The Evolution of Waikiki

Waikiki is always my first stop when I visit Hawaii on vacation. After living there for a short while and visiting more times than I can count on my fingers and toes, I've seen the area transform itself over the last 8 years. It's been good, and bad, and from my most recent visit I noticed a number of changes. Here's three that really stood out for me:

1. Many retail stores are exclusively for Japanese tourists - the number of nail supply/nail salons has hit an all time high. How many acrylic nails with glitter and sparkles does one need?

2. Eggs 'n' Things is taking over the island - just kidding, but they do have 2 restaurants now in Waikiki and one at Ala Moana Center, which are always full with a line out the door.

3. A lack of good places to get a decent cocktail - I'm shocked that places like the Hilton Hawaiian Village are still serving drinks like the Blue Hawaii and Piña Colada for $13 and getting away with it. How about some variety, using local spirits and fresh island produce?

What do you think about Waikiki 2013? Is it better or worse than years gone by?

What to do on my final vacation day?

After a lovely walk down to the war memorial, it's time to plan my final day here in Waikiki. it's been surprisingly cold this trip so I haven't spent much time in the ocean; I've been hanging out by the pool catching up on my reading.

Today, I'm going to try Fort de Russy beach; it's less rocky than the beach in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village and often less busy. Don't get me wrong, I'll still get my reading done but ill try to get at least my toes wet too!

Happy Saturday from Hawaii!

Another Day in Paradise...

Please Help Solve the Monk Seal Mystery

It's a known fact that I am an animal lover.  When I read this story by the Associated Press today it just sickened me, as I have seen Monk Seals on the beach in all their beauty.  While I don't want to go into details about the cruelty these animals face, I do want you to read the story so you are aware of what's happening. These animals are on their way to extinction, and if people continue to kill them for no reason that day will be here sooner than expected. 

Photo courtesy of AP Images

Natalani Resolutions for the New Year

We all love to make lists of what we'd like to achieve for the year ahead.  Often the list consists of what we want to stop (drink less alcohol) or things we need to get better at (exercise more!). My list for 2012 has a mix of both, but with deliverables that are more specific, and hopefully more achievable as a result. I also have a few in there that I need to be mindful of every day.  Here's my top 10 for 2012:

1. Make more time every day for me
2. Run the Rock n Roll Half Marathon
3. Go to Hawaii at least once this year
4. Treat others the way I would like to be treated
5. Increase my volunteer hours with the Seattle Humane Society (or another local animal organization)
6. Watching TV - Less is more
7. Make my health and well being a priority
8. Discover a new hobby or project
9. Make some new friends in Seattle
10. Have my most successful work year EVER!

New Football Coach for University of Hawaii

If you need a list minute Christmas gift for the football fan in your house - how about this awesome T-Shirt? Former UCLA offensive coordinator and local Hawaiian boy, Norm Chow, has been named as Hawaii's new head football coach. Get this shirt to show your support!

Price: $25 at Butigroove
Photo courtesy of The Cat Dish Blog

A Christmas Tradition in Honolulu - Honolulu City Lights

Every year the Honolulu City Lights display for Christmas is worth checking out in downtown Honolulu. This year’s City Lights theme is “Holoholo Holiday,” which means“just for fun.” In addition to the beautiful Christmas tree, the 21-foot shaka-flashing Santa is next to lei-draped Mrs. Claus, her toes cooling in a fountain pool fronting Honolulu Hale (Oahu’s city hall). Nearby, menehune-style elves and a much larger-than-life snowman and his family are in place and ready for the holiday season.

The lights will be on display through the month of December.  If you are staying in Waikiki, the easiest way to get there is via The Bus. Board any of the buses listed below from Kuhio Avenue, heading away from Diamond Head, and ride to Beretania and Punchbowl streets. Disembark at the first Bus stop immediately after Punchbowl. Walk down Punchbowl Street to King Street and cross Punchbowl Street to Honolulu Hale.

- 2 School Street-Middle Street
- 13 Liliha-Puunui Avenue
- Route B - CityExpress! School Middle
- 42 Ewa Beach

You can also pick up some cute holiday decorations to take home with you too!

 
 
 
 
 
For more information please visit the Honolulu City Lights website and enjoy the show!

Pop Up Hotel!

Now this is cool. We've all heard of pop up retail stores (although if you live in the suburbs like me it's unlikely that you have experienced one). But this story takes the pop-up store to a whole new level.  Design Hotels, which handles reservations globally for independently owned hotels, recently announced an innovation in the lodging industry: a pop-up hotel.

The hotel is in Tulum, Mexico and features 99 cabanas, most with private bathrooms, a spa with treatments based on Mayan healing practices and restaurants run by KaterHolzig, a hot Berlin club, and 42°RAW, a Copenhagen restaurant whose food is cooked at 42 degrees Celsius or below.

Would you stay at a pop up hotel?  What about a pop-up hotel in Hawaii?  I'd be willing to give it a try!

* Photo courtesy of Design Hotels

Send Your Lava and Sand Back to Hawaii ASAP!

The first time I visited Hawaii, I wanted to take a piece of it home with me.  Actually I wanted to take a lot of it home, in the form of lava rocks, sand, coral etc. Little did I know, it is a common belief that if you take ANYTHING from the land or ocean in Hawaii, it can result in a lifetime of bad luck. Fortunately I found out before it was too late and returned my keepsakes to where they came from before I went home.

On my way to New York this week, I was reminded about this after reading an article in the Alaska Airlines Magazine.  Thankfully, there is now a company that can help you take care of business.  If you have any lava rocks that you need to return, you can send them via mail to Rainbow Moon in Volcano, HI.  Here's the address:

Rainbow Moon
Attn: Lava Rock Return
P.O. Box 699
Volcano HI 96785

Rainbow encourages you to get a tracking number at USPS so you can be sure your rocks make it to their final destination.  No one likes bad luck, so head to the post office asap and send back your Hawaiian lava rocks immediately!

Should I Start Blogging Again

Despite my schedule becoming more and more congested, I suddenly feel the need to kick this blog back into high gear.  Even in the last 12 months a lot of things have changed in Hawaii and I'd love to be able to share that with my readers as I've been to O'ahu five times in the last 12 months.  What do you think?  Is it a yes?  Opinions welcome!

Quick Waikiki Trip

I'm in Waikiki this weekend for a quick trip, primarily to get some sun and to reflect on my life as I know it.  One thing I do know is that Hawaii will always have a special place in my heart.  I've seen the area frequently change over the years, both good and bad.  Depending on where you stay in Waikiki I believe it can truly define the overall vacation experience.  I'm staying at a hotel that is not in my usual digs, and my experience is very different as a result.  I'll be doing some more blog posts on my trip over the next few weeks. It's nice to be back in paradise, if only for a few days.

Apartment Inspiration

The last few months have provided a lot of change for me, in particular my living situation.  After downsizing from a large house to a small apartment it got me thinking about the furniture I had, as well as the furniture I may still need now that I am living in a different space.  Thankfully, my friends at CSN Stores must have read my mind because one thing I've been doing some research on is corner TV stands . If you are not familiar with CSN Stores, not only do they have a great selection of corner TV stands, but they have everything you need to make your house or your apartment really feel like your home.  Take a look at their website for more ideas.

Be on the lookout for a giveaway on my blog courtesy of CSN stores in the near future.  Happy 2011!

Paradise in Pictures

I wanted to share a few of my favorite shots from my recent vacation to Hawaii - more to follow this week.

Lagoon and Diamond Head

The View from Diamond Head

Feeding the Penguins!

Bar Stools Anyone?

No, I am not selling off my furniture!  But I am doing a post for CSN stores and wanted to share with you their amazing selection of bar tables and stools that they have available online.  For those of you not familiar with CSN Stores, take a look at their website where they have over 1 million products available to purchase - you could literally spend all day window shopping!  And with Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales fast approaching, now is the perfect time to pick up a bargain or two.  Happy shopping and now I am back in Seattle, I'll be sharing my latest and greatest Hawaii adventures between now and Christmas, to help keep you (and me) occupied as the winter months finally kick into high gear.

Hello from Sydney!

My vacation is flying by and Hawaii has come and gone.  I'm in Sydney right now catching up with friends and family and it has been great - the weather has really been in my favor.  Hot sunny days, balmy summer nights, and minimal rain in between.  I'd forgotten how wonderful Sydney is in the summertime, especially when you have wonderful people to share it with.

I have a ton of photos and experiences to share from my recent trip to Hawaii.  We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort and Spa, and let me just say it was nothing short of spectacular.  From the room to the food to the hotel services and activities, everything was just fantastic.  Lots more to come on this shortly - once I find the cord to my camera amongst all my luggage.  But now, off to Sydney Fish Market! 

Hawaii Five-O - My Official Review

I had started a blog post about the new series Hawaii Five-O on CBS about 3 weeks ago, and I have to admit it was less than complimentary.  For some reason I never finished the post and now I am glad that I didn't publish it.  With the series now about 7 episodes in, I've changed my tune.  Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan star as Steve McGarrett and Danny 'Danno' Williams respectively, and have really found their groove as police partners on the show.  Initially, I felt like the show didn't reflect Hawaii as it really is (the first episode was focused on some kind of terrorist threat, which I don't believe has ever happened (nor is likely to happen any time soon).  And in this week's episode, there were locals drinking Blue Hawaii cocktails in the tropics bar at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which again is not likely to be a common occurrence.  But the story lines are improving, the scenery is always a pleasure to absorb, and over 14.5 million viewers each week can't be wrong - it really is one of the better new TV shows of the fall. 

While the show is fun, take it with a grain of salt.  There are a number of scenes in the show that are not 100% accurate, and I feel like they misrepresent Hawaii in some of their episodes.  But overall, a pretty impressive job and let's hope that McGarrett and Danno stick around for Season 2.  If you haven't seen the show yet, enjoy this preview on YouTube and tune into CBS on Monday night for more.

Not Long Now Waikiki

My next trip to Hawaii has sprung up rather quickly.  Last night we were trying to figure out the final itinerary in terms of activities during the trip when it occurred to me that I definitely didn't schedule enough time in Hawaii before I make my way back to Sydney, Australia for a family visit.  We are booked solid for four days straight (although I did schedule pool time and beach time in there, thank goodness).  But between dining at Alan Wongs, catching up with friends, attending a luau and celebrating at Duke's Waikiki which is where J & I first met, there isn't going to be much time left. 

I think I need to book another trip for early next year just to relax from this trip.  While it does get cooler over Christmas and New Year, it still beats the nasty Seattle weather.  The biggest challenge is finding time on the schedule to actually go! I'm thinking June, but that just seems so far away.  Let's hope it is sooner than that.

Forbes Ranks Honolulu as 3rd Safest City in America

Forbes Magazine recently announced 'America's Safest Cities' - and taking 3rd spot is Honolulu, HI.  Honolulu has almost always been classified as a safe city, and I like how Forbes shared their methodology behind the results to help readers understand how they compiled the list.  Another interesting nugget that someone brought up at Blogworld last week was that many media outlets, both print and online, make up 'lists' - Best Places to Live, Best Resorts in the World etc, but don't share the methodology of how they made their decisions. It's important to share this so that people have all the facts!

You can read the complete methodology in the article (link is above).  The Top 10 Safest Cities (according to Forbes) are as follows:
1. Plano, TX
2. Portland, OR
3. Honolulu, HI
4. San Jose, CA
5.Omaha, NE
6. New York, NY
7. Santa Ana, CA
8. Anaheim, CA
9. San Diego, CA
10. Glendale, AZ

Can't Decide on a Hawaii Hotel?

I listened in on a very interesting conference track yesterday at Blogworld hosted by John Forrest Ales, who leads communication strategies for Hilton Hotels and Resorts.  He explained some great dos and don'ts for travel bloggers who are looking to pitch travel brands, especially for free hotel stays and other activities as part of a trip you may be planning.  One key piece of advice I did like was to ask for something that you may not have otherwise been able to experience while on your trip, instead of expecting that a brand will comp your entire stay.  These companies still need to make money!

With that said, I am booked and heading to the Hilton Hawaiian Village in the next few weeks for vacation.  I always use my vacations to gather more content for my blog, and this one is no exception.  We are planning on attending the Waikiki Starlight Luau during our stay, and I have seen the penguins, flamingos and swum in the super pool so many times that I plan to email John Forest and find out what else I might be able to do during my trip.  Maybe there is some secret tour at the Hilton that I don't know about?  Or maybe I can get a room upgrade so I can have uninterrupted views of the crystal clear Hawaiian waters.  Stay tuned, I'm excited to hear what he says!

In any case, I will be doing a full review of our stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village so watch this space for more information over the next couple of weeks.

Bloggin' It - Vegas Style

I don't need to say it although I will - my blog has been less than impressive lately in terms of posts and content.  I just started a new job my company about 6 weeks ago and it was around that time that my creativity hit a wall and my blog took a vacation. I'm blogging today from Las Vegas - I'm at the Blogworld New Media Expo and boy have things changed since I attended this event in 2008.  Blogging is no longer for geeks - its mainstream.  Lots of different age groups are represented here at the conference and its so lovely to see a travel blogger track this year (which is where I have been spending a lot of my time so far). 

I'm hoping the conference will give me a kick in the butt and help me get back to the blogging game.  And with a trip to Hawaii less than one month away, now is a perfect time to kick into high gear!

One of the things I learned at the conference today (although its really a no-brainer) is use your own photos on your blog - its much more compelling for travel writing than taking other people's content off the Internet. You'll notice I don't have a photo on this post - because I need to get down to the strip and capture all that is Vegas on my own!  Hopefully I'll be able to share some with you early next week (yes I forgot the cord for my digital camera).