Homespun Honolulu

The 29th Carnival of Aloha is going to take flight this month.  It’s not only about the birds but they do have quite a large say in this one.  Our transportation has the first really BIG say!

Hey, I never said what kind of bird!  Besides, we always need a method of transportation to get around our Carnival so we’ll just borrow a Hawaiian Airlines “bird” for our cyber journey.  I don’t think they’ll mind.  Besides, we really need that big bird to get to our first ride and get home again!

San Diego Zoo put together quite an extensive series of articles about Hawaii’s endangered birds that can be seen by scrolling through  the voluminous articles in their Archive for the ‘Hawaii Bird Project’ Category.  I stumbled onto this treasure trove of articles by accident and it led to us taking the Carnival flying this month.

I have to admit that I do love my little airplane picture.  Sometimes the right thing just happens at the right time.  It did for our friend, Nathan!

Nathan caught a bird in action while looking to share a post all about Fireworks, Fishing and Freaking Rats! He shares this, and more, over at his Kam Family Blog.  Thanks, Nathan, nice catch!  The bird I mean, not the fish.

We all know how important it is for Hawai’i to protect and preserve its land and wildlife.  Sometimes we have to do whatever we can to make sure this happens!

Sheila reminds us to drive carefully and watch the Signs of Hawaii: Nene Crossing posted over at GoVisitHawaii.com.  It is a funny thing to see and so worthy of a photo — cute sign!  This Carnival has to send out big kudos to the zoos!  That is our State bird and the only place you will find a nene goose on O’ahu, it’s sad to say, is at the Honolulu Zoo.  We cannot emphasize enough, the importance of the ongoing preservation efforts.

We also have an overabundance of some birds!  On a slightly lighter note,

Elsie (my sister) was wondering just What is that SMELL?  She tells us all about it in her new blog, My Life as a Property Manager.  I couldn’t resist adding this one to the fun!  I had to giggle at my sister’s overactive imagination and paranoia.  I thought I had the market on that!  Be sure to read this comical story!

We don’t have to all go to the birds — we can stay grounded and head for the water like out next Carnival “rides.”

Cynthia Hoskins tells us all about Turtle Independence Day at Mauna Lani Bay posted over at asynchronicity.  She wishes us all, “Aloha from the Big Island, Cynthia”  This is the cutest thing!  I didn’t even know about this event.  Thank you, Cynthia, for catching it for us!

The turtles aren’t the only thing headed for the ocean.  Our friend, Mel, educates us with some fascinating information and some of those trademark-wonderful photos!

mel shares A Day Aboard the Supercarrier USS Ronald Reagan posted over at Mel’s Internet Universe Weblog, saying, “How about taking a trip to nowhere aboard a super sized aircraft carrier? That’s exactly what I did on July 6. Read my account on my blog.” That sounds like a great idea!

Evelyn (me) tells a story about a whirlwind trip to Maui and then shares What happens when kama’aina play tourist! While looking for the similarities and differences between islands, the discovery of a strange bird is just one of the peculiar things uncovered in this post.  Preservation and the overabundance of chickens (with their feathers on) both strike a very familiar chord with our Carnival topics.

Squidoo has an interesting “lens” called Birding in Hawaii with Grandma.  There’s a whole bunch of information to be found about Hawaii’s birds on this link. If you’re an Internet enthusiast and you’re not familiar with Squidoo, and all of the lenses it provides, you might want to check it out.  There are people writing about almost every topic — not just birds!

We’ve landed and gotten our feet wet at this Carnival but now we need to come in for a landing and get those feet on the ground.  We need something to help us relax — like lavender!

AKL Maui has a blog too!  Your host (me) went to Maui and was sure to see them and here they share how AKL Maui Travels to the KCC Farmers Market to bring their wares to O’ahu and share them with us!  Kapiolani Community College is a great place to be on Saturday mornings — especially when Ali’i Kula Lavender is in town!

This was fun — with or without the feathers!  Please remember to join us for the September Carnival (the 3rd anniversary of the Carnival of Aloha!) by submitting your blog article using our carnival submission form.  Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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First off, you compare the place you’re visiting to home.  It happens.  I think it’s an automatic.  The tendency is to think things like, “It’s not like this at home,’ or “OMG, this is just like it is at home,” etc.  We flew off to Maui for the weekend because hubby’s daughter was getting married!  Hmmm… what to blog about?  Oh, um, wrong island for posts for Homespun Honolulu.  Wait!  I’ll pay attention to what’s different between the two!  There, problem solved. There should be a lot of similarities, but, what’s different?

It didn’t take long for things to pop up that were worth talking about or amusing to mention.  As soon as we got there and went to pick up our rental car at Dollar Rent a Car, the subject of Krispy Kreme became a topic of conversation between us and the rental agent — I can’t even remember how or why we started talking about it.

I was a little taken aback when the agent said, quite earnestly, “Yeah but you guys have Liliha Bakery.”

What???  That surprised me.  But, I couldn’t help but smile and nod my head at that comment.  Sorry!

We finally got to our hotel at about 9:00 that night.  Long story, don’t ask!  We had the best dinner at Spices Restaurant (just before they were about to stop serving) and we discovered a great wine. I will be sure to share that with you guys in a later post, as soon as I find a way to get some!

The next morning, on my way out to explore the area, I asked the front desk of the hotel about the closest convenience store. The conversation went something like this:

“Is there a 7-11 close by?  Where are they?  Are there any 7-11’s on Maui?”  It sounded silly but since I hadn’t seen any since we landed I was beginning to wonder.
“There’s one in Kahului.”
“What?  That’s it??  One on the entire island???”
“Yeah, we’ve got choke ABC Stores.”
“The only place we have choke ABC Stores is in Waikiki.”

I walked away puzzled but I went to the closest ABC Store and was pleasantly surprised at how large it was and how relatively inexpensive some of the items were!  Yeah, I bought some silly things that I didn’t really need but, hey, I was being a tourist.

Of course with the hotel right across the street from the beach, the first free moment that I got, after shopping, was to get to the edge of some cool ocean water!   I did not expect the soft, clean sand that met my feet when I kicked off my sandals!  Holy cow! This is so NOT like home!  The sand was so soft and fine along the Kihei shore line!  Don’t get me wrong, the sand on O’ahu is great too — it’s just of a larger grain and “sandier” against the feet!  It was enough of a difference to flag me before I even got to the water!  This Maui sand felt more like powder.

After wading in the water and heading back up the beach, I was struck by how hard the wet sand was.  There is no give to this sand once it’s wet.  I guess the fine sand packs together much tighter when it’s wet. Your footsteps barely dent the wet sand.  Another difference to be sure!  On O’ahu your footsteps do sink in the wet send, at least a little bit.  I wouldn’t want to fall on this hard sand!  Ouch!

At this point I will comment that the sand takes a lot to rinse away!  I’m telling you, some of it is as fine as salt — you may think you’ve rinsed it away but it’s still there! This is not a complaint or anything. I mean it doesn’t hurt or create a problem of any kind; this is just an observation, and more support for just how fine that sand is!

After all of that talk about the sand, I have to make sure that I comment on the water!

The ocean on Maui is not only clear and clean, it is oh so very calm — at least where we were (around Kihei).  O’ahu has cool, clean water too but nowhere near as calm as what we witnessed.  I can’t think of any open beach on O’ahu that has calm waters like this.  No waves means no surfers.  It was interesting to observe how the surfboards have another use.  There were paddle boarders everywhere!

Where there’s surf there are surfers; where there is calm water, there are paddle boarders!  I know that this has caught on on O’ahu as well but I had not seen it until I was on Maui.  Apparently I don’t get to the shoreline enough.  Or, there’s just so much surf on O’ahu that I always see surfers.

Of course the beach was nowhere near as crowded as it usually is in Waikiki.  I did run into a local gentleman, originally from Waimanalo on O’ahu, and I asked him about the haze over the mountains. “Is it always like that or is that just vog?”  He said that he thought it might be from the amount of sugar cane that had just been burnt a day or two before.  Now that statement brings up some more interesting commentary!

I had to chuckle at myself, and at hubby’s son and daughter-in-law, because all three of us were apparently hit by the same thing — there’s sugar cane!  O’ahu is suddenly void of its acres and acres of sugar cane and, after all of the complaining I used to do about sugar cane over the years, I certainly never expected to get excited about seeing so much of it again!  I’m still trying to figure that one out!

I think I took more pictures of sugar cane than anything else — it was everywhere!  However, in spite of the reassurance that the haze was from cane fires, I’m going to have to go with it being vog.  The haze stayed the whole time we were there, to varying degrees, which you will see in the pictures throughout this post.  Maui is, after all, significantly closer to the volcanic action of the Big Island than O’ahu.

Here’s something we’re all familiar with — chickens!

Everyone seems to know about Kauai’s great supply of chickens.  I found this out from other bloggers — I haven’t been there since I was around eight years old.  I can’t help but wonder if Kauai’s experience isn’t catching.   I found this interesting-looking group of egg-layers walking around a small shopping center before it opened on Sunday morning.

This is not a difference, it’s just another observation.  O’ahu, of course, has its share of chickens, and in strange places. I found this very handsome rooster holding his own against another, larger rooster chasing a hen around a tree at Nu’uanu Pali lookout.  Isn’t he handsome?

Even early on that Sunday morning we could still see an obvious haze hanging around over Maui.

Can we talk about how much closer Maui is to the Big Island of Hawaii, and that volcano?  That close proximity makes poor Maui so much more susceptible to vog than O’ahu is.  I’m telling you, that haze was from something a lot larger than just burning sugar cane!

On O’ahu, the view of Diamond Head and Waikiki from the road to Tantalus (one of the high points on O’ahu) is just a little bit clearer.  There was a bit too much foliage in the way but it’s still a pretty picture, I think.

I was really moved by the country look of some of the Maui roads.  It was a look that is oh so hard to find on O’ahu these days.  I love country things.  Sigh.  Riding on this road gave me a very homey feeling — like Leeward O’ahu used to be.

I was also impressed by the visual health of these pasture animals!  They were physically chunky and their coats were oh so shiny!  There was definitely some good animal husbandry going on here!  The only thin cows were the ones nursing their calves.  I was a little surprised to see the horses and the cattle sharing the same pasture together.  I don’t know that you see that very often on O’ahu.  Not that I remember anyway.

Yeah I know, these are off-the-wall observations to be sure.  We didn’t really accomplish much in the way of seeing the island like a good tourist should, but that is not why we were on the island.  We were there to witness the matrimonial events taking place for David and Laurie Homalon!

I just wanted to be sure to point that out.  The reception was at the Pa’ia Community Center. Pa’ia is “Maui’s Historic Plantation Town.”  Sounds good to me!  There’s a great little video about driving through Pa’ia on YouTube.

Something else occurred to me while driving around Maui — where are the cemeteries? We found one in a rather odd place.  Right across from the Pa’ia Community Center there was this unexpected find — a seaside cemetery!  I don’t think O’ahu has any cemeteries by the ocean.

Regular readers know that I’m a bit peculiar about cemeteries.  The interesting thing to note is that most of the cemeteries that I know are hillside, not seaside.  There’s Punchbowl, Diamond Head, Mililani, Hawaiian Memorial, and my own personal favorite, O’ahu Cemetery — all of which are well outside the flood zone! And yes, many of the gravestones at O’ahu Cemetery are dated in the 1800’s.

Being right next to the ocean is truly a beautiful place for a final resting place but I have to admit that it’s a bit unnerving to see those grave markers so close to the shore!  Maybe that works a lot more safely with Maui’s calm waters.

On our last day on Maui I was still on a discovery mission so I was out the door early for a morning run in the cool, clean air!  I was not going to be disappointed either.

Much like O’ahu, Maui is also into both cultural preservation and the restoration of our ecosystems.

I couldn’t pass up on taking pictures of this!  These little guys were swimming around here waiting to see if they were going to get a free handout.

Anyone can recognize these two swimming birds as ducks but I’m just not sure about this next character.

I saw this strange little guy peeking through the grass.  After a while he got disgusted, he got tired of me staring at him, and he decided to move on.  Quickly.  If someone can identify what type of bird this is for me, I would really appreciate it!

Like that bird, it wasn’t long before we had to move quickly too!  We had a plane to catch.  But, I can’t let the next accidental find go without mention.

The one and only 7-11 on Maui!  Good luck trying to find it!  It was not even visible from the main drag going through Kahului.  This is a huge difference from O’ahu — 7-11 is always in plain view.  Driving around O’ahu, you can’t miss them.  Even if you want to!

Another item of interest might include the amount of police cars we saw on Maui — very few.

There are a lot of police cars on O’ahu, for sure!

To be fair, where there is a higher percentage of people, there will always be a higher percentage of the criminal element as well.  On O’ahu, especially around 7-11 Stores, there are many!

But then again, Maui has a lot of these Minit STOPs and we did see a couple of officers at one of those when we first got there.

I think the Island Kitchen on the sign to the right was for this location only but the Minit STOP is almost as prevalent on Maui as Honolulu’s 7-11 Stores are on O’ahu, almost.

I think that’s an exaggeration but you could see the Minit STOPs from the road!

On O’ahu you won’t find planes coming quite this close to the ground and so near the moving traffic — not that I’ve seen anyway.  We were driving and United Airlines was flying right over our heads.  When it’s close enough to make out the logo that easily, it’s a little too close for comfort.

In Kapolei, on O’ahu, the planes do come closer to the ground, but not THAT close!

We didn’t make it t0 watch the sunrise on Haleakala like my friend Sheila tells people to do while on Maui when they GoVisitHawaii.  Sigh.  BUT, we made it to Ali’i Kula Lavender — about half way there!

I love that purple bench!  The view behind it was great too but the picture doesn’t begin to do it justice.  Vog.

We had to at least get here!  Even if we did almost end up in the clouds to get there.  I love that idea, hubby was not quite so enchanted with that idea.

I would like to stay at Kula Lodge some time too, but they don’t have television in their rooms so that idea didn’t go over well either.

This is not to take anything away from the Maui Coast Hotel — it was wonderful.  It was clean, comfortable and not excessively fancy, stuffy, or sterile.  The people were friendly and helpful.  It was perfect!  These pictures of the Maui Coast grounds bring up another thing — Maui has rocks strategically placed all over the place.

Or, maybe not so strategically.  I know that on O’ahu we do put rocks here and there but not quite so randomly or extensively, I don’t think.  The Maui Coast Hotel made very good use of them!

The hotel was not the only one!  The rocks above were at Kapaniwai Cultural Park and have more meaning than just decoration.  I’m not sure what these were exactly — I don’t think they were birthing stones but anyone is welcome to correct me on that.

Kapaniwai Cultural Park had a lot of interesting rocks!   This one on the right looks like it came from the ocean but it’s a little far removed from that.  This one may have had a story too but I saw no plaque telling us about it.

Don’t get me wrong, the rocks look great!  It also keeps people from parking on the grass; O’ahu uses them a lot for that!  I’m just not sure if there isn’t more to it than that; maybe they are a form of feng shui!

Rocks, rocks and more rocks!  Maybe I’m the only one who noticed this.  I’m weird.  What can I say?

Getting back down from Ali’i Kula Lavender, unloading the rental car and getting ourselves on our flight home didn’t work out exactly right.  We were late.  We had cows, horses, and the view to take pictures of.  Seriously!

We got where we needed to go and we accomplished the most important thing.

To witness the joining of two hearts!  An evening full of love!

Yeah, we were late to the airport. While it was a mad rush to catch the next flight after the one we just missed, we did it!  We said aloha to Maui as it disappeared out the airplane window, and we headed for home.

Then, in just a few minutes, she came into view — “Honolulu Baby!”  Sigh.  Blocks and blocks of concrete, I know, but it’s home!  Honolulu survived the weekend without me. 

My Phone Came In!

I recently wrote about finding a really cool Sprint store at Mililani Town Center?  My new cell phone came in earlier than expected.  I figured out a way to get there earlier than planned.  I made it and, although my Sprint friend, Matt, wasn’t there, the staff in the store were a big help and fixed me up just fine!

They hung in and stayed with me until the memory was all mapped over to the new phone and I was comfortable enough with its use to be on my way.  I swear, this is the best Sprint Store ever!  Yeah, yeah, they try to sell you stuff, but they do such a very good job of it!  Their follow-up and follow through was excellent!

I don’t know if anyone remembers but I told you guys that things were going to happen that make me a little bit hissy.  I even mentioned it when I started talking about just wanting to get a haircut at Supercuts.  So, here I was, back at the same shopping center, and here I was heading home, and here is where I am about to get hissy again, or worse!

I did mention that I always get lost in Mililani, didn’t I?  The technology on my new little phone was a bit more advanced than the older one so switching the service over took a little bit longer than planned.  By the time I left the store it was late, dark, and raining.  Needless to say, visibility was minimal.

“Go back the way you came,” I told myself,” and you’ll get right back on the freeway.”  No problem.  Right?  Wrong!

I’m disoriented, I can’t even see my self-created landmarks, and I should have turned but I didn’t!  Or, I did turn and I shouldn’t have.  (Even now, I still really don’t know.)  I’m lost!  I can’t see the street signs through the darkness and rain, so that’s not helping.

“Okay, just keep going downhill and you’ll eventually get back to something familiar.  Then you’ll know where you are.”

Just as I made that decision I ran into something that jolted me out of my seat and scared me to death.  It also totaled my tire!

“Who the hell puts a curb in the middle of the street?!?” 

There were a few other “choice” words thrown into that sentence but I will spare you that part.  The photo above shows how narrow and winy the path to get around it is I understand why they did it.  I know it was to slow drivers down.  Mililani High School is on one side and a recreation center is on the other so I get it!  But, there is a better way to slow drivers down without putting them in harm’s way or destroying their vehicles.  “You dumb, *&$*%#!”

Uh, let’s see — lights?  Warning signs?  Lights on the median strip?  Anything would have been better than what was there — which was NOTHING!  Yeah, I think I had good cause to be hissy at that point.

There were little plastic poles on both ends of this nightmare but they were both knocked over.  Gee, ya think maybe a few other people had this problem too???  Check out all of the tire marks seen on these photos of this middle-of-the-street “curb!”  A police officer stopped to be sure I was okay.  Shaken, angry, and a little banged around, but I was fine.  “The main thing is that you’re okay,” he said.  Uh huh, he knew!

Kipapa gulch has such a bad rap because of all the accidents, ghost stories, and urban legends that have shocked people over the years but, I swear, Kipapa Drive is worse!  That’s where this story took place — where Kipapa Drive meets Ikaloa Street.  This thing is such an anomaly it’s even visible on Google maps!  I really think the D.O.T. (Department of Transportation) needs a letter, or maybe even a reprimand!  Shall we at least talk about maintenance?  If those stupid, useless poles were supposed to be the markers should they not have fixed them or figured out they needed a better solution?  They’re just lucky that the damage to me personally was nothing more than a shock to my nerves and a bump or two! But I am digressing.

To continue the story, I’m now alone, in the dark, it’s raining, I don’t know where I am, and there’s a gaping hole in my tire.  Then, to make matters worse, I suddenly have a strange young man telling me he will help me fix my tire if I will give him a ride back to Kalihi.  Hmmm… he wants to get to Kalihi, what is he doing here?  What is he doing walking around Mililani with just a back pack and without any transportation of his own?  Even if I wanted to accept his offer, which I didn’t, my car had no jack and no tire iron.  I guess I never had a reason to look for either one so I never noticed that they were missing.

Man did I miss my little Datsun at that moment.  Datsun was a model of car; it became the brand young people know today as Nissan.  Trust me, I’ve had to explain this to some people younger than I!  Anyway, the tire would have been changed, by me, and I would have been back on the road in less than half an hour.

I do the usual — call my husband and tell him I’m stuck.  Husband finally finds me, he is furious, the strange guy is still hanging around and that makes him even more furious.  The tow truck driver who finally shows up is a lazy young guy who just wanted to tow us somewhere rather than help us change the tire.  He had neither a clue nor any desire to help us.  Loser!

Fortunately, we are in Mililani.  Mililani has a WalMart!  They had both a jack and a tire iron.  We got what we needed and got the darn tire changed.  It was no easy task either!  The lug nuts were frozen and not budging.  Even full body weight was not moving them.  Then, finally!  The nuts came lose, we changed the tire and got to the nearest gas station with an air hose before the spare ended up too damaged to get us home. I could go off here about having to PAY for air, but I won’t.  But I’m thinking it!  (That is another thing that makes me hissy!)

Whew!  OMG!  It was actually 2 a.m. before we were safely home and I pulled the blanket up over my head.  After all of that, didn’t I have a reason to be upset?  Even a little bit upset?

I know technology can be challenging on occasion but all of that for a cell phone?  You have got to wonder if the technology is worth all of that drama!

Aw, poor little phone.  The phone is happy now.  My friend, Coco, and her mother just got back from Serbia and they gave me a pretty little hand-woven pouch — especially for my phone!

(Coco is our choir director and she’s actually tired of seeing me pull my phone out of my bra at the most inopportune times.)

What a spoiled little phone!  It has its own blanket!  A hand-made blanket!

What about the car?  What happened to the tire? That will be part four of this long story.  One thing just leads to another!

Drama to be continued…

Welcome to the July, 2010 edition of Carnival of Aloha.  I’m at a loss for words, which is rare, and I’m not quite sure where to start.  I think we will let Sheila help us decide where to go first.

Sheila tell us How to Pick the Best Hawaiian Island(s) For Your Vacation and she posted this over at Hawaii Vacation Blog - GoVisitHawaii.com, saying, “I see so many folks struggling to choose which island(s) that best suit them for their vacation. So, after a lot of thought, I prepared this list of useful resources.”

Okay, we need to get something to eat first to work up our energy!

I guess I’m going to be in charge of feeding us this time but do be sure to visit this 0ne and leave a comment to be entered in the drawing for a Safeway Gift Card!  And you don’t have to live in Hawai’i to enter either!

Evelyn Hunter (that’s me) says that There’s a grocery list “Just for U!” posted right here at Homespun Honolulu.  I do love my food and I do love my grocery store for feeding me!  Writing about Safeway is always a pleasure — especially when my Pali Safeway is the best one.  Follow the link and tell me that your Safeway is better.  Go ahead!  (Take the bait — it’ll get you entered in the drawing!) 

Now that we have been fed, we can start our journey with the clean beaches of our Nation’s coastline.

Roger Elmore joins us for the first time and shares America’s 10 Most Beautiful Beaches Not on the Gulf Coast posted at Hospitality Management Schools.  The oil spill has been at the top of news for over two months now and it’s good to know that three of those ten beaches belong to the State of Hawai’i!  Thank you, Roger, for sharing a recap of our Nation’s beautiful beaches!

We all know how important our beaches are to us.  We are also sensitive about our ocean-dwelling neighbors.  Please join me in welcoming Cynthia to our little Carnival ohana as she takes us to the Big Island of Hawai’i and reminds us just how important our ocean friends are to us.

Cynthia Hoskins shares Turtle Independence Day at Mauna Lani Bay posted at her blog, asynchronicity.  This is the coolest thing!  Apparently this is becoming an annual event.  Mahalo to Sea Life Park for providing the baby honu and mahalo to Mauna Lani Bay for raising and caring for them! Mahalo, Cynthia, for sharing their story with us! Thank you for joining us!

We’re not done with our biggest island yet…

Andrew Cooper helps us shed some light on the telescope controversy at the top of our Big Island of Hawai’i by sharing an abundance of information about Astronomy and the Island Community posted at A Darker View.   Thank you, Andrew, for that moonbeam spotlight — pulling all of the information and useful links together for us to examine in much better detail than we’ve been getting piecemeal.

Now, after all of this food for thought, we need to unwind and contemplate all of this mental input!

Pua helps us relax with the Best Hawaii Sunset Photos posted at Best Hawaii Vacation with Hawaii Vacation Blog, saying, “The sunsets in Hawaii are unique and special to visitors and residents. Experiencing a rare ‘Green Flash’ sunset makes it even more exciting. Come visit our Best Hawaii Sunset photos and let us know which sunset photo you like best.”

Thank you, Pua, for helping us wrap up this, the 28th Chapter of our Carnival.  Be sure to submit your blog articles to the next edition of Carnival of Aloha using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Share the Aloha at the July Carnival!

In the interest of sharing the holiday, I’ve extended the deadline for sending in your submissions until Sunday,  July 4th!

Send in the link to your favorite blog post and join in the fun on July 5th when we share your link along with the links of other Carnival participants.

In case you’re new to this site and wondering what a blog Carnival is, go check out this one about pet owners who are Pet Writers. I found them and shared a blog post with there!

As a special note, just in case you missed it, FOXNews.com named O’ahu as one of its 8 Best 4th of July Destinations! They used our friend Sheila’s blog, GoVisitHawaii.com, to put the icing on their story!  Sheila wrote about Oahu’s July 4th Fireworks and Events 2010 and FOX picked up on her link.  Outstanding!  That just goes to show you, if you really want to know about stuff, ask a blogger!

Send in your posts using the submission form found here.  Happy 4th of July! Have a wonderful holiday, stay safe, and don’t forget to submit your posts!

I can’t wait to see what you have to share with the rest of the blogosphere!  See you on the 5th!

Like I said when I found my Supercuts, we just had to investigate this place further!  I made arrangements for Mom and me to check out the new-to-us Town Center of Mililani!  When we first got to this little mall, I heard Chinese drums.  Focus gone!  Everything at that point went out the window.

“I hear them!  I have to find them!”  I am still licking the psychological wounds from missing all of the Chinese New Year celebrations this year.  Tsk!

It wasn’t difficult to follow the sound.  As it turned out, I didn’t need my $1 bills because these were Chinese Lions-in-training.  We enjoyed listening to their instructor talk to the kids about how their practice will prepare them for the big lions one day soon.  I’ve seen the discipline demonstrated by the keiki studying this art form before in downtown Honolulu.

It is truly amazing to watch and an excellent way to teach our youth to respect culture, art and, above all, authority!

After that  we decided we were hungry and wanted to walk around to see what kind of food was available.  As luck would have it, and as is so befitting us, we found and ate lunch at Zippy’s.

One of the girls told me that this Zippy’s location has been there about seven years or so.  It looked new and clean and just as busy as any good Zippy’s always is.

Of course I had to give them a little grief by asking them for the things that I know darn good and well have been removed from the menu.  I do this just to make a point and show them their error.

“Do you have any mandu?”
“No.”
“Okay, how about some G2?”
“We don’t have that anymore.”
“I know, I know!  You guys keep taking away all the things I like!”

Of course this is always followed by profuse apologies from them, me telling me that it’s not their fault and that “I have to ask” — just because I keep hoping management will stop removing the stuff I like.  The seafood plate and the scallops were a great loss too!  This is an ongoing issue I have with Zippy’s, not this location.  This was a great Zippy’s with great staff!

After getting ourselves full, we went on our first visit to this new little Borders book store.  We found other book enthusiasts there who talked me into getting these two science fiction series starters.

Then as we were turning around, Mom saw this really cool Vampire book that covered a huge amount of vampire history, including Barnabus Collins from the old TV series, Dark Shadows.  Am I dating myself?  Does anyone remember watching this?  My sister and I loved this show and Mom loved Barnubus Collins, the head vampire.  From that to HBO’s True Blood; oh my how times have changed!  This really cool book was dirt cheap so we couldn’t just leave it there on the shelf!

To be fair we have to talk about any negatives we found.  Um, shade?  Lots of benches, but, in the sun?!?  We went in search of the thing that all afternoons like this are made for — ice cream!

Well, we came close.  We found a yogurt place to take care of that!  We’ll talk more about Menchie’s later.

It was almost time to stroll out of our new find.  There was a grand opening going on with some country music so we had to be nosy.  It was a brand new Sprint Store!  Hey, that’s my cell-phone carrier!  Let’s go look, just for fun.  There was that phone that I’ve been eyeing for a while now.  It’s one that can take my abuse without a problem — it’s a Motorola and it’s made to withstand the military.  With those two criteria, it has a much better chance of surviving me!

Because they were just opening, they made me a deal I could not refuse.  Yeah, I ordered that phone and they helped me fix my plan so I could get better service for my buck.  I was happy and looked forward to them calling me as soon as my new phone came in. (Remember that I said that!)

Customer service at this Sprint Store was amazing!  Friendly, patient, and not at all condescending.  I watch for all of that!  Matt sold me on that phone and I trusted that he would work with me the rest of the way until my phone was switched over.

All in all I think we had a productive day!  I thought we saw the whole shopping center but I was wrong.  I found this map and, my oh my!   We’re obviously going to have to go back for a few more visits to this place!  I don’t mind!

Just in case you missed it, Hawaii’s Safeway Stores have a new program running — for the time being it is just for Hawai’i residents.  That little red Safeway Club card has just gotten a little bit better!

I’m serious, your Safeway Club card is going to keep track of the products you buy and keep you in the loop when your favorites go on sale or have special promotional pricing.

You don’t have to clip and carry coupons anymore and it’s all personalized and it’s all done with YOU in mind!  Here’s how Safeway explains it:

personalized deals

• You can get some of the best prices in town with these exclusive deals.
• Amazing savings on items you buy at Safeway and items you may be picking up at other stores — but now you won’t have to.
• Unlike coupons, you can use these deals to save again and again.

Once you register with your Club card or phone number, you can go see these exclusive offers online and make a grocery list of your favorites in the comfort of your own home, print it out, put it in your purse or pocket, and off you go!  It’s “your online way to save more in-store.”

It’s just for Hawai’i at the present time but I’m thinking that we are the guinea pigs for this project.  I’ll take it! I’m happy to take part in it and I’m also happy to share this with everyone!  It is going to be interesting to see just how big this gets and just how fast it spreads across the country!

Leave a comment on this post and be entered to win a $50 Safeway gift card!  

If you leave a comment below, I’ll put your name in our little random drawing to win a $50 gift card, just like the one they’re sending to me!  For this drawing, you DON’T have to be from Hawai’i.  Free groceries!  You can kick start that gift giving early — sign up online and you’ll get a d0zen eggs, for free.

Some of you may have noticed that your shopping receipts at Safeway have been accompanied by coupons for the things you purchase often.  Has this been in the works for a while?  Perhaps.  Are we glad?  Oh yeah!  I am so excited about this — regular readers know how I love food!

Check out Safeway.com, sign up today, and then go check in with your local Safeway ohana and pick up the FREE dozen eggs you can add to your shopping list right after you sign up.

I can already see the evidence of what I regularly buy.  My Tostitos are among the offers.  Pepsi is there — based on the volumes I used to buy for Mom.  I see bananas.

This is fun!  I wonder if they’ll add asparagus to my list.  I just cooked up my first batch of fresh asparagus last night.  I can guarantee that I will be buying it often — it was so ‘ono!

“Safeway — Ingredients for Life!”  I just had to say that!  Come on!  Talk to us and share your thoughts, so I can put your name in the drawing!!!

Carnival Reminder!

This is a reminder that the Carnival of Aloha is, as always, looking for the submission of posts that are Hawai’i-specific.  You will find the guidelines here.  Exciting Carnival news follows below, so read on!

It’s fun and it is just a link to your blog that you are sharing.  Nobody is stealing your content or plagiarizing your carefully crafted work!  Trust me, we all hate that kind of stuff.

 Exciting Carnival News!

I received an email from The Blog Carnival Team of BlogCarnival.com, the creators of the wonderful venue of Blog Carnivals.  The message said, “Congrats on being the featured Blog Carnival on June 16.”  Wow!  The Carnival of Aloha was chosen to be the featured Blog Carnival on their Facebook page.  I didn’t even know they had one.  I do now!

Check it out!  Become a fan!  This is going to be great for all of us — we will get to learn all about more blog carnivals out there!  Thank you, Blog Carnival, for sharing!

Don’t forget to join us for the next Carnival of Aloha, scheduled to go live on July 5th.  Submit your link here!

• If you have traveled to the islands and posted about it on your blog, share it with us!
• If you live here and something made you happy, sad, or angry, share it with us!
• If you used to live here, miss home really badly, and talk about it all on your blog, share it with us!

Come join in the fun!

I have to admit to being stunned.  I shouldn’t have been since Barack’s roots are here, but I have to admit it — I was speechless (for all of about 3 seconds).

Just in case you missed it, I am more than happy to share it with everyone here!  I missed it when it first came out.  I heard about it through word-of-mouth from about three or four different sources, including the morning news, and then I had no problem spreading it around! This is kind of how the conversations went:

“Did you hear about the President’s proclamation?”

“What proclamation?” was the usual, wide-eyed response.  I think the expectation was that there was something new about the economic drama or some new find or fix for the oil spill — since those have been the buzz topics taking over the news recently.

“He said the country should recognize King Kamehameha Day!”

“No way!?!”

“Isn’t that something?” was my usual reply with a big grin.

Still don’t believe me?  Here it is, verbatim, from the White House website:

The White House, Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

June 10, 2010

Presidential Proclamation–King Kamehameha Day

Two hundred years ago, King Kamehameha the Great brought the Hawaiian Islands together under a unified government.  His courage and leadership earned him a legacy as the “Napoleon of the Pacific,” and today his humanity is preserved in Ke Kanawai Mamalahoe, or “the Law of the Splintered Paddle.”  This law protects civilians in times of war and remains enshrined in Hawaii’s constitution as “a unique and living symbol of the State’s concern for public safety.”

On this bicentennial King Kamehameha Day, we celebrate the history and heritage of the Aloha State, which has immeasurably enriched our national life and culture.  The Hawaiian narrative is one of both profound triumph and, sadly, deep injustice.  It is the story of Native Hawaiians oppressed by crippling disease, aborted treaties, and the eventual conquest of their sovereign kingdom.  These grim milestones remind us of an unjust time in our history, as well as the many pitfalls in our Nation’s long and difficult journey to perfect itself.  Yet, through the peaks and valleys of our American story, Hawaii’s steadfast sense of community and mutual support shows the progress that results when we are united in a spirit of limitless possibility.

In the decades since their persecution, Native Hawaiians have remained resilient.  They are part of the diverse people of Hawaii who, as children of pioneers and immigrants from around the world, carry on the unique cultures and traditions of their forebears.  As Americans, we can all admire these traits, as well as the raw natural beauty of the islands themselves.  Truly, the Aloha Spirit of Hawaii echoes the American Spirit, representing the opportunities we all have to grow and learn from one another as we carry our Nation toward a brighter day.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 11, 2010, as King Kamehameha Day.  I call upon all Americans to celebrate the rich heritage of Hawaii with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this tenth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

I don’t need to say anything; it speaks for itself.  The only thing that comes to mind is to say to the President, “Mahalo, bruddah!”

All I wanted was a haircut!  This post starts what will turn out to be a series of articles that shows how easily one thing can lead to another.  It all lead to a lot of drama (so you will “hear” me being hissy at times) but it has also enabled me to talk about a bunch of business relationships that mean more to me now than they did before this all started!

As I said, I needed a hair cut.  Here comes hissy fit #1 — I have a thing about my hair and have been irritated by some of the horrible things that the so-called experts have done to it over time.  I have found one person, the only person, which I trust to cut my hair.  Her name is Deloris; she works for Supercuts.  My hair likes her, it grows better after seeing her, and she doesn’t rip, tease, or strip the poor thing — she just washes, conditions, and cuts.  Simple!

Deloris was working at the Nu’uanu Supercuts.  She moved.  See, Walgreens is reportedly moving into the little shopping center known to us as Nu’uanu Shopping Plaza so it’s only a matter of time before we lose all of the little shops and businesses there.  As a matter of principle, I will probably never shop at that location.  I guess I have to call this hissy fit #2!  This is just my personal boycott — I haven’t been in any Walgreens since they moved to Hawai’i, and maybe I never will after having them over run Nu’uanu Shopping Plaza.

Give me a break, Longs Drugs is less than a mile away in one direction and slightly over a mile in the other direction!  We lost Huckleberry Farms (my favorite health food store) for Walgreens?!?  These Walgreens people can paint their walls green all they want, but it won’t be with any of my money!  Huckleberry Farm is gone.  Hungry lion is gone.  TCBY Yogurt is gone.  The remaining few will probably all be going too.

Okay, back to the hair.  Now, a lot of people have that one person that cuts and/or styles their hair and they refuse to go to any other.  Those who can relate to this know I would have to find my Deloris!  Where did she go?!?  Nu’uanu Supercuts said she went to the Supercuts in Mililani.  “Where?!?  Do you have a phone number?”  I got the phone number, called it and got Deloris herself on the phone.  Whew!  “Where are you?  But I always get lost in Mililani!”  She gave me directions and told me it was easy.  Uh huh. Okay, I found it.  Landmark = Ruby Tuesday.  I’ve been there, I can find it.

I found it — right between Genki Ramen and Subway.  I found Deloris.  I got my hair cut.  I feel better about that Mililani drive. This location of Supercuts is clean, comfortable, and so very familiar.  Ahhhhh, I’m content.  Leaving Supercuts I glance at the stores across the way — “Gasp!”  There’s a Borders!”  I suddenly like this shopping center a lot!

Mom and I will have to make a day of this place to check it out more thoroughly!  Town Center of Mililani is our newest place to peruse.  This completes the opening of the series of posts to follow soon.