The harvest moon is a time for celebration in many northern hemisphere cultures, appearing towards the end of the annual crop harvest, and at a time of bounty. In China, the Moon or Mid-Autumn Festival, falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Han Chinese calendar. There, the event—celebrated with mooncakes, the […]
An unassuming roadside strip on Mamalahoa Highway in Captain Cook hides the bulk of the Manago Hotel, its only indication an aging electric sign. The area landmark is home to what may be the state’s oldest continuously running restaurant, and has been serving up its legendary pork chops—plain or smothered in a rich, brown gravy—for
Last weekend, I checked something incredible off of my bucket list. I hovered mere inches above a 12-foot feeding manta ray in an otherwise pitch-black ocean at night. It sounds crazy—and maybe it is—but these encounters, offered nightly by dozens of operators in the Kailua-Kona are very safe and very popular. An estimated 80,000 people
Every year, for 63 years and counting, Aloha Festivals—Hawaii’s oldest and largest cultural celebration—has been throwing an epic block party in Waikiki. If you’re on Oahu this weekend, you won’t want to miss the Waikiki Hoolaulea. The Hawaiian word hoolaulea means “celebration.” And this year’s street-closing, seven-block hoolaulea promises just that with 21 island food
If you’re headed to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, there are a number of hiking and exploring options available to you. One of the most popular hikes that I recommend, if you have two to three hours, is the four-mile Kilauea Iki (Little Kilauea) loop trail. Over the long weekend, I packed up the car and
The Waikiki sunset premiere of CBS’s Hawaii Five-0 has become an annual fan-favorite event since the modern iteration of the 70s classic began in 2010. Many of the show’s regular stars—and special guest performer John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting—are expected to make appearances at Waikiki’s Queens Beach, across from the Honolulu Zoo, for the
Puttering through an encroaching thicket of grasses, the open-top Hummer I’m riding in eases into a clearing alongside a large pond within the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge. Locked in on our target, refuge engineering equipment operator Chadd Smith moves the vehicle ever closer to a motionless pair of nēnē, nestled in a lone plot of
The state’s largest culinary festival, celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, is in full swing on Oahu. The Hawaii Food and Wine Festival began on Aug. 29 and will run through Sept. 13. With festival founders and chairs Roy Yamaguchi (Roy’s) and Alan Wong (Alan Wong’s Restaurant, The Pineapple Room)—and a participant list saturated with
The Hawaiian Islands are one of the most geographically remote places on Earth. Separated from the U.S. Mainland by nearly 2,400 miles of open ocean, and by 3,850 miles from its nearest Asiatic landfall in Japan, the Islands are home to unique plants and animals as well as several hundred years worth of geographically isolated,
Kilauea Volcano on Hawaii Island, continuously erupting since 1983 and considered one of the world’s most active volcanoes, has not disappointed these last few days. Last Thursday, Aug 27, a large new lava breakout occurred on the north side of its Puu Oo cone; lava broke the surface inside Puu Oo crater in a new
If you’re swimming in the waters around Maui and happen to see a honu (Hawaiian green sea turtle) with a number on its shell, make sure you remember where you saw it. Six two-year-old honu—marked with the numbers one through six—were released by the Maui Ocean Center last Thursday, August 27, in Puu Olai, south
In Kealakekua, almost ten miles from downtown Kailua-Kona on Hawaii Island, you’ll find more coffee farms than shops and restaurants. But, one burger and beer joint is worth the scenic drive. The youthful and enthusiastic staff at Annie’s Island Fresh Burgers have been serving 100% Hawaii Island grass-fed beef burgers and locally sourced vegetarian options
