waikiki’s iconic Ilikai Hotel closes, reopens

• Major collapse at Kilauea volcano vent dims evening glow

• Want to bring a dog or cat to Hawaii? Some need-to-know pet rules.

• A better White House luau soundtrack: 6 great Hawaiian luau albums.

• More from Kilauea volcano: Draining lava lake video; Halemaumau full moon

• Driving on your Oahu visit? What you need to know about the new cell phone law.

• Geologists capture clearest video yet of Kilauea volcano lava lake

• SLIDESHOW: HAWAII Magazine makes a rare visit to Kalaupapa, Molokai

• Food Network mag discovers Hawaii's loco moco. Here are our favorites.

• Remembering Mauna Loa's last eruption: 25 years ago

 

Happy Birthday Ala Moana Center!

The popular Honolulu shopping destination begins a two-and-a-half-week celebration of its 50th anniversary tonight with a Hawaiian blessing, giveaways music performances, exhibits and merchant deals honoring its longstanding history as Hawaii’s largest shopping mall.

Some of that history?

Before Ala Moana became Honolulu’s premier shopping destination for residents and visitors, the land where it now sits was little more than 50 acres of swampland—unwanted and deemed unusable.

That all changed in 1948, when real estate developer Lowell S. Dillingham took over the marshy parcel, purchased 36 years earlier by his father for $25,000. The younger Dillingham envisioned a shopping center where merchants from Downtown Honolulu’s Fort Street commercial area could relocate, with ample customer parking—a must in the growing automobile age.

Many were skeptical, suggesting names such as “Dillingham’s Folly” for the new retail center. Still, when Ala Moana Center finally opened on Aug. 13, 1959, it was instantly the largest shopping center in America with 80 stores spread across two floors.

Ala Moana has since ceded that title, but remains record setting. More than 290 retailers, restaurants, a food court, and even a nightclub now fill more than 2.1 million square feet of leasable retail space, making Ala Moana the largest open-air shopping center in the world.

Tonight’s 50th birthday party begins with a Hawaiian blessing, entertainment and a ceremony honoring the 11 retailers have been in Ala Moana since it first opened for business: Sears, Shirokiya, Crack Seed Center, Dairy Queen, Foodland, Longs Drugs, Reyn’s, Slipper House, Territorial Savings Bank, Watumull’s and a branch of the U.S. Post Office.

The celebration is open to the public and begins at 5:30 p.m. at Ala Moana’s Centerstage, but stick around for the chocolate.

In Willy Wonka-like fashion, 1,959 candy bars will be given away following the ceremony—five of these containing golden tickets redeemable for a $250 gift card from Ala Moana Center owner, General Growth Properties.

Even if you don’t score a golden ticket you can still enjoy hundreds of mall-wide promotions, discounts and exclusive anniversary premiums—many of these, until the end of the month. Click here to see a list of sales and events.

A clothing retrospective, “Fifty Years of Fashion in Hawaii,” also debuts tonight, on Level 3 of the center, next to Nordstrom. Promising “50 garments from the past 50 years” including swimwear, aloha attire and other Island attire, the exhibit documents the styles, fads and fashion faux pas passing through Hawaii in the last half-century.

Guides listing all 50th anniversary events can be found at Ala Moana’s Customer Service Center and information kiosks. Or, click here to download an online copy.

  

Anna Bric from Australia e-mailed us with a question about “Mr. Hawaii,” Don Ho.

I saw Don Ho recently in an episode of "I Dream of Jeanie" and it brought back memories of how talented he was. I would love to read his autobiography and find out more about this fascinating and talented man. Does one exist?

You ask. We answer.

And you’re in luck, Anna. A terrific summary of the life and times of the late great Hawaii crooner, Don Ho: My Music, My Life, was published in 2007.

In the spring of that year, Ho met with music writer Jerry Hopkins—who’d compiled noted bios of Jim Morrison (No One Here Gets Out Alive) and Elvis Presley—for a series of interviews with a goal of recording his life story. Over the following weeks of recording what would become Ho’s final interviews, Hopkins also chatted with a number of Ho’s family members, friends, entertainment peers and business associates for their recollections.

The stories from all sources weaved together so well, Hopkins suggested to Ho a twist for the autobiography—an oral history, with the story of his life linked via recollections from him and other voices. Ho’s final interviews for the book were completed just two days before he passed away on April 14, 2007. The book was released in that fall.

Don Ho: My Music, My Life is a great read—a photo-filled, no holds-barred recap of Don Ho’s life told in his own colorful way with a story, and in the words of the people who knew him best. It’s published by HAWAII Magazine sister company Watermark Publishing, and—in commemoration of his 79th birthday, which would have been today—sale-priced at $20 if you order direct from Watermark.

Click here to order.

Here’s an excerpt from the book, with Ho explaining how he ended up recording his most internationally well-known hit "Tiny Bubbles":

"Everything in my life is an accident, including 'Tiny Bubbles.' This song was recorded at the request of (big band leader) Sonny Burke. I called him to come to Hawaii because I wanted to record a song called 'Born Free.' They were playing it on the radio and the war was going on in Vietnam and I thought the message fit. Sometimes I closed my show at Duke Kahanamoku's with it. We got into the recording studio and I couldn't quite make 'Born Free' happen at that recording session and Sonny said, 'Sing this song.' He gave me the words to 'Tiny Bubbles' and played me a tape. All the music tracks and background voices were done on the Mainland. All he needed was my voice. I didn't like the song, but I sang it one time, and I walked out of the studio. A week later it was all over the country."


  

Google’s homepage is now available in the Hawaiian language. But for the time being you’d have to do a bit of searching to find it.

We recently read that the homepage interface of the World’s most popular online search engine was available in olelo Hawaii (Hawaiian language). A good thing, we thought. But when we clicked to Google’s language tools page we couldn’t find Hawaiian among the offerings on a “Use the Google Interface in Your Language” list.

Among familiar languages such as Italian, Spanish and Japanese were lesser-known tongues like Basque and Occitan. There were even odd dialects such as—we’re not kidding—Klingon and Elmer Fudd. All ready to change the face of our Google interface. But no Hawaiian.

Was Google’s Hawaiian translation lost in translation?

Not quite, said Keola Donaghy, a professor at the Ka Haka Ula O Keelikolani College of Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. He should know. Donaghy spent more than 100 hours of his own time converting strands of text on Google’s homepage into Hawaiian as a volunteer translator.

Turns out the translation of Google’s homepage for use in—so far—more than 125 languages has been dependent on volunteer translators like Donaghy who simply wanted to see their native language represented.

“It’s our mission to ensure the (Hawaiian) language stays contemporary,” said Donaghy. “To ignore modern technology would suggest that our language doesn’t belong.”

The biggest challenge for Donaghy with the project turned out to be translating modern Web jargon that had no Hawaiian equivalent. For example: how to translate words like “download” and terms like “World Wide Web” and “URL” into Hawaiian.

Donaghy buckled down and thought logically, yet creatively.

The Hawaiian word kele—which translated to English means “to sail” or “to reach by sailing,” for example—seemed the ideal word to substitute for “browsing” or “searching” the Web.

Other Hawaiian words Donaghy used to replace English ones included:

Hawaiian Word(s)	English Translation	Google Interface
hooili	to land upon, to load	to download
polokalama kele punaewele	web sailing program	Web browser
punaewele puni honua	spiderweb, fine-meshed net	World Wide Web, Internet
kaomi	to press down, to squeeze	to click (on a mouse)
nanaina	general appearance, view	interface
loulou	to link or hook together	Web link

As for that missing Google interface translated to Hawaiian? Donaghy said that it’s up and running, but Google engineers are still doing some final tweaking before a “Hawaiian” link is added to Google’s language tools page. Word about Google's Hawaiian language homepage was leaked prematurely after Web surfers found work-in-progress versions of it on the Web.

Google representatives told Donaghy that the Hawaiian interface should be available as an official language tools option “sometime this week.” Google did not confirm an exact date. But you can see the Google homepage in Hawaiian now by clicking here.

So far, only Google’s search interface and navigation text have been translated into Hawaiian—not individual search results. Will these Web pages eventually be translated as well? Donaghy doesn’t rule out anything in time.

In fact, he’s already working on translating other Google services such as Gmail and online word processor Google Docs into Hawaiian.

“It sends a message that Hawaiian stands alongside European and other major languages,” said Donaghy.

 

Honua Kai Resort & Spa, the newest lodging property on Maui’s Kaanapali Beach, is offering a 50 percent off rate special on select rooms for fall season vacationers.

The seven-month-old condominium-resort property recently announced half-off published rack rates in its Ohana, one-bedroom and two-bedroom suite categories, for stays between Sept. 1 and Dec. 12, 2009. Daily rates begin at a low of $200 for Honua Kai’s Ohana category resort-view suite.

All suites in the deal feature fully-equipped kitchens, including refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, microwave and washer/dryer.

For more info on Honua Kai Resort & Spa suites and amenities, or to book the fall 50 percent-off deal, click here.

Located on 38 acres of oceanfront property on Kaanapali’s North Beach, Honua Kai Resort & Spa opened the first of two-planned guest- and resident-buildings in January—the 318-suite Hokulani. The resort’s second building, the 310-suite Konea, is scheduled for an early 2010 opening.
 
 

The National Weather Service lifted storm watches for Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe and Oahu at 11 a.m. (Hawaii time) as Tropical Depression Felicia began dissipating on its pass through the Islands. The former hurricane and  tropical storm had been downgraded to a tropical depression earlier in the day.

At 11 a.m., the National Weather Service was reporting that Felicia had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, and was located about 120 miles east of Kahului, Maui, and about 210 miles east-southeast of Honolulu, Oahu. At that time, the storm's movement had slowed down to 9 mph.

A tropical storm watch for the Big Island of Hawaii was canceled at 11 a.m. Monday.

Forecasters said Felicia could still produce localized heavy rains and gusty winds on Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe and Oahu today and Wednesday as its scattered remnants pass south of those islands. Felicia's effects on Hawaii weather, however, are now expected to be significantly diminished.

If you’re in Hawaii now or planning to be in the Islands in the next couple of days, click the below links for regularly updated National Weather Service forecasts detailing Felicia’s continuing weather effects on each of the Hawaiian Islands.

• Big Island of Hawaii (Hilo and east side)

• Big Island of Hawaii (Kailua-Kona and west side)

• Kauai (Lihue, Kapaa, Poipu, south shores, east shores)

• Kauai (Hanalei, Princeville, Kilauea, Waimea, Napali)

• Maui (West Maui, Lahaina, Kaanapali)

• Maui (Central and East Maui, Kahului, Wailuku, Hana)

• Maui and Lanai (Wailea, Makena, Lanai City)

• Molokai (Kaunakakai, Kalaupapa)

• Oahu (Honolulu, south shores, east shores)

• Oahu (Central Oahu, North Shore, west shores)


 

Tropical Storm Felicia continues to weaken on its slow course toward the Hawaiian Islands.

At 5 p.m. (Hawaii time), the National Weather Service was reporting that Tropical Storm Felicia had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, and was located 210 miles east-northeast of Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii, and 375 miles east of Honolulu, Oahu. At that time, the storm was moving west at 10 mph.

Updated forecasts have Tropical Storm Felicia’s center following a course that would take it just north of Maui and directly over Molokai on Tuesday afternoon and evening, as a tropical depression. From there, Felcia is expected to follow a course through the Kaiwi channel separating Molokai and Oahu, then pass just south of Oahu and Kauai on Wednesday.

A tropical storm watch is currently in effect for Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe and Oahu. A tropical storm watch for the Big Island of Hawaii was canceled at 11 a.m. today.

The National Weather Service expects that Felcia will further weaken overnight from a tropical storm (max. sustained winds of 39 to 74 mph) to a tropical depression (max. sustained winds of 38 mph or less) before reaching Maui and Molokai.

Felicia is expected to be completely past the Hawaiian Islands by 8 a.m. Thursday.

Felicia's gradual weakening was exactly what weather forecasters predicted would happen to the former hurricane as it moved from warmer Eastern Pacific waters to cooler waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands. At peak hurricane strength last Thursday, Felicia was a Category 4 monster clocking maximum sustained winds of 140 mph.

UPDATE, 8/11/2009: Click here for HawaiiMagazine.com's Tuesday, Aug. 11 update to this post, and National Weather Service forecasts detailing Felicia's expected weather effects on each of the Hawaiian Islands through the week.


 

Welcome back, Hawaiian Hall!

The Bishop Museum’s 120-year-old exhibit space is getting a grand reintroduction to the public this weekend, celebrating the completion of three years and $16 million worth of renovations.

Renovations, which began in 2006, marked Hawaiian Hall’s first major overhaul in more than a century. Built in 1889, Hawaiian Hall is the Bishop Museum complex’s first and oldest building. A bustling metropolis has grown around its Kalihi acreage over the last century, but Hawaiian Hall's classic three-story Victorian-era stone façade remains a prominent Honolulu landmark.

Hawaiian Hall also remains one of Bishop Museum’s most popular exhibitions spaces, displaying a substantial portion of the museum's 1.3 million-item-collection of Hawaiian cultural artifacts. The hall’s newly renovated interiors represent the state of the art in museum design, but two major elements of the renovation involved the installation of modern conveniences usually taken for granted.

Subdued LED lamps now replace the natural light that, while unique to the building’s aesthetic, was not ideal for long-term artifact conservation. And a modern air-conditioning system, replacing Hawaiian Hall's natural ventilation, was fitted into building’s century-old framework for preservation purposes and visitor comfort.

We’ll detail more of Hawaiian Hall’s new features and take you on a tour of the building here on HawaiiMagazine.com in an upcoming post. But if you’re on Oahu on Sat., Aug. 8, or Sunday, Aug. 9, stop by Hawaiian Hall’s grand reopening.

Weekend festivities kick off with a reopening ceremony, Saturday at 7 a.m,, featuring a procession of museum staff, royal societies, alii trusts, Hawaiian civic clubs, hula halau and community members at the Bishop Museum gates. Performances from hula halau will precede the customary untying of maile lei that officially reopens the building.

Hawaiian Hall will then be open from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. on both days. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., a series of lectures in the hall will gather Hawaiian scholars and artists to discuss various topics including native Hawaiian art and artists, and history of Bishop Museum and Hawaiian Hall.

Also on both days, the Bishop Museum’s Great Lawn will host an arts market and entertainment stage, the latter featuring performances by a who’s who of contemporary and traditional Hawaiian musicians.

Click here for a complete schedule of the weekend’s Hawaiian Hall reopening festivities, more information and admission prices.

Watch the below for a look at the scope of Hawaiian Hall's makeover.


 

Paia, that hip little beach town on Maui’s north shore, has a lot going for it. It’s the windsurfing capital of the world, with nearby Hookipa Beach Park.  Its plantation-era buildings now house a dozen reasonably priced restaurants, some 40 locally owned surf shops, boutiques, antique stores, jewelry shops, coffee shops and gelaterias.  It even has a Buddhist stupa personally blessed by the Dalai Lama.

The whole town has an international, New Age, funky, surfer, beachy feel.  The sort of place where you might find Willie Nelson and friends jamming in a local bar.

What Paia has not had for decades was some place to stay.  It’s only a hop, skip and jump from Maui’s Kahului Airport, but it’s an hour or so by car from the big resort strips in Kaanapali and Wailea, meaning for most visitors Paia was a day trip or a stop on the road to Hana.

Now, however, the Paia Inn has been renovated and reopened by a graphic designer with roots in the hotel business.  Like Paia itself, it’s small (only 12 units, including one 3-bedroom house and another 2-bedroom beachhouse).  And like the town, it’s a bit funky, a bit New Age and a lot stylish.

It’s also seriously beachy.  Baldwin Beach Park is, like all Hawaii beaches, public, but the Inn has access to a secluded cove of it just steps away through private property. There are beach chairs,towels, beach bags, all provided.

What Paia Inn really has going for it is comfort.  Although the upstairs rooms are small, in the manner of buildings built in the 1920s, there’s a pleasant living room with chairs, books, magazines, board games, an iPod playing world music and a computer station where I am currently taking advantage of the free wireless.

Downstairs there’s a full lanai with tables and chairs, in case you’d like to get takeout from any of the restaurants just steps away.  Each morning, the Inn stocks the lanai with coffee, oatmeal and muffins from Anthony’s, the coffeehouse across the street.

The Inn is sunny, bright and filled with art.  The staff leaves a handwritten note in every room, saying that if there’s anything they can do for you, don’t hesitate to ask.  And then they’ll drop a few local apple bananas and some candy on your nightstand, in case you need a quick pick-me-up.  There a plenty of little luxuries, including some of the most comfortable beds you've ever slept on.

The second night, when we returned from a long day working on an upcoming article for HAWAII Magazine, my traveling companion said, “When I walk in here, I start to relax.  It’s like coming home.”

Paia Inn, 93 Hana Highway, Paia, HI 96779, (808) 579-6000.  From $189 to $499 nightly.

 

We gave his personal assistant our advice. Then we waited.

Sort of waited, anyway, to see if Travelocity’s Roaming Gnome would stop by any of the photo op spots we recommended on our HawaiiMagazine.com list of the Top 5 Hawaii places the ceramic icon to all-things-travel-related should visit.

The online travel agency’s pointy-headed mascot has been on a tour of the Islands this past week after voters in a Travelocity online poll selected Hawaii as the latest locale he should visit on his “Summer of Possibilities” publicity tour.

Sadly, on the final day of the gnome's Hawaiian vacation yesterday, we found that our dwarvish fellow traveler had elected to check out only one location on our Top 5 list: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii.

No worries, little guy. A visit to Iao Needle on Maui would've been sweet. But, perhaps, next time.

Still, the Roaming Gnome and his small entourage of handlers did manage to take in a good number of sights on their week-long tour of the Islands. We’ve been following along, and thought we’d share some of our favorite Hawaii shots from the Roaming Gnome’s Facebook photo albums.

Just queue up some Hawaii music on your computer for an apropos soundtrack and enjoy the slideshow below!

A hui hou, R.G.! Malama pono.
 



 

HAWAII Magazine reader Dinah Herrera e-mailed us for some help with a favorite Hawaii dessert:

Can you get me the recipe for the chocolate haupia pie at Anna Miller's restaurant?

You ask. We answer.

Chocolate haupia pie is something of a dessert institution in the Islands.


A chocolate haupia pie combines the popular dessert with rich chocolate and fresh-baked pie crust for an even more delectable dessert.

For the first 15 years of my life, I resisted the idea of a cake for my birthday, opting instead for the rich chocolaty coconutty goodness of chocolate haupia pie.

Oh, the flaky crust, the fudge-y chocolate pudding filling, the haupia rendered rich and creamy, and the whipped cream topping! Having chocolate haupia pie was as exciting as the first day of summer vacation.

In Hawaii, you can order chocolate haupia pie at a variety of locations, including your favorite, Dinah: the open-24-hours-a-day coffee shop Anna Miller's Restaurant in Aiea on Oahu. One of Hawaii's longstanding favorite purveyors of the pie, however, is Ted's Bakery, on the drive to Oahu's famed North Shore surf spots.

Ted's is a great place to stop for a local-style plate lunch and a slice of fresh-made pie before a day at the beaches. Chocolate haupia is just one of several varieties of pies baked up daily at Ted's. Oahu-based Times Supermarkets also stocks Ted's Bakery pies and other brands of chocolate haupia pie to satisfy the sweet tooths of folks who can't make it to the North Shore.

We couldn't procure Anna Miller's chocolate haupia pie recipe for you, Dinah … or Ted's Bakery's recipe, for that matter. Both recipes are kept under lock and key. But give the chocolate haupia pie recipe we found (and modified a bit) a try and let us know if you think it compares.

Click on the next page for the recipe.
 

What’s the first smart move in a down economy for a luxe Big Island of Hawaii resort after completing 15 months of renovations at a cost of $40 million? If you’re the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, it’s enticing folks into experiencing your newly revitalized property with a $1,000 resort credit.

Make a reservation for a minimum four-night stay between Aug. 15 and Sept. 30, 2009, and you’ll get a $1,000 credit towards just about anything you can do at the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai. The list of stuff you can apply your credit to is certainly tempting—spa treatments, ocean activities, golf, dining, room service, and as the resort’s Web site boasts, “Anything you can charge to your room.”

Can’t finish off the entire $1,000 worth of credit on the above extras? The credit will be applied to your account anyway when you check out.

A deal this good usually has a catch, and here’s the catch for this one: There’s only a select list of room categories the deal applies to—all of ‘em ocean-view rooms, which go for anywhere between $775 and $2,850 a night. The Four Seasons Hualalai’s lower-priced garden view rooms—as low as $595 per night—are not eligible for the credit deal.

Still, it's a pretty good deal for a vacation at a resort that has consistently placed among the top-ranked hotel properties in the world since its 1996 opening.

Those brand new Four Seasons Resort Hualalai renovations mentioned above? They include:

• 20 new one- and two-bedroom suites, all newly-furnished, with larger lanais and 180-degree views of the ocean.

• An expanded 28,000 square foot Hualalai Spa—more than double the size of the original spa—offering treatments in both an open-air tropical garden setting, or temperature-controlled indoor setting.

• An expanded oceanfront pool deck.

• A redesigned inside-and-out Beach Tree restaurant, bar and lounge with more ocean views and a menu by new Chef de Cuisine Nick Mastrascusa inspired by fresh, locally-procured ingredients with Italian, Californian and tropical influences.

For more information on the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai $1,000 Resort Credit Deal, or to reserve a room, click here, or call (888) 340-5662.


 

Four massive cranes now tower over the palm trees at the 21-acre West O‘ahu site of the new Disney Vacation Club Resort Hawaii.

Concrete’s been poured for the foundations.  But building 350 hotel rooms and 480 multi-bedroom vacation “villas”—not to mention spas, pools, restaurants, banquet spaces and kids clubs—takes time.  At the moment, there’s just a vast, dusty, busy construction site, surrounded by a green fence.

“We’re magic,” says Disney Vacation Club spokeswoman Diane Hancock.  “But even pixie dust takes time to work.”

The project, first unveiled last October, is on schedule to open in 2011 at Ko Olina Resort & Marina—but Disney is reluctant to say just when in 2011 the resort will start accepting reservations.

There were some worries about how Disney’s powerful corporate brand would collide with a Hawaiian sense of place.  “We realize Hawaii is a unique place to enter with a business,” says Hancock.  “But we’ve been surprised at how graciously we’ve been welcomed to Oahu.”

Part of that welcome may stem from assorted good works: Disney has given $100,000 to local high schools and sponsored the free-movies-on-the-beach program in West Oahu communities.

But will the resort be Disneylike? Or purely Hawaiian?  Or some hybrid of both? “That’s in the hands of our Imagineering Group,” says Hancock.  “We’re doing a lot of listening and learning, so plans are still evolving.”

Click on the next page for Disney’s preliminary artist renderings from that group, and see for yourself:
 

It's a girl!

After finding the photo above  in our email this morning, we couldn’t resist introducing the newest member of the Sea Life Park Hawaii ocean ohana, Waiohakaupo. The healthy bundle of watery joy was born earlier this month to Hiiaka, one of the park’s Atlantic bottlenose dolphins.

The park introduced Waiohakaupo to the public this week with a Hawaiian blessing ceremony. But the photo pretty much shows how Waiohakaupo has been spending much of her time since her birth on July 6—swimming alongside her mom.

The rest of the newborn’s day is mostly spent nursing, said park staff. Waiohakaupo is already a healthy 40 to 45 pounds, and measures a compact 45 inches in length. She’ll grow fast, though. Dolphins can gain as much as seven times their birth weight in the first year of life.

So your best bet to see Waiohakaupo in all her pint-sized cuteness is to stop by the park now. Sea Life Park staffers are offering guided tours of baby and mom. For more info, check out the park’s Web site here.

Waiohakaupo means “joyous life and breath of the waters of Kaupo” in Hawaiian. Kaupo is the name of the beach neighboring Sea Life Park on Makapuu Bay on Oahu’s southeast shore.

  

Hawaiian Airlines has been toasting its 80th birthday all year.

But the Hawaii-based air carrier’s latest celebration of the milestone anniversary is one that could gift you with some actual time in the Islands. Hawaiian Airlines is giving away eight roundtrip coach ticket packages for two between Hawaii and any West Coast city the carrier serves.
 
The tickets are the grand prize in Hawaiian Airlines' “Travel Through Time” contest. Just answer eight questions—matching vintage Hawaiian Airlines flight crew uniforms to the year they were introduced on flights—and you’ll be eligible for the ticket drawing. If your Hawaiian Airlines fashion savvy isn’t up to snuff, don’t worry: A pop culture clue is included to help.

Not that being an expert here matters. Just complete all of the questions and you’ll be eligible for the final drawing—no matter how many answers you get correct.

There is one caveat to the contest: You must be a member of the carrier’s HawaiianMiles membership program to enter. The free program rewards members with travel awards and exclusive deals. Click here for more information.

One winner per week will be announced from now through the contest’s end on Sept. 23, 2009. Click here to enter, or to see if you’ve won. Winners will also be announced on Honolulu radio station KSSK on Friday mornings through contest's end.

Good luck!

 

The cocktail menu for your next summer evening cookout is finally complete!

Here’s the final recipe in our HawaiiMagazine.com-exclusive collection modern tropical cocktails with a fresh-made twist.

You’ll find eight more original cocktail recipes in our Contemporary Tropicals: A Guide to the Best in Island Libations feature, in the July/August 2009 issue of HAWAII Magazine—on newsstands nationwide now. But here on the Web site, we’re sharing four recipes you won’t find in the magazine.

All of our tropical cocktails were created by Royal Hawaiian Hotel master mixologist Joey Gottesman, who was crafting cocktails using fresh, natural ingredients rather than packaged or bottled mixes in Hawaii long before the modern-day cocktail trend took hold around the world.

On your next Waikiki vacation, stop by the Royal Hawaiian Hotel's beachfront Mai Tai Bar (that's the view of Diamond Head from the bar, below) and let Joey know you enjoyed his recipes. Perhaps he'll even craft your favorite for you.

We’ve already shown you how to mix Joey’s Naturally Spiced Margarita, Shanghai Diva and Paradisio. For our last cocktail in our online recipe series, we’re presenting a fresh tropical fruit-infused vodka cocktail refreshing enough for that summer cookout with friends or an evening in front of the TV with Pat and Vanna.


Gottesman created this cocktail for the Wheel of Fortune golf tournament on the Big Island, while the popular game show was filming a month of shows there last year. It’s also an improvement on the classic chi chi—hold the sweet coconut cream, add fresh mango and pineapple instead. The result is less heavy, and twice as refreshing. If you wish, you can still add coconut cream. We wouldn’t, though.

Place these ingredients in a blender:

1½ oz. vodka
2 oz. fresh pineapple
1 oz. mango puree
2 oz. pineapple juice
1 tsp. Secret Spice mixture (see recipe below)

Add ice and blend until smooth. Pour contents into a hurricane glass. Garnish with a skewered pineapple wedge and cherry.

Secret Spice mixture:

1 cup white granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon

Mix ingredients in a bowl until blended evenly.

  

After shutting down for a couple of weeks this month, Waikiki’s Ilikai hotel reopened last Friday with new management and discounted room rates. The celebratory spirit continues this week with a just-announced $50 rate for the first night at the landmark hotel, now managed by Hawaii-based Aqua Hotels & Resorts.

The 203-room Ilikai's new "Hawaii Double Five-O" special shouldn't be confused with the hotel's $97-a-night rates, previously reported here. Guests choosing the "Five-O" deal pay $50 at check-in for the first night of their stay, and receive 50 percent off the hotel’s daily parking rate (typically $18 a day). A minimum stay of three nights is required.

The deal honors a couple of famous "50s" in Hawaii: the Ilikai’s ties with the long-running TV hit Hawaii Five-O—the hotel was notably featured in the show’s intro—and the upcoming 50th anniversary of Hawaii statehood in August.

Reservations must be booked by September 30, for stays from now through December 31, 2009. The deal is based on availability, of course, and cannot be combined with other offers.

For more info on the deal, or to reserve a room, click here, or call (866) 406-2782

 

The fall airfare deals keep coming!

American Airlines is offering low one-way airfares to Honolulu for fall travel from several cities across the U.S. Flight deals from Midwest and East Coast cities served by AA, in particular, were priced the lowest we’ve seen from a national carrier in some time.

The fall is shaping up to be a great time for Mainland U.S.-Hawaii travel, with regard to airfare deals. As posted here in the last week, Delta Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines are offering deals similar to AA's on fall flights to Hawaii for travelers able to book right away.
 
The American Airlines deals below—which do not currently carry an end date to book—are priced one-way:

• $186: San Francisco, CA-Honolulu, HI
• $293: Las Vegas, NV-Honolulu, HI
• $298: San Diego, CA-Honolulu, HI
• $307: Phoenix, AZ-Honolulu, HI
• $318: Philadelphia, PA-Honolulu, HI
• $320: San Antonio, TX-Honolulu, HI
• $332: Nashville, TN-Honolulu, HI
• $336: Miami, FL-Honolulu, HI
• $337: St. Louis, MO-Honolulu, HI

Fares are good for travel from Aug. 22 through Dec. 16, 2009. Taxes, fees and restrictions, of course, apply.

Click here for more info, or to book a reservation.

 

Do ceramic gnomes prefer poi to sticky rice? The summit of Haleakala to the white sands of Wailea? Surfing to hula?

These will likely be among the many questions answered today when online travel agency Travelocity’s Roaming Gnome arrives in Hawaii for a tour of the Islands.

Fans of Hawaii had been voting in an online poll since July 22 to make our state the latest stop on the Travelocity mascot's “Summer of Possibilities” publicity tour. After a week-long match-up pitting Hawaii against Cancun and Jamaica, Hawaii was announced the winning Roaming Gnome vacation spot yesterday with 46 percent of the vote—56,470 votes total. Cancun was a close second with 52,057 votes. Jamaica, we’re told, was never really in the race.

The benefit for Hawaii from the little dude’s visit? Whatever national attention is generated by a semi-iconic traveling corporate gnome posing next to well-known Hawaii landmarks.

Travelocity will be sending its gnome—fresh from a few days roaming the tour’s last winning locale, Philadelphia, PA—around the Islands for photo ops at scenic Hawaii spots, perhaps having him participate in a few time-honored Hawaii activities.

Updates on the Roaming Gnome’s Hawaii travels will be posted on his much-followed official homepage, Facebook and Twitter pages. (Yes, the gnome's a social networking addict.) A visit to a traditional hula show is already scheduled for the gnome and his—no kidding—personal assistant. But fans can still leave suggestions for Hawaii photo stops at any of the gnome's above Web pages.

Because HAWAII Magazine would never pass up an opportunity to help a first-time Hawaii traveler in need of some guidance, we figured we’d offer the dwarfish sojourner some travel suggestions, too. So here’s a Top 5 list of Hawaii places and activities we’d recommend to a ceramic gnome hoofing it across the state with a photographer in tow.

E komo mai!

1. A hike to the top of Diamond Head Crater, Oahu. One guesses the little guy would look remarkably larger of stature standing at the crater’s pinnacle with a backdrop of Waikiki and urban Honolulu (photo, middle) behind him. Suddenly big gnome in the foreground. Suddenly small buildings in the distance.

2. A bowl of saimin with grilled teri-beef sticks at Hamura Saimin, Lihue, Kauai. A gnome’s gotta eat … we think. So when he’s done with a long day taking in Kauai's scenic beauty, we'd recommend he consider posing next to a large bowl of Hamura's famed noodles in broth and the state's best teri-beef sticks. It's always better to eat where the locals eat.

3. Kilauea Volcano, Big Island of Hawaii. We’re thinking photos at the Halemaumau Crater overlook and a few snaps right on the Puna coastline where molten lava still enters the ocean. We hear gnomes dig forces of nature.

4. Iao Needle, Iao Valley State Park, Maui. Juxtaposing the gnome’s red pointy hat with the lush, towering natural rock pinnacle? Genius.

5. Lanikai Beach, Kailua, Oahu.  We're seeing a pic of the gnome enjoying one of the best white sand beaches on Oahu, while contemplating a view of the just offshore Mokulua Islands. Look at the gnome-less Lanikai Beach pic above and just imagine the possibilities.
 
 

Considering a last minute escape to the islands this fall? These fares will convince you to do it. But you’ll have to book now.

Hawaiian Airlines is offering reduced fares as low as $370 for roundtrip flights from 12 western U.S. cities it flies to: 

• $585: Las Vegas, NV – Honolulu, HI
• $458: Los Angeles, CA – Honolulu, HI
• $454: Oakland, CA – Honolulu, HI
• $374: Phoenix, AZ – Honolulu, HI
• $370: Portland, OR – Honolulu, HI
• $498: Sacramento, CA – Honolulu, HI
• $530: San Diego, CA – Honolulu, HI
• $454: San Francisco, CA – Honolulu, HI
• $434: San Jose, CA – Honolulu, HI
• $398: Seattle, WA – Honolulu, HI
• $448: Portland, OR – Maui, HI
• $418: Seattle, WA – Maui, HI $418

The fares are valid for travel between August 22 and December 11, 2009. Just don’t take too long deliberating your Hawaiian getaway.

Your last chance to book flights at the prices above is July 31. That’s right, you only have three days left!

Click here for more info and reservations.
  

The Ilikai has been generating its own drama of late: foreclosures, closings, reopenings. But it became an icon in 1968 when a brand new TV cop drama named Hawaii Five-O used it as part of its title sequence.

Jack Lord was still an obscure TV actor when, as Det. Steve McGarrett, he stood on Ilikai’s 30th floor balcony—an aerial camera zooming in on him (or, if you look closely, it’s probably a double in a dark suit). The real Lord then turned to pose tousle-haired with Diamond Head outlined over his shoulder. All set to Morton Stevens’ pulsing theme song. (If you haven’t seen it in a long time, watch the video below.)

The Ilikai, Hawaii’s first luxury high-rise hotel, was at the time the newest, most striking building in Waikiki, designed by architect John Graham, who created the futuristic Space Needle for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair.

The force behind the Ilikai was another Hawaii legend—Chinn Ho. Ho, who died in 1987, began by working in his father’s Waikiki rice fields and ended a real estate tycoon. He’s credited with breaking down many barriers to Asians in Hawaii business.

Ho persuaded 20 of his classmates from the McKinley High School class of 1924 to invest a certain amount of money with him each month. That money built the luxury 1,050-room condo and hotel complex.

Hawaii Five-O gave a nod to the real Chinn Ho: The character played by actor Kam Fong was named Chin Ho Kelly.  Of course, the show was full of Hawaii in-jokes. The arch-villain of the series was Wo Fat, named after a prominent Chinatown restaurant.

There were some scenes later filmed at the Ilikai pool, but in general, it was those few seconds of film that made the Ilikai a worldwide recognizable location.
  

The great airfare deals to Hawaii keep coming.

Delta Airlines, and its Northwest Airlines subsidiary, are offering one-way fares to Honolulu, Oahu, from select Mainland U.S. cities for as low as $163, for travel between August 22 and December 16, 2009.

Make your reservations at least 14 days prior to your departure, but no later than August 5, 2009, and you’ll be able to take advantage of these each-way airfare deals:

•  $163: Seattle, WA-Honolulu, HI

•  $218: Portland, OR-Honolulu, HI

•  $231: Los Angeles, CA-Honolulu, HI

•  $273: Salt Lake City, UT-Honolulu, HI

•  $316: Kansas City, MO-Honolulu, HI

•  $325: Atlanta, GA-Honolulu, HI

•  $326: Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN-Honolulu, HI

•  $335: Detroit-Wayne County, MI-Honolulu, HI

Click here for more info and reservations.
 
 

It’s the 50th anniversary of the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament, which draws fishermen from across the planet to Kona on the Big Island Hawaii.

HAWAII Magazine was there this week on the water. We spent 11 hours Thursday, and another 8 hours today, on the 38-foot Night Runner. There was lots of action, and lots of 3-to-5-hour long fights to land fish, as we zipped from one of the 41 contestant boats to the next, trying to catch all the action.

The busiest day for most contestants was Thursday, which dawned voggy and overcast on the Kona side, but when we got 3 to 5 miles out started to clear to blue skies. Most of the fish were caught in the afternoon, just as the tide shifted.

By evening, the surf churned up, and conditions got rough. Boats were supposed to land in Kailua-Kona town, where the weigh-in usually happens. But Night Runner and other boats that did not have a catch to weigh in were diverted to the dock at the Sheraton Keauhou Hotel, further south.

Anglers have to catch and release all fish less than 400 pounds; only the biggest swordfish and marlin make it back to the weigh-in.  

The largest fish of the tournament so far (and it looks unlikely that there will be any surprises on this last day) was a 566.5 pound marlin landed by 74-year-old Sam Spinello of the Malibu Marlin Club. Big, yes. But that was still under the 973-pound Pacific blue marlin that was the biggest last year, the second largest in tournament history.

Big as it was, Malibu Marlin Club's catch also wasn't enough to win it the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament crown. That honor went to Kona Game Fishing Club-Bellhope from Japan, which lead the final point count for largest week-long total catch. North Carolina's Old South Marlin Club #4 took second place. California's Malibu Marlin Club took third place.

You can see video we shot of Sam Spinello's weigh-in with the monster marlin below.

Look for a feature on this granddaddy of all big-game fishing tournaments in an upcoming issue of HAWAII Magazine.


 

Waikiki's iconic Ilikai hotel, has gone through a volatile period as of late—closing, restructuring staff and announcing it would be reopening again—all in a matter of weeks. The hotel officially reopened to guests today, and with discounted room rates to boot.

On July 9, the Ilikai’s owners, New York-based iStar Financial, shuttered the 203-room hotel portion of the property after just a day's notice, leaving guests and staff in the dark about the hotel’s future.

A day later, iStar negotiated a new deal with the union representing the hotel workers, reviving the hotel almost as quickly as it closed. iStar announced earlier this week that the Ilikai would reopen today.

To announce it's back in business, the Ilikai is offering rates as low as at $97 for a city-view room.

The rates are available for middle-of-the-week-only stays in single and double occupancy rooms, and are valid only for reservations booked over the phone. Rates are also based on room availability. For more information, or to find out the status of a past reservation, call (866) 406-2782.

IStar has appointed Aqua Resorts as the Ilikai’s new management company.  Aqua is a familiar and expanding brand in Waikiki; its 12 properties include the Aqua Waikiki Pearl, the Aqua Palms and the Equus, all in Waikiki. Aqua also manages Maui’s Hotel Wailea and the Aqua Hotel Molokai.

iStar also announced today that Aqua Resorts would immediately take over management of its 350-room Hilton Kauai Beach Resort in Lihue.

Aqua insists the Ilikai's iconic name will remain the same.

 

HAWAII Magazine reader Christine Page wrote us with a question about one of our favorite subjects.

Are there any one-day cooking classes on Oahu that specialize in teaching Hawaiian cuisine?

You ask. We answer.

Hawaiian cuisine is a broad concept. To some, Hawaiian food is the cuisine you find at a traditional luau—lomi salmon, kalua pig, poi, laulau, etc. For others, it is a contemporary fusion of flavors from the Islands' multicultural population.

You can find culinary classes specializing in the flavors of Hawaii at Kapiolani Community College in Honolulu. Some of Hawaii’s best known chefs have trained at the college's Culinary Arts Department; Alan Wong, Sam Choy and Wayne Hirabayashi—of the Kahala Resort's Hoku's restaurant—among them.

KCC's Continuing Education program offers several non-credit cooking classes. Classes run 3 to 4 hours a day and cost roughly $50 to $60 per class. Topics range from barbeque to classic French cuisine. Instructors are culinary program alumni and other chefs, and a culinary team is available for assistance at any time.

But for a hands-on course on the Hawaii foods that residents enjoy at home, check out KCC’s Cooking Local classes. The series offers instruction on preparing Island favorites such as kalbi shortribs and shoyu chicken—familiar dishes that are delicious, yet require some skill to prepare.

“People know what they like. And they like comfort food,” says Frank Gonzales, head of KCC’s culinary education department.

Cooking Local chef-instructor Grant Sato heads these comfort food courses. His next class—"Braised Favorites," on Aug. 1—will teach the dry heat/moist cooking process used in preparing Hawaii favorites like Okinawan shoyu pork, oxtail stew and chicken adobo.

The best part of class? You take home the leftovers.

For another uniquely Hawaiian food experience, we recommend Chef Sato’s "Living Off the Land Culinary Tour" on Aug. 8. Students will visit Aloun Farms in West Oahu to pick their own fruits and vegetables. The day ends with Chef Sato doing a cooking demonstration and tasting.

Click here for a complete listing of KCC’s summer class schedule. A class schedule for the fall semester should be posted on KCC’s Web site soon. Fall classes begin in August.

For more information click here, or call the KCC registrar at 734-9211.

Interested in preparing Hawaiian-style cuisine that's a bit more "health conscious," at home? Check out A DASH of Aloha: Healthy Hawaii Cuisine and Lifestyle, compiled and written by instructors at Kapiolani Community College's Culinary Arts Department. It's published by HAWAII Magazine sister company Watermark Publishing. Click here for our write-up about the book.


 

He has 37 restaurants, a James Beard award and a name recognized the world over. But can Roy Yamaguchi lay claim to the title of Bravo’s Top Chef?

Find out tonight as the celebrated chef—who launched his Roy’s Restaurants empire in the East Oahu town of Hawaii Kai—competes against 23 of his culinary peers in Top Chef Masters, a spinoff of the popular Bravo series Top Chef.

The 24 chefs compete in six opening-round episodes—four chefs in each episode. Similar to the original Top Chef, tonight’s participants will test their skills in opening-round Quickfire and Elimination challenges. Only one of the chefs will be selected at episode’s end to move on to the Champions round. In that round, the six chefs who won their respective first-round contests face off until a winner is crowned.

Tonight, Yamaguchi will compete in the Quickfire challenge, “Aisle Trial,” which pits the chefs against each other in a grocery store. The Elimination contest, “Trick in a Box” will challenge Roy and the other chefs to make a meal based on ingredients in a mystery box.

Yamaguchi’s all-star competition tonight? Michael Cimarusti, Jonathan Waxman and Art Smith. Smith was once personal chef to Oprah Winfrey.

The chefs invited to Top Chef Masters are well-established, with multiple restaurants, cookbooks, television shows and countless accolades to their name. If Roy makes it to the Champions round, things won’t get any easier. Chefs Hubert Keller, Suzanne Tracht, Rick Bayless, Anita Lo and Michael Chiarello—who have already won opening round competitions—will be waiting for him.

The grand prize at the end of all of this is $100,000 for the winning chef’s charity of choice—along with some serious bragging rights in whatever circles all-star chefs hang out in. Yamaguchi is competing for Hawaii-based non-profit Imua Family Services, which helps children with special needs on Maui and Lanai.

Imua Family Services gets $10,000 if Yamaguchi emerges victorious tonight.

Should Roy bring his signature chocolate soufflé to the table, we know he’ll have as a good shot of winning as anyone.

Catch Top Chef Masters on Bravo network at 10 p.m. Eastern time and Pacific time; 7 p.m., Hawaii Time. 

 

When we last left The Bachelorette on Maui a week ago, Jillian Harris had given bachelor Reid the kiss-off, guaranteeing spots for Ed and Kiptyn in the final rose ceremony on the July 27 season finale.

But wait! Was that really Reid twirling an engagement ring on a recent Bachlorette finale preview, aiming to further confuse Jillian’s already loopy heart and mind?

Will Reid’s return mark the end of the road for Ed and Kiptyn?

Will Ed and Kiptyn, faced with Reid’s return, get medieval on their just-exiled fellow suitor?

Will Kiptyn win because we like his name?

We care. Really we do. But the real reason we’re tuning in to the season-ending episode of ABC’s The Bachelorette is to see how much superb Big Island of Hawaii scenery its producers manage to squeeze in between Jillian’s thought-provoking musings on life, love and "how Kiptyn operates in a team." The dating-competition reality series filmed its entire finale on the Big Island in May, after ditching Reid on Maui.

The finale rose ceremony—where Jillian chooses our man Kiptyn (fingers crossed)—will take place at a private oceanfront luxury estate on the Big Island’s sun-kissed South Kohala Coast. That’s right, paving the way for yet another oceanside aloha a la Reid’s bye-bye at Maui’s Olowalu Plantation House.

Where else on the Big Island will Jillian, Kiptyn, Ed and, perhaps, Reid head off to on their adventures? We've sussed out a few details about:

• Dinner dates and private time in, no doubt, oceanfront suites at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, the Fairmont Orchid Hawaii and the newly-reopened Mauna Kea Beach Hotel.

• A Sunshine Helicopters tour of Kilauea volcano lava flows entering the sea along the Big Island's Puna coastline. Pics of the flow here. Video of the flow here.

• A post helicopter-tour private barbecue beside an undisclosed secluded waterfall north of Hilo, courtesy of KapohoKine Adventures. We’re told the helicopter lands beside the waterfall. KapohoKine Adventures is already sharing on its Web site that Jillian and one of the bachelors did some kayaking, frolicking and champagne-imbibing at the site. And yes, you can take the same tour with KapohoKine Adventures, too.

• A high-speed raft ride along the Kona Coast to a “remote black sand beach,” again undisclosed, with Captain Zodiac Rafting Adventures. The Captain’s web site shares that Jillian and, one presumes, the other bachelor were left alone (with a film crew, of course) at the beach for a picnic and a day of paddle boarding. You can take this private tour with Captain Zodiac, as well.

All other episode details—save for that Reid-is-back-with-a-possible-engagement-ring spoiler—are being kept hidden from Bachelorette fans by valiant ABC execs.

Watch the two-hour Big Island of Hawaii finale of The Bachelorette with us on Monday, July 27 (8 p.m. East coast time/West coast time; 7 p.m., Hawaii time) to see who goes where with whom, and who gets the final rose.

As for our competition dark horse, a personal note:

It’s true, Kiptyn. The only thing we find even remotely interesting about you is your name. But for our money, that’s more than enough reason to wish you all the best on Monday.

Unless Reid shows up ring in hand. Then you're on your own.

  

A telescope powerful enough to offer a time machine’s glimpse into the beginnings of the universe will be built on the summit of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea.

A consortium of United States and Canadian universities today announced that the summit of the dormant Big Island of Hawaii volcano would be home to its $1.2 billion Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT)—billed as the world’s largest optical telescope. Mauna Kea’s summit complex of observatories had been in close competition with Cerro Armazones mountain in Chile’s Atacama Desert for the telescope.

Currently home to 13 international telescopes, Mauna Kea is a hotspot for Earth-based astronomical studies. Towering high above the clouds at 13,796 feet, Mauna Kea’s summit offers pristine night skies more than 300 days a year. The mountain’s relatively isolated location from Big Island cities Hilo and Kailua-Kona leave the summit largely devoid of air and light pollution.

The consortium of universities, called the Thirty Meter Telescope Observatory Corp., selected Mauna Kea for its mild atmospheric conditions, wind patterns and low average temperatures.

When construction of the telescope is completed in 2018, the TMT’s lens-like mirror will stretch 30 meters—or nearly 100 feet—in diameter, allowing it to collect 10 times more light than other Earth-based telescopes. This all translates into some serious stargazing.

By comparison, the Keck and Keck II telescopes—also atop Mauna Kea—are currently among the world’s largest and most powerful optical telescopes, yet their mirrors only measure 10 meters each.

Scientists hope the TMT will offer them views up to 13 billion light years away—a distance so great that they'll essentially be going back in time to witness the first stars and galaxies forming.  

The TMT mirror’s size and design will also correct the blurring effect of Earth’s atmosphere, allowing the telescope to study the Universe as clearly as if the telescope were orbiting in space.

It will take some time for construction of the TMT to begin on Mauna Kea. A formal proposal from TMT Corp. still needs to be drafted and submitted to the Hawaii State Department of Land and Natural Resources. The Thirty Meter Telescope Observatory Corp. is made up of the University of California, the California Institute of Technology and the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy.

Want to see what the summit of Mauna Kea looks like? Click here for video of a sunset trip HAWAII Magazine took to the summit in June 2008.

 

The longest total solar eclipse of the century will send the Sun’s shadow speeding across half the world today, beginning in northern India, moving across China, Nepal and Japan and finishing out in the Pacific Ocean.

Darkness will engulf Shanghai and several large cities in China and India for more than five minutes. At the eclipse’s peak, somewhere southwest of Japan near the Bonin Islands, the moon will block the sun completely for 6 minutes and 39 seconds—the longest duration of the entire eclipse.

What does any of this have to do with Hawaii?

We’ll get to experience a tiny part of the huge celestial event when the northernmost edge of the eclipse’s shadow moves over the Hawaiian Islands this afternoon creating a partial eclipse.

Look toward the sun in Hawaii today at about 5:20 p.m. and—if skies are cloud-free—you’ll see the moon take a small bite of about 10 percent of the sun.

It won’t get dark. If you forget you read this, you won’t even know its happening. And the entire experience here will be over in 55 minutes, at about 6:14 p.m.

But for folks who couldn’t follow the thousands of eclipse chasers who flocked to India, Nepal and China this week for the best views, it’ll still be kind of cool.

Click here for Hawaii viewing instructions courtesy of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. It is unsafe to view a partial eclipse with the naked eye.

The last total solar eclipse visible in Hawaii happened on July 11, 1991, engulfing the entire Big Island of Hawaii in darkness for more than six minutes, and the remote east Maui towns of Kipahulu and Kaupo for slightly less.

Thousands of visitors inundated the Big Island for that one. But don’t rush to make your air and hotel reservations for Hawaii’s next total solar eclipse. It won’t occur until May 3, 2106.


  

Is multimillionaire developer Donald Trump's name still attached to a high-rise luxury Waikiki condominium-hotel nearing completion?

That's one of the questions being asked by a handful of condo buyers in a recently filed lawsuit against Irongate Capital Partners, project developers of the property initially called the Trump International Hotel & Tower.

The property recently got a new name: Trump International Hotel Waikiki Beach Walk. We've got an update on the lawsuit and the status of Trump's name on the project.

The lawsuit alleges that California-based Irongate misled potential buyers by referring to Trump as a co-developer of the 38-story “condotel.” Trump is only licensing his name to the project—the first in Hawaii that would bear his much-recognized moniker.

In the event the Trump license is terminated, all references to Trump’s name would be removed from the property. The absence of the Trump brand would likely cause a huge depreciation in buyers’ original investment.

Honolulu attorney Warren Price III, who is representing the 11 plaintiffs, argues Irongate concealed the terms and conditions of the Trump license agreement—facts that should have been provided before buyers signed their sales contracts.  The 11 buyers now seek to cancel their contracts—which required a 20 percent deposit for units that ranged in price from $460,000 to $9 million.

All 464 units in the tower, at the Diamond Head end of Fort DeRussy, were sold hours after going on sale in November 2006. Touted as one of the biggest single-day sales in real estate history, the units are valued at nearly $700 million total.

However, with the nationwide decline in real estate, it’s unlikely that the units are now worth what buyers promised to pay for them, even with the Trump name attached.

This isn’t the first Trump-Irongate project with legal trouble. A similar condotel in Baja was abandoned earlier this year. Trump filed a lawsuit against Irongate, fueling concern from investors that Trump may pull out of other licensing agreements.

At this point, however, that’s speculation. Representatives from PR firm Middleton & Gendron told HawaiiMagazine.com that the real estate mogul’s name is still attached to the Waikiki project.

They also confirm construction of the tower will be completed in September 2009, as scheduled. Reservations are already being taken online for dates as early as November 16, at rates between $255 and $1,700 per night. For more information, click here.

We’ll keep you posted as more news on the Trump Waikiki property develops.
 

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but now it can also win you a free trip to Hawaii.

Consider this a friendly reminder that you have less than a month to send in your entries for HAWAII Magazine’s 11th annual photo contest. Entries must be postmarked by Aug. 7, 2009.

As always, we’re looking for great photos shot in our amazing collection of islands; pics of its places, people, wildlife, plant life, happenings, sunsets, moon rises, surf, really … anything. Just make sure the photo was taken in Hawaii.

One lucky photographer will win our grand prize: a trip for two to Oahu courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines, and a six-day, five-night stay at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach Hotel in Waikiki.

We've got additional prizes for our first and second-prize winners, too—cash and gift packages from The Kona Coffee and Tea Company, The Mountain Apple Company and Watermark Publishing.

We’ll also show other HAWAII Magazine readers how amazing our winning and finalist photos are by publishing the pics in our January/February 2010 issue, and on HawaiiMagazine.com. Need some inspiration? Click here for a slideshow of last year's collection of photo contest winners and finalists.

You can enter up to two photos in each of the contest’s four categories—Oahu, Maui, Big Island and Kauai. Click here for a complete list of photo contest rules.

Photos sent to our HawaiiMagazine.com Reader Photo of the Week contest may also be entered into the annual contest.

Did we already say that you now have less than a month to enter?

Just checking.

Get your photo in now and you could be getting on a plane to Hawaii!

A big mahalo to all of our 11th annual HAWAII Magazine Photo Contest sponsors! Please click on their links above to find out more about them.

 

HAWAII Magazine reader “C.C.” wrote us to ask how she could make one of her favorite Hawaii snacks at home.

Do you have a recipe to make poke? My husband and I love to eat the version of it made with raw tuna.

You ask. We Answer.

There’s nothing better than heading to the beach first thing Saturday morning (or even late afternoon) with a cooler full of icy drinks and fresh poke. The basic poke mixture of cubed raw ahi (tuna), salty seaweed, and crunchy sweet onions is so delicious and refreshing, I’m salivating just writing about it. 

The word poke (pronounced poh-keh) is Hawaiian, meaning “to slice or cut crosswise into pieces.” The poke first eaten by native Hawaiians was a simple mixture of raw fish, Hawaiian salt, seaweed and chopped kukui nuts (called inamona in Hawaiian).  Post-colonial contact, that basic recipe got a bit more interesting with the introduction of onions and, sometimes, tomatoes to the mix.

Go to most fish markets in Hawaii today and you’ll find a wide selection of poke—from tako (octopus) with ginger and garlic to tofu in shoyu with watercress and tomato. We’ve seen poke recipes with raw crab, cooked shrimp, clams, smoked salmon, pipi kaula (dried and smoked beef), even seared ribeye steak. There are now hundreds of poke recipes in Hawaii for every kind of taste.

On the next page is an easy recipe for classic ahi shoyu poke with ingredients even our friends on the Mainland can find. Just be sure to seek out freshly caught tuna to make it.

 

Time for the third recipe in our HawaiiMagazine.com-exclusive collection of tropical cocktails with a fresh-made, modern twist.

If you’re a subscriber, perhaps you've already crafted one or more of the eight cocktail recipes in our Contemporary Tropicals: A Guide to the Best in Island Libations feature. It's a full menu of delicious, made-for-summer cocktail recipes in the July/August 2009 issue of HAWAII Magazine—on newsstands nationwide now.

Our tropical cocktails—all using fresh, natural ingredients rather than packaged or bottled mixes—were created by Royal Hawaiian Hotel master mixologist Joey Gottesman.

Joey’s been our favorite Hawaii mixologist for some time. We’ve hung with him at the Royal Hawaiian’s beachfront Mai Tai Bar while he mixed his Contemporary Tropicals cocktails for staff photographer David Croxford to shoot. We’ve been on TV with him when our cocktail guide was featured on Honolulu morning show Sunrise on KGMB9. We’ve even occasionally chatted libations with Joey at the Mai Tai Bar pau hana (after work).

So on a recent evening visit I was seriously elated when Joey (pictured below) divulged that a number of HAWAII Magazine readers had already dropped by the Mai Tai Bar asking to try the cocktails featured in the new issue. One Royal Hawaiian Hotel guest on the first afternoon of his vacation even informed Joey that he would dedicate each day of his stay to a single cocktail from the feature: Monday? Flash-Infused Sweet Thai Basil Martinis. Tuesday? Royal Mai Tais. Wednesdays? Grapefruit Caipiroskas. Etc. Etc.

We knew you’d all appreciate Joey’s recipes. But we’re even more thrilled to learn that a few of you have been seeking out Joey and the Royal Hawaiian’s Mai Tai Bar on your Waikiki vacations, or on a night out. Joey digs your appreciation, too.

Here on the Web site, we’ve already shown you how to mix Joey’s Naturally Spiced Margarita and Shanghai Diva. Today we’re presenting a refreshing Italian and French liqueur-infused libation, ideal for enjoying with a sunset anywhere in the world.


Tread lightly here. This light, sparkling cocktail will whisk your mind away to a tropical paradise. It’s one of our favorite Joey originals, because it balances the sweetness of Chambord (a French black raspberry liqueur) and Tuaca (an Italian liqueur with notes of vanilla and orange) with the dry effervescence of prosecco and tart lemon oils. Simple elegance.

Place these ingredients into the mixer glass of a Boston shaker, filled with ice cubes:

1 oz. Tuaca
Juice from two fresh lemon wedges
½ tsp. white granulated sugar
1 oz. water

Bruise contents in a Boston shaker, and strain cocktail into a chilled martini glass.

Drop through the center of the cocktail glass:

¼ oz. Chambord

Add as a float:

1 oz. prosecco

Garnish with a fresh lemon twist.

  

HAWAII Magazine reader Nolan Pahud wrote to ask us about the renovation status of two of his favorite eateries in Hanalei Bay, Kauai.

What is the status of the change of ownership or renovation of the Bali Hai Restaurant and Happy Talk Lounge in Princeville? We visited the Hanalei Bay Resort—where the restaurant and lounge are located—last September and heard that it was going to close for remodeling, too. What da scoops, brah? We plan to return to Kauai again this September.

You ask. We answer.

You should also know that you aren’t the only one asking. Both the Bali Hai Restaurant and Happy Talk Lounge, in Princeville, Kauai, have been closed for renovations since last year, leaving residents and visitors clamoring for the speedy reopening of their favorite hangouts. 

Florida-based timeshare company Celebrity Resorts purchased the management contract for Hanalei Bay Resort in August of last year. The Bali Hai Restaurant and Happy Talk Lounge were included in that purchase.

Celebrity has since faced numerous obstacles with both the hotel property and the eateries in terms of licensing. There’s also rancor between Celebrity and the resort’s condo owners, who voted to force out the management company earlier this year.

There’s some good news, Nolan.

The Happy Talk Lounge quietly reopened for business this past weekend, with their popular menu of tropical cocktails and pupu (snacks) intact. The lounge again features nightly live entertainment and weekly happy hour specials, and still claims remarkable views of the north shore Kauai sunset. 

The Bali Hai Restaurant, unfortunately, still does not have an opening date. The resort’s former management company Quintus Resorts closed the restaurant before transferring the contract to Celebrity, which has since been working toward reopening Bali Hai Restaurant. Celebrity is citing liquor license issues for the delay.

  

Japan’s Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will touch down in Honolulu today for a three-day Hawaii visit—their first trip to the Islands in 15 years.

The imperial couple will spend Tuesday and Wednesday on Oahu and Thursday on the Big Island of Hawaii. Their arrival today follows an 11-day goodwill visit to Canada.

The official Hawaii schedule for Emperor Akihito, 75, and Empress Michiko, 74, is a bit lighter than their Canadian one—a whirlwind week during which the royal couple had a small handful of official functions every day.

After arriving at Hickam Air Force Base on Oahu on Tuesday afternoon, the imperial couple is scheduled to briefly visit the site in Waikiki’s Kapiolani Park where they planted a shower tree on a 1960 visit. The park visit is the imperial couple's only scheduled public appearance in Hawaii. Their motorcade is expected to arrive between 3:30 and 3:45 p.m.

On Wednesday, the Emperor and Empress will attend a private wreath-laying ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Punchbowl Crater. (The cemetery will be closed to the public from 8 a.m. to at least noon for the visit.) Lunch will follow with Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle at Washington Place—the historic house museum that was the state’s official governor’s residence until 2002.

In the evening, the imperial couple will attend a banquet celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Crown Prince Akihito Scholarship Program, at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki. The annual scholarship—established when Akihito was still crown prince—offers students from Japan an opportunity to study at the University of Hawaii, and UH students the opportunity to study in Japan. The evening will also celebrate the imperial couple’s 50th wedding anniversary.

The Emperor and Empress will spend both nights on Oahu at the Kahala Hotel & Resort.

The royal couple have only two stops on their six-hour Big Island schedule on Thursday—a morning greeting from a gathering of Japanese-American Big Island residents at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, and a lunch reception co-hosted by the Ambassador of Japan and the Consul General of Japan, at Parker Ranch in the ranching town of Waimea.

Before both stops, the couple will be welcomed at Kona International Airport on Thursday morning to performances by hula halau (hula troupes) and a chant composed in honor of their visit by Kekuhi Kealiikanakaolehaililani, granddaughter of renowned kumu hula (hula teacher) Edith Kanakaole. They will depart Kona for Japan on Thursday afternoon.

For security reasons, no times were provided for the imperial couple’s Hawaii schedule. Oahu residents and visitors should anticipate traffic delays and road closures as the couple’s motorcade makes its way around Honolulu on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The 125th Emperor of Japan, Akihito ascended Japan’s Chrysanthemum Throne in 1989 following the death of Emperor Hirohito (known posthumously in Japan as Emperor Showa), who had reigned since 1926.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko last visited the Islands in 1994.
  

HAWAII Magazine reader Beth Morrison wrote us with a culinary quest:

I have been to Hawaii several times and I absolutely love the Islands. I love coconut turnovers.  One of my favorite places to get one is this little bakery on the other side of the International Market Place. I even stop there before I return home, to buy all of the coconut turnovers I can bring home with me. Now that I’m back in California, I crave them all the time. Can you help by getting me a recipe to make the coconut filling so I can make my own?

You ask, we answer.
 
You're talking about the Waikiki location of Saint-Germain Bakery, which is on the mauka (towards the mountains) side of the International Market Place. This Japanese-owned French bakery was founded in 1977 and is a favorite with residents for their freshly baked breads, elaborate cakes and pies, famous chiffons, and delectable pastries. 
 
Searching for the recipe for your coveted coconut turnovers, we called the general manager of Saint-Germain America's main factory in Honolulu, Mr. Sato. He didn’t give us a first name. He also insisted that the recipe was a secret, but we managed to persuade him to describe the process of creating the coconut filling.  

The factory finely chops frozen fresh coconut and then caramelizes it in a pan with liquid sugar. Your local Asian food market should have frozen coconut.  If they don't, you can substitute dried shredded coconut as long as you rehydrate it first by soaking the shreds in hot water for about half an hour before cooking.

The key in making the filling, Mr. Sato asserts, is to not overcook the coconut before it goes into the oven.  It should only be cooked "halfway" before the filling is placed between the pastry dough. The coconut finishes carmelizing during baking, which takes about 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven. That may sound like a long time to some, but Mr. Sato insists that the slow baking enhances the flavor of the filling.  

For the pastry dough, use a package of all-butter frozen puff pastry (1 or 2 sheets, depending on the brand). This will leave you with a delicious, flakey crust, much like the one at Saint-Germain.  

Good luck with your culinary escapades!

Saint-Germain Bakery has five locations on Oahu: in Times Supermarket in Kahala, at 2301 Kuhio Avenue in Waikiki, at Shirokiya department store and ground level at Ala Moana Center, and at 1296 South Beretania Street.

  

It took 5 days, 14 hours, 36 minutes and 20 seconds for the monohull yacht Alfa Romeo to travel the 2,225-nautical miles between Point Fermin, California, and Honolulu, Hawaii.

But when it crossed the Diamond Head, Oahu, finish line of the Transpacific Yacht Race at 12:36 a.m. today, its elapsed time smashed the previous course record by more than a day.

Alfa Romeo crew member Stan Honey credited the record crossing time to steady winds on the course that never abated. The sailboat posted distances of 400-nautical miles each day of the race, save for its fourth day.

The 100-foot yacht owned by one-time-Hawaii resident Neville Crichton was helmed by a crew of 16 for the Transpac race. The previous Transpac course record was 6 days, 16 hours, 4 minutes and 11 seconds, set in 2005 by Hasso Plattner’s Morning Glory.

The Transpacific Yacht Race is held every two years. There are 47 boats entered in the 2009 race. You can follow them live via satellite here.


  

Want to know what a Hawaiian night marcher really is?  

True stories of personal encounters with the legendary afterlife protectors are part of what you’ll learn on “Whispering Walls of Waimea”—an evening journey into the spiritual and historical side of Oahu’s Waimea Valley.

The new two-hour tour is led by Mysteries of Honolulu storyteller and Hawaiian historian Lopaka Kapanui. Kapanui studied under the late, well-known Hawaii ghost storyteller Glen Grant.  

Kapanui’s first “Whispering Walls” tour happens Saturday (7/11) at 6:30 p.m., continuing once a month through March. We were fortunate to be invited on an advance tour.

“Storytelling has always been in my blood for many, many years,” says Kapanui, “but it’s a great kuleana (responsibility) to be able to share the history of this place. To be chosen to do something like this is a tremendous responsibility.”

Kapanui’s walking tour through Waimea Valley is not your ordinary ghost tour. During our sunset walk through the valley, he shared stories and legends of the kahuna (Hawaiian priests) that once lived there, and described many of the abundant pohaku aumakua (guardian spirit rocks). We also learned about the spirits of children, he said, still dwell in the lush valley’s many trees. (I could’ve sworn one of the children touched my head seconds after he invited them to join us on the tour).

Our tour began in the early evening with Kapanui chanting a Hawaiian prayer at a sacred heiau, and finished after dark, deep in the valley next to its famous waterfall. According to legend, a female spirit—a giant mo‘o (lizard)—resides at the bottom of the 30-foot-deep pool.

Fortunately, we didn’t see her.

“I cannot tell you how grateful I am for Lopaka taking this on, accepting the challenge to bring the valley to life in a different way,” says Waimea Valley director Gail Ann Chew. The entirety of Waimea Valley is managed by the non-profit Hawaiian cultural and natural resource preservation entity Hiipaka.

“This tour allows us to share a different side of the valley with the community,” says Chew.

Dinner is available for purchase, pre-ordered when you make your reservation—mini pork lau lau plates prepared by Waimea Falls Grill. (It’s a long drive from Honolulu to Waimea Valley on Oahu’s North Shore. You might want to consider pre-ordering.) Lighter fare is available too: coconut shrimp, ahi poke, veggie Thai noodles and more.

The “Whispering Walls” tour is $50 for adults, and $35 for children between the ages of 12 and 16. Tours are limited to 50 participants; reservations are required. When it gets dark, you’ll be happy that flashlights are passed out beforehand.

If you miss this month’s tour, here’s the rest of the 2009 schedule: Aug. 29, Sept. 26, Oct. 24 and Nov. 14.

A 2010 schedule hasn’t been finalized yet, but we’ll keep you updated.

For reservations or more information, call (808) 638-7766 or click here.

Our September/October 2009 issue of HAWAII Magazine will include a feature on Kapanui’s other Oahu ghost tours, of downtown Honolulu and Waikiki. We’ll show you what we saw lingering above Iolani Palace, and share Lopaka’s tales of a Hawaiian princess who occasionally appears at a famous Waikiki hotel.

For now, though, we’ll leave you with a video of Kapanui, at Waimea Valley, sharing information about what you should do if you encounter Hawaiian night marchers. (The video is a bit dark, but...we were on a night tour.)


 

Hotel operations at Waikiki’s iconic Ilikai may resume again. But no one is saying when.

An agreement on a new labor contract between Ilikai hotel owner iStar Financial and the union representing hotel employees was reached last night, hours after guests had been packed off to other Waikiki lodging.

Ilikai employees are scheduled to review the agreement with union representatives this evening.

Last Tuesday, New York-based iStar Financial announced that it would shut down all hotel operations at the Ilikai this week, blaming the closure on mounting losses. The 203-unit hotel portion of the Ilikai shut down at midnight yesterday, and at the moment remains closed.

The 1,009-unit Ilikai property also has 806 condominium and timeshare units, which are not directly affected by the hotel closure.

A reopening date has not been set. Reservations for future stays are not being taken.

We’ll keep you posted.

  

Will it be Ed, Kiptyn or Reid?

Our feeling is it won't really matter which sparkling specimen of the XY-chromosome set is left without a rose when Jillian Harris selects her final two suitors on the July 13th episode of ABC’s The Bachelorette. The loser will at least be fortunate enough to get the boot on Maui, where the popular dating-competition reality series filmed the penultimate episode of its current season in May.

Yes, the suitor on the losing end of the rose ceremony will really be sent packing at the oceanside Olowalu Plantation House on Maui’s west side—one of the island’s most popular wedding locations. (Oh, sweet irony!) But before that episode-capper, he'll get to enjoy some darn fine Maui scenery, activities and dining.

Among the stuff lavished on Jillian (pictured left) and her trio of suitors on Maui:

• Oceanfront suites and haute cuisine for their private dates, at the Westin Maui Resort and Spa and Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa

• A Maui helicopter tour with Sunshine Helicopters

• A cliff-side picnic courtesy of the Hotel Hana-Maui and Honua Spa

• A snorkel cruise with Trilogy Excursions

• A day on the rope courses and ziplines of Kapalua Adventures. (We've done the ziplines, too. Click here for video.)

No surprise, ABC is keeping all other episode details under wraps. (Spoiler blogs, however, are rife with rumors that the final episode of the fifth season—set to air on July 27—was filmed on the Big Island of Hawaii. We’ll keep you posted.)

Catch the two-hour Maui episode of The Bachelorette on Monday, July 13 (8 p.m., East coast time/West coast time; 7 p.m., Hawaii time).

Right now our money’s on Jillian choosing Kiptyn … mostly ‘cause we like his name.

 
 

HAWAII Magazine reader Mary Jane Garvis wrote us with a few questions regarding her next vacation in Waikiki:

We have been visiting Oahu since 1980. We’ve always stayed on either Kuhio Avenue or near the Ala Wai Canal, but now that we are older, we are unable to walk the distance to the beach. Can you recommend a hotel with a kitchenette on or close to Kalakaua Avenue and the International Market Place that has reasonable rates? Also, is there any form of personal motorized transportation we could rent to go from store to store?

You ask, we answer.

Let’s start with the easiest question. If you need personal transportation assistance, Honolulu Hawaii Wheelchair and Scooter Rentals offers wheelchairs and mobility scooters. They will even deliver to your hotel. Call (808) 772-9723 or reserve online here.

Now, as to accommodations, tastes and budgets differ. Though Waikiki, to some, appears crowded with hotels and resorts, affordable hotel rooms with kitchen facilities can be difficult to find. Still, we found a few for you.

The Ohana Waikiki West  is offering double-occupancy rooms with kitchenette facilities (pictured above) starting at $115 a night. The hotel is located on Kuhio Avenue, close to the hustle and bustle of Duke’s Lane and the International Market Place. Just across Kuhio Avenue, the Ohana Waikiki East also offers kitchenettes, with units starting at $199 a night.

If you’re on a stricter budget, the Castle Ocean Resort Hotel Waikiki  is offering discounted rates on city view studios with kitchenette (pictured right) for a low $76.50 a night. The hotel is located on the eastern end of Waikiki on Paoakalani Avenue, off Kalakaua Avenue. That’s a 15 minute walk from the International Market Place, but only a two block walk from Waikiki Beach.  

If you’re planning a longer vacation, you might consider a fully furnished condo just east of Waikiki. Many have sweeping views of Waikiki beach and come with a full kitchen, lanai and parking space. All are also a short walk from Waikiki shopping and dining. Prices start at $3,600 for a minimum one-month rental, plus tax and a non-refundable cleaning fee. Contact alison@goldcoasthawaii.com for details and availability. 

Does anyone else have advice for seniors planning a Waikiki vacation?  Leave a comment below.
  

America’s neighbors to the north will have more opportunities to fly south for the winter this year for a warm Hawaii vacation.

Canadian air carrier WestJet is expanding its flight schedule to the Islands, adding two brand new routes and offering more direct flights from Canada to Hawaii.

A seasonal Saturday flight between Victoria, British Columbia, and Honolulu begins November 7, with introductory one-way fares starting at $259

The weekly flight departs Victoria International Airport at 8 a.m. (Pacific time), arriving in Honolulu at 12:20 p.m. (Hawaii time). Return flights leave Honolulu at 1:50 p.m. (Hawaii time), arriving in Victoria at 9:30 p.m., (Pacific time).

WestJet is also adding a twice-weekly flight between Vancouver and Lihue, Kauai, beginning December 16 on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with introductory one-way fares starting at $349.

The Kauai-bound flights depart Vancouver International Airport at 3:15 p.m. (Pacific time), arriving in Lihue at 7:56 p.m. (Hawaii time). Return flights are red-eyes, leaving Honolulu at 11:00 p.m. (Hawaii time), and touching down in Vancouver at 6:47 a.m. (Pacific time), the next morning.
 
Beginning in October, WestJet will also add flights to its existing routes between Vancouver and Honolulu and Vancouver and Kahului, Maui. Daily service between Vancouver and both Hawaii destinations kicks off Oct. 8—increasing to 11 flights a week on November 1, and 12 flights a week on December 16.

WestJet currently flies to Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii.

For more information, or to book a reservation, click here, or call (888) WESTJET [(888) 937-8538].

  

You ask. We answer.

A HAWAII Magazine reader asks via e-mail:

If I take a temporary nursing assignment in Hawaii, I will want to bring my cat with me. Is this possible?

The good news: You won’t need to leave your furry friend behind. The bad news: your pet may spend some time in quarantine.

Hawaii remains the only rabies-free state in America. Strict state quarantine laws have been eased in recent years, but they are still firmly enforced.

There are three quarantine periods: 120-days, 5 days-or-less and direct release.

For a 120-day quarantine, you will need to provide your pet’s health certificate—issued by an accredited veterinarian—at least 14 days before your pet's arrival in Hawaii. A current vaccinations record is also required.

To qualify for a 5-day-or-less quarantine a few more steps are required.  If you follow these strict guidelines, your animal may be released to you directly at the airport holding facility, rather than being sent to the state quarantine facility in Halawa Valley.

•    The pet must have received at least two rabies vaccines during its lifetime, with the second vaccination administered at least 90 days after the first. The most recent vaccination must be given no less than 90 days, and no more than 12 months prior to arriving in Hawaii.

•    The pet’s blood sample must be sent to a veterinary laboratory for the OIE-Fluorescent Antibody Serum Neutralization Test (OIE-FAVN). This is to see if your pet responds to the rabies vaccine.

•    The pet should be microchipped for identification. This allows the pet’s blood sample to be processed and identified in the most efficient manner.

•    Finally, the pet must complete the required waiting period of 120-days from the date the laboratory receives the blood sample before entering the state.

•    The steps are numerous to qualify, and there's necessary paperwork.  Here's a checklist.

Lastly, some pets may qualify for direct release. After arrival, the animal is inspected and then released. Guide dogs for the blind and other certified service dogs, for example, are exempt from quarantine.

Pets traveling from certain rabies-free areas, including New Zealand, Australia, Guam and the British Isles, may be eligible for direct release. Click here and scroll down to Pets from Areas Exempted from Rabies Quarantine for more information.

Regardless of how long your pet is quarantined, protocol requires they be delivered straight to a state quarantine facility upon arrival in the Islands.

Fortunately, accommodations are spacious. Indoor dog kennels are about 6 feet wide and range in length from 14 feet for small dogs to 25 feet for larger canines, and are seven feet high. Cat kennels are about 5 feet wide and 10 feet long. Each kennel has activity areas including running areas and platforms and contains a bench for visitor seating.

Quarantine costs vary depending on length of stay.

For more information on quarantining your pet in Hawaii, click here, or call the Animal Quarantine Station at (808) 483-7151.

Note: these laws apply only to domesticated animals, namely cats and dogs. If you want to bring your pet snake, gerbil, hamster, etc., it gets a little trickier. Call the state Animal Quarantine Station at (808) 483-7151.
 

The New York-based owner of the Ilikai announced today that it would cease all hotel operations at the landmark Waikiki property on Thursday.

If you are holding reservations for the Ilikai, here’s what you need to know:


In its statement announcing the shut down, Ilikai hotel operations owner iStar Financial said it planned to relocate current and arriving guests to other hotels for the duration of their reservation. Guests holding future reservations will also be relocated.

An Ilikai operator told HawaiiMagazine.com this evening that the hotel’s executive office would begin answering queries from guests regarding their reservations on Wednesday morning. Call (808) 949-3811.


iStar Financial blamed the closure on mounting losses from the Ilikai’s hotel operations. In May, iStar Financial purchased 203 Ilikai units still being used for hotel lodging—along with other common areas, parking, office and retail spaces—for $51 million in a foreclosure auction.

The units were previously owned by developer Brian Anderson who had defaulted on a 2006 loan he’d taken out with iStar to buy 343 Ilikai units. Anderson was sued earlier this year by Ilikai condo owners for not paying condo fees on the units he had purchased.

The 1,000-unit Ilikai property is also comprised of 806 condominium and timeshare units, which iStar said would not be directly affected by the hotel closure.

iStar assumes control of its Ilikai holdings on Friday.

Though the Ilikai’s hotel operations had been on shaky grounds for some time due to decreasing occupancy and Anderson’s continuing financial travails, new business plans to keep the property open were being proposed as recently as March. Hotel Business Magazine reported in April that Edition Hotels—a partnership between Marriott Hotels and global hotelier Ian Schrager—was angling to take over the Ilikai in 2010, converting it into a luxury boutique hotel.

The Ilikai had billed itself as "the first luxury high-rise hotel in Hawaii" when it opened in 1964 and remained popular with visiting celebs, dignitaries and other moneyed folk through the 1970s. The Ilikai’s penthouse balcony was featured prominently in the opening credits of every “Hawaii Five-O” episode, as a helicopter camera zoomed in to meet square-jawed Jack Lord as Detective Steve McGarrett.

  

The Hilton Hawaiian Village’s completely redesigned beachfront Tropics Bar & Grill threw itself a grand-reopening party recently with fireworks, live music and serious food.

We were there—making our way through the crowded room chasing servers carrying trays full of tasty edibles. There was much to see, as well as nosh.

It’s a whole new Tropics—at a cost of $11 million in renovations, free of all remnants of its past lives as a disco and showroom once occupied by singer/flamenco guitarist Charo.

The resort has made the most of the former Tropics Bar & Beach Café’s prime Waikiki beachfront location. The open-air restaurant now has a larger outdoor patio with tables overlooking the beach and ocean beyond, complete with fire pits. Inside the spacious dining room: wood and bamboo accents, floral patterns and retro-tropical artwork.

A performance by longtime-favorite contemporary Island music duo Cecilio & Kapono—doing a full set list of their classics, no less—kept the opening night crowd happy long after their appetites were sated. Ditto, the Hilton Hawaiian Village’s regular Friday evening fireworks show, lighting up clear night skies over the resort.

Still, the best thing about the evening for us was sampling the new menu emphasizing Hawaii farm-grown ingredients: furikake-seasoned fish and chips, Kona kampachi with green tea soba noodles, New York steak with Hamakua mushrooms (pictured below), seared ahi on flax seed crostini, roast Chinese duck lettuce wraps, Kona coffee mascarpone cheesecake and much more.

Hilton Hawaiian Village executive chef Jeffrey Vigilla and Mark Ellman, chef and owner of Mala Ocean Tavern on Maui, collaborated on the Tropics menu aiming to utilize as much fresh, sustainable Hawaii-raised produce as possible. The vendor list Vigilla buys from includes Oahu’s Nalo Farms and the Big Island of Hawaii’s Kahua Ranch, Hamakua Mushrooms, Hawaii Island Goat Dairy and Hawaiian Vanilla Company.

Tropics Bar & Grill is open daily for breakfast from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., and all-day dining from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. The outdoor lanai will feature live Hawaiian and Island contemporary music nightly.

Click here for the Tropics menu.


  

HAWAII Magazine reader Patricia Hanson emailed us: Is there a source of the Island vocabulary, available to persons on the Mainland?  I'm interested, and, eager to learn.

You ask. We answer.

We can help, Patricia. There are formal online courses in the Hawaiian language (see here). 

If, however, you're looking for something more immediate, we've prepared a list of 25 Hawaiian words that (nearly) everyone in Hawaii knows.

Unfamiliar Hawaiian words can be tough to pronounce.  All you have to do is click to hear them pronounced by none other than Hawaiian language expert Puakea Nogelmeier.

If Nogelmeier sounds familiar, it may be because when you ride TheBus on Oahu, that's his melliflouous recorded voice calling out the names of the stops.

Just click here to start your lesson.

 

Slather on the sunscreen, purchase your ahi and tako poke early and throw some burgers and hot dogs on the grill … the Fourth of July weekend is here! And there’s no shortage of fireworks shows lighting up skies all over Hawaii this year.

Need to sate a 4th of July pyrotechnics fix?

Here's our complete list of free, open-to-the-public fireworks displays throughout the 50th State this weekend.

Happy Fourth of July from the entire HAWAII Magazine ohana!

July 3

Oahu

If you’re in the mood to celebrate the 4th a day early, head to downtown Honolulu's Aloha Tower Marketplace tonight for its annual Pre-Independence Day Celebration and Fireworks Display.

Festivities and live music begin at 5 p.m., capped off by a performance from contemporary Hawaiian music duo HAPA at 8 p.m. The Marketplace’s fireworks show over Honolulu Harbor starts at 8:45 p.m. Tune in to Hawaiian KINE 105 FM for a simulcast of tunes synched to the display.

For more information, click here or call (808) 528-5700.

• In Waikiki, the Hilton Hawaiian Village's weekly fireworks display is set, as usual, for 7:45 p.m. at Duke Kahanamoku Beach.


July 4

Oahu

The biggest fireworks display in the state is Ala Moana Center’s annual Fourth of July Celebration. Live music at Ala Moana’s Center Stage begins at noon. At 5 p.m., Hoku Zuttermeister, Natalie Ai Kamauu, B.E.T., Pali and other contemporary and traditional Hawaiian music acts will take over the shopping center's ocean-facing parking deck for a concert leading up to the evening’s headlining pyrotechnics

The shopping center’s fireworks show—one of the 25 largest displays in the U.S.— begins at 8:30 p.m., launched from three platforms at neighboring Ala Moana Beach Park. Tune in to KUMU 94.7 FM for a simulcast music soundtrack synched to the fireworks.

For a complete schedule of Ala Moana Center 4th of July festivities, click here or call (808) 955-9517.

• July 4th Parade, Festival, and Fireworks in Kailua. Kailua Beach Park. Fireworks begin at 8 p.m. (808) 261-7997. More info here.

• Maunalua Bay Independence Day Celebration and Fireworks Show. Maunalua Bay, Hawaii Kai. Entertainment begins at 2 p.m. Fireworks start at 8 p.m. Tune in to Hawaiian KINE 105 FM for a simulcast of tunes synched to the display. (808) 396-9226. More info here.

• Turtle Bay Resort Celebration and Fireworks. Fireworks scheduled for 9 p.m. (866) 827-5327. More info here.

• Schofield Barracks Fourth of July Spectacular and Centennial Celebration. Sills Field, Schofield Barracks. Fireworks scheduled for 9 p.m. (808) 655-0112. More info here.


Big Island of Hawaii

• Great Waikoloa Rubber Duckie Race and Fourth of July Extravaganza. Kings’ Shops, Waikoloa Beach Resort. (808) 886-8822. Fireworks at 8:30 p.m. More info here.

• Hilo 4th of July Fireworks. Show starts at 8 p.m. from nearby Moku Ola (Coconut Island). You can view the fireworks from the bayfront in Hilo town. (808) 935-0555

• Kailua-Kona Independence Day Parade and Fireworks. The parade begins at 5:30 p.m., from Kekuaokalani Gymnasium to the Coconut Grove Marketplace. The fireworks display over Kailua Bay begins at 8:30 p.m. (808) 345-2108. More info here.


Kauai

20th Annual Kauai Hospice Concert in the Sky. Vidinha Soccer Field, Lihue. Fireworks begin at 8:30 p.m. (808) 245-7277. More info here. (Charge to watch from inside the soccer field.)

July 4th Fireworks and Celebration. Faye Ballpark, Kekaha. Fireworks start at 9 p.m. (808) 346-2342. More info here.


Maui

4th of July Fireworks in Lahaina. Lahaina Harbor and Lahaina Town. Fireworks begin at 8 p.m. (888) 310-1117 or (808) 667-9194. More info here.


 

A major collapse at Kilauea volcano’s Halemaumau crater summit vent this week has dimmed the luminous evening glow that had attracted thousands of visitors to the site in recent weeks.

Geologists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory report that a 1:38 p.m., Tuesday collapse of the vent wall—and a series of smaller collapses in the hours that followed—have choked the Halemaumau crater vent with a significant amount of debris.

The first collapse produced a seismic event equal to a magnitude-2.4 earthquake, shaking the ground at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park’s Thomas A. Jaggar Museum overlook, adjacent to HVO. The collapse also produced what geologists described as “a loud booming sound heard across the (Kilauea) caldera area.”

An hour after Tuesday’s collapse, a portion of the Halemaumau crater floor collapsed into the vent, enlarging the vent rim. By nightfall, the familiar evening glow from the Halemaumau vent was gone.

Late Wednesday afternoon, geologists reported "sporadic gas jetting noises" from the vent. A United States Geological Survey Webcam on the rim of Halemaumau showed a weak glow emanating from the vent last night.

The often voluminous steam and ash plume that has been rising from the vent since March 2008 was described by geologists as smaller and wispier than usual today.

Just last month, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists characterized evening incandescence from the Halemaumau vent as the most luminous they’d seen in months. The increased glow—which boosted evening visitors to the park in recent weeks—was primarily due to a slight dissipation of the plume and shallower than normal depth of lava activity below the crater surface.

The Jaggar museum overlook remains open for visitors 24 hours daily.

HawaiiMagazine.com has reported regularly on lava activity at Kilauea volcano and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Click here to catch up with all of our Volcano News posts. Click here to follow our updates on Twitter, and here to follow our updates on Facebook.

  

We were mixing mai tais … in the morning … on TV!

And here are the videos to prove it.

As promised, we’ve got the links for Sunrise on KGMB9’s segments spotlighting our July/August fresh tropical cocktail feature Contemporary Tropicals: A Guide to the Best in Island Libations.

The video segments—which aired today on the top-rated Honolulu morning show—feature HAWAII Magazine editor John Heckathorn, Royal Hawaiian Hotel master mixologist Joey Gottesman and KGMB9 reporter Ramsay Wharton chatting about fresh cocktails and our favorite Hawaii-based national magazine.

To view all three video segments, click the screen shot below.

Then click here to learn how to make Joey’s Naturally Spiced Margarita, and here for his recipe for a strawberry martini alternative, The Shanghai Diva.

We’ll have two more Contemporary Tropical cocktail recipes exclusively here on HawaiiMagazine.com in the days ahead.

Be sure to come back and have a cocktail with us!

 
 

Our July/August tropical cocktail feature has gone multimedia.

Yep, we’re on TV!

Contemporary Tropicals: A Guide to the Best in Island Libations will be a featured segment on top-rated Honolulu morning show Sunrise On KGMB9, Wednesday, at 7:50 a.m.

Wake up and watch as HAWAII Magazine editor John Heckthorn, Royal Hawaiian Hotel master mixologist Joey Gottesman and KGMB reporter Ramsay Wharton mix up some cocktails at the Mai Tai Bar on Waikiki Beach. The segment was taped this morning under clear blue skies and warm sunlight, with the trio gamely imbibing Ramos Gin Fizzes and Beach House Coolers while talking fresh cocktails and HAWAII Magazine.

Hands down, Dr. Joey is our favorite Hawaii mixologist. Watch him in action, behind the bar with us, on Sunrise On KGMB9 on Wednesday.

We had a fun morning at the Royal. Hope it shows.

If you miss our Contemporary Tropicals segment on KGMB TV (or you live on the Mainland), we’ll be posting links to videos right here on HawaiiMagazine.com as soon as they become available.

We published eight of Joey’s tropical cocktail recipes—complete with colorful photos by staff photographer David Croxford—in the July/August issue of HAWAII Magazine, now available on newsstands nationwide. Another four recipes are being posted here, and only here on HawaiiMagazine.com. Here’s the second.

Hopefully, you’ve already mixed up Joey’s recipe for a Naturally Spiced Margarita. Now, enjoy this exclusive HawaiiMagazine.com recipe for a fresh strawberry-infused martini that’s just the right balance of sweet and tart.


Joey Gottesman crafted this drink to placate customers at Honolulu’s E&O Trading Co. who repeatedly asked for a strawberry martini. “Every recipe I’d seen was always artificially flavored,” says Gottesman. “Why would I want to do that? Why not just use fresh strawberry?” This Diva charms with an incredibly balanced taste—a bright, natural berry sweetness—that’s light on the palate. Sugar can be added or subtracted depending on the sweetness of the strawberry.

Muddle these ingredients in the mixing glass of a Boston shaker:

1 oz. strawberry vodka
1 whole fresh strawberry
1 oz. cranberry juice
1 level tsp. sugar (if fresh strawberry is tart, you may add more to taste)

Top mixing glass with ice and bruise in Boston shaker. Strain cocktail into a martini glass. Garnish with a fresh mint leaf.
 
 

Last month, we reported that the original plans to renovate Waikiki’s International Market Place had been put on hold and the property would be staying the same, for now.

That was true as far as it went. However, we have since learned that the landowner, Queen Emma Land Co., has requested new proposals from developers—not just for the Market Place, but for a 6.48 acre parcel which also includes the Waikiki Town Center (the three stories of shops on the Kuhio Avenue end of the Market Place), plus Perry’s Smorgy and the Food Pantry on Kuhio.  

Developers can, at their option, also include the adjacent 352-room Miramar Hotel.

Five developers have submitted proposals for redeveloping this major property, located in the heart of Waikiki. None of them were required to preserve either the name or the current look of the International Market Place.

“We have a long way to go before we have a final plan,” says Les Goya, vice president of Queen Emma Land. "We're reviewing proposals now."

Goya notes that community feeling is divided.  “Some people think we shouldn’t change the Market Place at all, there isn't anything else like it.  Many other people think that it's about time we did something.” He takes the latter view.  “Those wood frame buildings have seen better days.”

Goya hopes to have a decision on a development plan by the end of this summer. After that, the necessary community meetings and permitting process may take a year or two.

Our previous post attracted 27 reader comments—almost all unanimously passionate about leaving the Market Place alone.

However, for those who commented on greedy developers, it’s worth noting that the landowner, Queen Emma Land Co., is a non-profit. Its mission is to take care of the land bequeathed to the Queen’s Health Systems by King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma. All income goes to providing health care, education and charitable services, principally at Queen’s Medical Center in downtown Honolulu. 

 

As always, the July/August issue of HAWAII Magazine is all over the subject of Island food and cocktails.

In the feature Can’t You Just Taste Hawaii? award-winning chef and restaurateur Peter Merriman takes us on a road trip visiting the Maui farmers, ranchers and fishermen he buys from exclusively, proving that fresh, Island-raised ingredients always taste better. Tropical cocktails with a fresh, modern twist are the subject of Contemporary Tropicals: A Guide to the Best in Island Libations—Royal Hawaiian Hotel master mixologist Joey Gottesman shares eight of his best tropical cocktail recipes with HAWAII readers.

When did we actually eat anything?

When editor John Heckathorn compiled Discovering Hawaii Through Food—an island-hopping travelogue uncovering many of the small places and food sources that only Hawaii residents know about.

You’ll find the complete collection of these local favorites that John found on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island of Hawaii in our Taste of the Islands annual food and drink issue, on newsstands nationwide now. But in the sharing spirit of the feature, we thought we’d offer a favorite from each island here—you know, just to whet your appetite for more.

Dig in!


Oahu

Diamond Head Market & Grill
Just outside Waikiki, you’ll find Oahu’s best plate lunches and other local delights, like teriyaki burgers, all at reasonable prices. Want something healthier? How about a grilled fish salad with fresh mesclun greens? Absolutely the best meal on Oahu you order at a window and eat at a table in nearby Kapiolani Park.
3158 Monsarrat Ave., (808) 732-0077

 

A couple of months ago, a friend who was spending a weekend on Kauai challenged me to come up with a quick list of the five things I would do on the island if I had only one day there.

That list focused on the east and north shores of the island. My friend had no complaints—and neither did any HawaiiMagazine.com readers. In fact, you asked for more Hawaii "five-things-to-do-in-a-day" featu