There I was, standing in front of the Historic County Building in downtown Lihue one afternoon last November, wrapping a tape measure around the thick trunk of an old kukui when I realized it was official: I am a tree hugger. That’s not a big surprise. I grew up in the Midwest climbing trees. This […]
“Here, try this.” That seems to be the common directive I hear whenever I step into a local brewpub. I’m not much of a drinker, but since my husband brews his own IPA at home, I’ve become accustomed to the invitation to sample frothy, hoppy, sometimes bitter, sometimes sour batches of beers. This is what
Every restaurant that award-winning chef Peter Merriman has opened in the Islands—from the laid-back Merriman’s in Waimea nestled amid ranches on Hawaii Island to the bustling Merriman’s Honolulu that opened last year in one of Oahu’s most vibrant new neighborhoods—has one very important thing in common. And it’s come to define him for more than
A messy-haired boy in a superhero-red T-shirt and Crocs lowers himself to the level of two baby goats. One nudges his hand with its bony head, and the kid laughs hysterically. “Mom, mom, the goat head-butted me,” he calls out, smiling. Getting up close and personal with farm animals is part of the experience at
It was no accident that David Campbell, veteran brewmaster, opened Aloha Beer Co. two years ago on Queen Street in Kakaako. This happens to be Honolulu’s historic brewing district, home to Hawaii’s burgeoning beer industry from 1900 to the late 1960s. Aloha Beer’s brewery is down the street from the Historic Honolulu Brewing and Malting
On a Sunday at sunrise, the South Kona sky painted in pastels, I drive bleary-eyed on Māmalahoa Highway heading south past monstera and banana plants toward the hulking mass of Mauna Loa, rising nearly 1,500 feet into the sky. Two quick turns past roadside fruit stands and my car rumbles into the parking lot of
Located on Kauai’s northwest shore, the towering green bluffs of the Napali, which means “the cliffs” in Hawaiian, rise from the edge of the island like an emerald-encrusted crown. There are only three ways to see the Napali Coast: on foot, by air and by sea, and for this trip, I’ve chosen the latter. Aa
While leaving Costco one day in October 2016, Mitzi Toro looked down at her phone to see her website had crashed and her Instagram account was flooded with hundreds of messages—all because of a personal Instagram endorsement by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on one of his buzzworthy “cheat days.” “This is 16 ounces of handmade, hand
Tent? Check. Sleeping bag? Check. Food, water, boots, rain jacket, headlamp, extra socks, sunscreen? Check. My packing list scrolls on repeat through my head as I pass the last store selling basic supplies before starting the drive up the mountain. If I reach tonight’s campsite and there’s something I’ve missed, it’s a six-hour hike and
When we were planning our recent trip to Maui, there was only one thing on my must-do list: goat yoga. Honestly, I planned the entire trip around it. Maui Goat Yoga offers yoga classes at its picturesque farm on the slopes of Haleakala with panoramic views of the Maui coastline—with about a dozen adorable Nigerian Dwarf
Hidden by rain forest off Mamalahoa Highway, the town of Volcano is easy to miss if you don’t know it’s there. It sits on the slopes of—you guessed it—Kilauea volcano, right outside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park at a cool elevation of 3,750 feet. Once you lay eyes on the quaint country town and spend some
Ten years ago, I lived in a cul-de-sac in Hawaii Kai in East Honolulu that, every New Year’s, turned into a neighborhood mochi factory. The Mahoe family lived directly across the street and had been pounding mochi (Japanese rice cake) in their garage for generations. About 200 people would gather there on Jan. 1, starting
