September 2007 archive
The kind folks at U.S. Airways put my homage to slumming across Maui on the cover of their esteemed publication. The art looks great. It's a tough life being a travel writer. Here' s a taste.…
Local drivers and Maui residents have long complained about the bike tours sending hundreds of thousands of newbie cyclists down the serpentine road descending Haleakala Volcano, Maui's 10,000 dormant volcano. The tours clogged up traffic with endless trails of slow-moving…
Gourmet Magazine has named Pacific'o and I'o, two highly regarded Lahaina, Maui eateries helmed by popular award-winning Chef James McDonald, to its list of top restaurants with farm connections. There were only nine restaurants named so major congrats to the…
The Outrigger Reef on the Beach has undergone a lot of renovations in the past year. True, it's still a box on the beach and hardly an architectural marvel. But the Outrigger chain has done a nice job of renovating…
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Here's the latest. My first food review in the Honolulu Advertiser (thanks Lesa!) covers Kochi Lounge, a hipper version of Side Street Inn. Restaurateur Dave Stewart, the man behind Indigo, Bar 35 and Du Vin has a new boite on…
The Garden Isle is still a country cousin compared to the other three major Hawaiian Islands and its signature festival, the Mokihana Festival, is practically a backyard hoedown compared to Oahu's extensive and extremely crowded Aloha Festivals. The weeklong fest…
As if the Kahala Resort hadn't had enough bad press lately. Apparently, famed stage and screen has-been actor walked on a $3,000 room charges tab from the Kahala after stealing the show in a local charity theater performance in Honolulu,…
The Honolulu Advertiser includes in its Living in Paradise publication a list of four nice beginner hikes on Oahu. I heartily concur with the selection -- three of the four are easy as can be and one of them the…
I am a huge fan of Farecast.com, a sight that predicts airfare trends (and can help you save a lot of money by timing your buys). Farecast also is doing hotels and they are comparing past rates to current offerings…
This is a really killer event that features some of small restaurant chefs from around Oahu (Downtown, 12 Ave. Grill, India Cafe, Mi Casa) but turns out dynamite food and for a good cause, Slow Food Oahu. The local alt…
The CEO of the beleaguered Hawaii Superferry told the State of Hawaii that the Courts needed to quickly decide whether the ferry would run or the company would shutter operations for good and flee to kinder shores. This could be…
Whenever I see news articles like this, I get a bit upset. The L.A. Times dispatched a malahini to report on shopping in Hawaii and, naturally, he or she gets it all wrong. In this case, the reporter talks about…
Here's the latest batch. Planet Kauai adds yet another paen to Hamura's Saimin, a delish Lihue landmark. Maui Time Weekly eats breakfast at Cafe James in Kihei, the latest eatery by James McDonald (I'o, Pacifico, and Feast at Lele are…
The controversial Hawaii Superferry will resume voyages to Kauai from Oahu on September 26. The U.S. Coast Guard has vowed to arrest protesters, which could make for excellent political theater. The ferry returned some of the stranded cars from aborted…
The islands get two of the four pilot solar programs for the progressive Big Box retailer. All the more reason to stop into Costco and stock up on $30 bottles (a bargain) of Maui Ocean Vodka and 5 pound jugs…
A mahalo hat tip to my favorite local girl style maven HapaHale.com for tipping me to the new bridal collection by Hollywood fave Tamara Katz who cuts her rags from a studio on the Hana Highway in Paia (she's married…
The lastest twist in the Byzantine saga of the much maligned Hawaii Superferry, a Kauai judge decided that the big boat could operate out of Nawiliwili Harbor while the company, the state, and a passle of lawyer-backed protesters work out…
Summer travel for 2008 is starting to look pretty pricey so don't book early -- they should drop. Otherwise, Hawaii fares out of SFO to Honolulu tracked by travel supersite Kayak.com seem pretty cheap. Still a good time to go…
Upate on the Maui County B&B and vacation rental crackdown. Most of the rentals and B&Bs operating on the three islands in Maui County (Maui, Molokai, Lanai) have shut down under threat of $1,000 per day fines. No word on…
I have not really been loving the travel deals for Hawaii posted on Travel Zoo of late. They've been pretty much same old, second-tier properties, or, worse, not really great deals. Here's an example. Pay $148 per night for a…
This story covers the rapid decline in the number of Japanese visitor weddings in Hawaii. There is a silver cloud, of course. Now it should be much easier to nail down the perfect date at that wedding chapel formerly dominated…
After a hiatus of several months due to shifting lava flows resulting from seismic activity, Madame Pele has resumed her red hot show. Word out of the Big Island is that lava viewing from helicopters is the best seen in…
