Sitting in my rental car at a crossroads marking the north end of Red Cinder Road, I realize I’ve arrived a couple of days too late for a final glimpse of the last stretch of original dull cerise asphalt that gave the rural Big Island thoroughfare its local nickname. The red has already been paved […]
The long-established, world-renowned coffee-growing region of Kona is home to dozens of coffee farms, many of them family-owned and –operated. For more than 185 years, this area, rooted on the slopes of the Big Island’s Hualalai and Mauna Loa volcanoes, has served up some of the best specialty coffee in the world. And for the
The wait for the winds officially begins tomorrow. That’s when the 14-day holding period begins for the American Windsurfing Tour’s and Professional Windsurfers Association Tour’s JP Aloha Classic in waters off Hookipa Beach Park on the island’s north shore. The competition is one of the sport’s most prestigious, annually attracting elite windsurfers from around the
Never mind asking where it starts and ends, ask even longtime Oahu residents about the existence of the Pearl Harbor Bike Path and you might get some quizzical looks. And that’s OK. Most don’t realize there’s a great bike path that runs from the Aiea Bay State Recreation Area, just a few hundred yards north
Hawaii’s largest winter vacationers are back! The first humpback whale of the 2013-14 Hawaii whale-watching season was spotted off Maui on Sunday morning and confirmed by the Pacific Whale Foundation, officially kicking off the start of the season. And right on time, too. Over the last 15 years, the majority of annual first sightings of
I remember feeling a bit underwhelmed the first time I visited Kahanu Garden. Underwhelmed, that is, with much else other than the triumph of early Hawaiian engineering and construction that is its monumental centerpiece, Piilanihale Heiau. Compared to the nonprofit Tropical Botanical Garden organization’s three other Hawaii gardens—all on Kauai, and all brimming with acres
There are countless pieces of information about Hawaii’s geology that residents hold as fact. Three of these are: • We are the only state in the union made up entirely of islands. • Our northwest-drifting Islands were formed entirely by a single magma hotspot, now located beneath the southern half of Hawaii Island and still
If you’re looking for activites that will be fun for the entire ohana (family), think about packing up a picnic or takeout lunch and joining the locals at our favorite parks or maybe head to the Waikiki Aquarium and see all sorts of underwater life. Kapiolani Park Lots of room to spread out under the trees
Sun, surf, and lounge days on the beach are what summer in Hawaii is made of. And nothing makes a better companion for beach relaxation than a good book. Here are a few of our suggestions if you’re interested in the stories of the people, music, myths and traditions that made the Islands’ rich culture what
Sunshine! Blue skies! The sudden appearance of these after a 25-mile ascent through rainy, fog-engulfed Big Island lava forest is a welcome, late-afternoon feast for the senses. Angst about a day of thick, gray cloud cover and heavy rains over seaside Hilo ruining my evening plans at the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Center begins to
We weren’t even three minutes into the craggy dirt roadway to Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve when one of our companions busted a tire on his bicycle. A not-exactly welcome, if unexpected chance to absorb my surroundings. It was the first time in years I had been on the coastal trail traversing remote Kaena Point,
Marlene Bonk’s warm, content eyes gazed into mine as I perused fresh produce, hand-picked from her farm in the bucolic Big Island ranching town of Waimea. My outstretched hands clutched a couple of Okinawan sweet potatoes the size of baby ears of corn. “How much for these?” I asked. Piecing together ingredients for a stir-fry,
