Bookmarks for Week of October 26

When I'm not blogging, I am constantly reading! Here are some stories of interest to me this week - I hope you enjoy them too.

Luggage Lowpoints - Maggelans has a great article on what to do if your luggage is lost - thanks to True Aloha.

Hawaii Humane Society 2010 Pet Calendars Available! - Visit any of the shelters in Hawaii and pick up a calendar for $10 to support the animals.

People of Hawaii - Are You Better off Now than 1 Year Ago? Now that President Obama is in, did voting for 'change we can believe in' actually pay off?

Visiting the Corn - Follow Richard Ha as he profiles Daniel Loeffler, the Big Island's premier corn grower.

Princess Kaiulani in Waikiki - Controversy around the legacy of Princess Victoria Kaiulani is swirling in Hawaii.

Bookmarks for Week of October 19

When I'm not blogging, I am constantly reading! Here are some stories of interest to me this week - I hope you enjoy them too.

TV Writer Offers an Insider's View - Mad Men Producer Maria Jacquemetton is doing a 2-day seminar with UH-Manoa's Pacific New Media, focusing on how to craft a script and break into television writing.

Wyland's Earth Day Wins San Diego Film Festival - The winning film document's the artist's attempt to paint a 3-acre image of Planet Earth in 24 hours atop the Long Beach Convention Center.

Oahu Needs Change (We Can Believe In), or Congestion is Here to Stay - The never ending problem on the Island - traffic.

Hawaii Islands, Resorts Get Honors, Again - Conde Nast Traveller just announced their 2009 Reader's Choice Awards, and as usual, Hawaii gets a nod with the top 2 Islands for travel in the Pacific.

Fancy a Cruise?

Thinking about a trip to Hawaii in the next few months? Have you considered a cruise of the Hawaiian Islands? Beat of Hawaii is reporting today that you can score a 7 day cruise around the Hawaiian Islands for as little as $499 per person with NCL Price of America Cruises. This is an amazing deal!

Departures are available on October 17, 24, 31 and November 7, 14, 21, 28. For more information, head to the Vacations To Go Website!

Wordless Wednesday

Here's some of my favorite pictures from O'ahu to help you forget about the fall weather....enjoy!

Bookmarks for Week of October 12

When I'm not blogging (which is often right now!), I am constantly reading! Here are some stories of interest to me this week - I hope you enjoy them too.

Historic Waikiki - How It Became Hawaii's Most Valuable Real Estate

Will Hawaii Become the next California? Sunny climates and beautiful beaches aside, Hawaii is starting to experience some of California's growing problems

Honolulu Most Romantic City - Worst for Theater

10 Best iPhone Apps for Hawaii Vacations - I don't have one but wish I did

Trouble in Paradise - Some humor to start off the week

You can check out all my bookmarks at delicious

I Needed A Break

It has been close to three weeks since I last wrote a blog post. The reason why? Well, I don't have one. For some reason, my usual Hawaii inspiration disappeared as my time and thoughts have been focused on other things. Thankfully, its not long now before we head back to the Islands again, just in time to get me out of this rut. Don't get my wrong, my love of Hawaii hasn't changed, but keeping my eye on the prize has been difficult as of late.

Is anyone else feeling like this? Is it the change in weather? Or is it just my attitude? Time will tell!

36% of Hawaii Residents Are Born Somewhere Else!

More than ever these days, current residents of Hawaii weren’t born in the Islands.

The number of Hawaii residents who were born in Hawaii dropped from 2007 to 2008, according to data released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2008 American Community Survey.

64% of residents in 2008 were born in Hawaii, down from 66 percent in 2007.

Hawaii ranks 28th for its percentage of people who still live in the state in which they were born, down from 24th in 2007.

To give you some context, 72.5% of California (CA) residents were born in California, a number that hasn't changed much from 2007.

Louisiana (LA) has the highest percentage of Louisiana-born residents at 82%. Nevada (NV) has the lowest, with only 29% of residents being native-born.

The data from the American Community Survey contains a broad range of information about working, living and spending patterns and can be found online here.

Have you ever thought about moving to the Islands? Here's some inspiration for you to get started (be sure to have your speakers on)!

When I'm Not Blogging...I'm at the Gym

I have been slack with regards to blogging lately, and not for the reasons that you may think. In fact, when I am not working or sleeping, I am at the gym trying to drop some pounds (or kilos as my Aussie friends would say). I have been working out religiously as we are heading back to the Islands in November and I want to look my best in a bikini. After just watching "Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock" on TV last night, it seems like I may have a long way to go! Check out this video below for a look at the episode that aired last night.



Hawaii is one of the best places for those who enjoy fitness - with the ocean as your backyard, there are so many options for exercise to help you stay fit and healthy. In fact, Hawaii is often one of the top ranked states in regards to health and well being, with high life expectancy, low obesity levels and an impressive quality of life. Hawaii is also one of the happiest US states, as I have written about previously.

If you lived in Hawaii, what kinds of activities would you do to stay healthy? For me, swimming is number 1, and if I keep up with my current exercise routine, hopefully running will be my number 2. The toughest part for me - staying motivated. If only there was a cure for that....

Orchids at Halekulani Unveils New Hawaii Centric Menus

For all you foodies out there, some welcome news from the Halekulani in Waikiki. Orchids Restaurant has just announced a new lunch and dinner menu by Executive Chef Vikram Garg and Chef de Cuisine Darryl Fujita.

The new menu features a wide selection of appetizers, entrees and desserts while preserving three of Orchids signature dishes:

Steamed Oriental Onaga 'Orchids Style'

Manoa Butter Lettuce Salad

Halekulani Coconut Cake

I had the chance to look at the new menu (thanks for sending the press release Erika!) and I would say my top three picks on the new menu would be:

Big Island Goat Cheese with Kalamata Olive Cake, Tomato and Macadamia Nut Chutney

Lobster and Crab Burger with Sambal Aioli, Pickled Cucumber and Dill Parmesan Fries

Kumamoto Oysters with Japanese Cucumber and Yuzu Dressing

The menu has been designed to celebrate contemporary seafood and there are some amazing items to choose from, with modern flavors and local produce.

For more information about the Halekulani or to make a reservation at Orchids, visit their website. I am looking forward to Sunday Brunch on my next trip!

Back to Work, Back to Reality....

I had a great vacation over the summer, and the weather here in Seattle has been great. Whenever people come to visit, its always an opportunity to do some touristy things in your local area; things you have done many times or maybe something new. I have been to the Space Needle enough this year, that's for sure!

So, if you live in Hawaii and you have guests, where do you like to take them and what are the must-see destinations? O'ahu is my island of choice and my top 5 tourist attractions would include the following:

1. Waikiki Beach

2. North Shore

3. Dinner at Alan Wong's

4. Duke's Canoe Club at the Outrigger Waikiki

5. Diamond Head

What ideas do you have? Why not share with me your tips on best things to do on Maui or Kauai?

Forever 21 Heading to Waikiki

Forever 21 is making its way to Waikiki! The fashion retailer specializing in trendy clothing for young women and men has leased a large retail space at the Royal Hawaiian Center that had been originally planned for bankrupt Hawaii retailer Hilo Hattie.

Forever 21 plans to open a 42,580-square-foot, three-level department store at the Waikiki shopping center next summer!

The store, which will be located between The Cheesecake Factory restaurant and fashion boutique Bebe at the Diamond Head end of Royal Hawaiian Center, will be Forever 21’s third Hawaii store. The Los Angeles-based company also has stores in Pearlridge Center and at my favorite mall of all time - the Ala Moana Center.

The size of the store will give Forever 21 the opportunity to introduce more of its brand labels to the Hawaii market, including men’s and plus-size clothing.

For those that have been in Waikiki recently, you may have noticed that things are looking pretty impressive in regards to shopping and overall glamour. It makes me wonder if I will ever need to visit the Ala Moana Center again, as almost everything you need is right in the heart of downtown Waikiki. There's only one store missing.....a Hello Kitty Store!

What is Your Favorite Hawaiian Food?

Its 4pm and I am hungry. My mom is still saying with us so tonight so I am planning on preparing a special meal - Armando Percuoco's famous Truffled Egg Pasta from Buon Ricordo. I was dreaming about this dish earlier and it got me thinking about Hawaiian food and how much I love the regional cuisine there. My favorite Hawaiian food would have to be Poke, followed closely by Mac Salad - food from both ends of the spectrum!

Do you have a favorite Hawaiian food? Please share it so I can drool some more!

Do You Smell? Then Get Off 'The Bus'

Here's some quirky news!

The Honolulu City Council is considering a bill that would impose up to a $500 fine and/or up to six months in jail for public transit passengers convicted of being too smelly.

The bill is to be heard on Thursday in committee, and it outlines a plan to make it illegal to have "odors that unreasonably disturb others or interfere with their use of the transit system." It doesn't matter if it's body odor or offensive fumes from clothes, personal belongings or animals. Hysterical!

Councilmen Rod Tam and Nestor Garcia co-sponsored the anti-odor bill. It will be interesting to hear the initial reactions to this on Thursday. What do you think? Do you agree? Or is this pushing the limits?

Travel Product For Review

Stop the press - my first product for review arrived in the mail from Australia last night! Let's just say its not specifically related to Hawaii, but you could definitely use it there! Stay tuned for more details - any guesses on what it might be?

Another Great Night at Alan Wong’s

I recently went to Honolulu for a 3 night mini-vacation, and top of the to-do list was to dine at Alan Wong’s, on King St. I have frequented the restaurant many times before and it is definitely on my list of top 5 restaurants (maybe even top 3!). I wanted to share with you some of the food that I enjoyed over the course of the evening, as well as touch on a slight mishap that happened with my Ginger-Crusted Onaga. The end result was great, and my compliments to our waiter Shawn and Kerry the Restaurant Manager who handled the situation impeccably.

As I mentioned, I would consider myself a ‘regular’ at Alan Wong's when I visit the Islands. So, I have tried almost everything on the menu, as it doesn’t tend to change dramatically, with exception of the specials. I actually ordered ala carte and my mom had the 5-course tasting menu,– hence to say there are a lot of pictures! I plan to do a separate post about the 5 course menu shortly.

My first course was an asparagus dish that was on the specials list, and, I didn’t get a full copy of the menu (I realized this after I had left the restaurant) so I don’t know the name of it. However, the asparagus was lightly cooked, with an amazing dressing that was nutty and salty at the same time. Delicious.

Second course was the Hamakua Springs Tomato, Beet and Avocado Salad, with Hilo hearts of palm and Li Hing Mui Ume Vinaigrette. This has to be my favorite dish on the menu, however they have changed up the presentation of this dish which I don’t particularly like, and the delicate flavors of the ingredients don’t mix as well as they used to. Still delicious though.

Third course was the Ginger Crusted Onaga, (Long-Tail Red Snapper), with miso sesame vinaigrette and organically grown Hamakua mushroom and corn. This fish is always amazing, so when I tried to cut into it and it was like rubber (it was a little overcooked), I was shocked! I told our waiter Shawn about it and the look of alarm on his face was terrible! Kerry, the Restaurant Manager came over to apologize and within minutes the entire kitchen staff (its an open kitchen) was analyzing my piece of fish with horror and dismay. I don’t think things are sent back to the kitchen very often, hence the fuss. So, I got a new piece of fish, and would you believe, the middle was raw. I didn’t want someone to be fired or chefs to start crying so I asked Shawn not to tell anyone, as I didn’t want to create a scene. Minutes later, he showed up with some more wine for us as an apologetic gesture. So, I didn’t get to eat all my fish, but the restaurant staff (including the kitchen) were amazing and I really appreciate that they took the time to try and fix the problem. So, despite my little fish mishap I would go back in a flash, as both the food and the service are always outstanding.

We had a Groth Vineyards 2008 Sauvignon Blanc from the Napa Valley with our meal that was lovely. The whole evening was just great, and my sincere thanks to Shawn, Kerry and their team who made it a memorable night. I will be back for Thanksgiving, and look forward to another enjoyable meal.

To make reservations, visit their website or call (808) 949-2526.