Homespun Honolulu

This month, we’re flying high as visiting bloggers from across the country come riding in on the surf for a visit!  I got so excited when I saw this!

Ryan opens things for us this month by letting us know that The Bloggers are Coming posted over at his Hawaii Blog.  Ryan describes it as “an experiment by the Hawaii Tourism Authority and Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau to reach beyond the traditional media and professional travel agents to see if bloggers and vloggers can help spread the appeal of the Aloha State to a new audience.” If you’re on Twitter, search for the hashtag #hawaiihta to see what they’re up to and you can follow what they’ve been up to that way too!

Once we get through Ryan’s post we’re going to need some sustenance to keep our energy up.  As much as “I’m lovin’ it,” we’re going to drive right on passed McDonalds and follow one of our seasoned Hawaii visitors and Carnival bloggers to see what she’s got waiting for us.

Sheila takes care of our hunger this month with Liliha Bakery Coco Puffs: A Must Try On Your Oahu Vacation posted at Hawaii Vacation Blog - GoVisitHawaii.com, saying, “Mahalo Evelyn for putting Liliha Bakery’s coco puffs onto my radar. We did get to try them and they ‘broke da mouth’!”

Before you eat too many of those I have to say, first of all, that it’s not my fault, and then suggest that you follow the advice of our next blogger before you eat too many of those!  Did I tell you it’s not my fault?

Kris Nelson strongly suggests Having Vacation Portraits Taken – Creating Personalized Memories posted at Ka’anapali Dreamin’ Blog, saying, “Hoping this post helps encourage people to consider having vacation portraits taken while in paradise as we did earlier this year. I’ve been hard pressed to find a more special way to leave the islands with such a personalized memento of Hawaii, and one that will have people talking about (and missing) the islands every time they see those photos.”

That part — talking about and missing the islands — that is our fault!  :)  Memories, history, and traditions are important to us too. Read on and see!

Neenz rejoins us this month and shares a piece of that history  with a post written by a guest blogger called “Talking Story with Hawai’i’s Living Hisotry”: Helen Hiroko Hongo posted over at a blog that’s new to me called Hawaii Traditions.  I love that title!

I’ve missed Neenz recently but I’m left scratching my head as I’m wondering how and why we have felt such a very strong push to visit and embrace the history and culture of our home — simultaneously it seems.  Separate and apart from each other.

Evelyn (that’s me) has been concerned more and more with Preserving Hawaiian Language and Culture and has been talking about related topics here at Homespun Honolulu quite a bit recently.  I’m not complaining about this rekindling of the aloha for our history and culture, far from it!  :)  I’m just pleased and intrigued that I’m not alone in this.   

Are you still thinking about your next vacation?

Pua can give you 3 Reasons to Visit Hawaii this Summer.  She posted them over at Best Hawaii Vacation with Hawaii Vacation Blog and explains that “as the Economic Slowdown is challenging the Mainland and Hawaii, a trip to Hawaii has actually never been as affordable during the recent years as NOW. A vacation in Hawaii may help visitors to leave worries behind, to rejuvenate and replenish their energy.”

That’s it!  Whew!  A huge “Mahalo!” goes out to our visiting bloggers with hopes that they will join us for next month’s Carnival of Aloha with their favorite stories from their visit!   Submit your blog article for the next chapter using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: carnival of aloha, blog carnival.

I think most of us tend to be curious about a place marked “National Historic Site,” especially when it has a gift shop too!  I was nosey and went in to see the little gift shop and man did I find some really cool stuff and some really cool staff willing to share their knowledge!

I discovered connections to things I had seen elsewhere, I saw books with names I recognized, and there were books about things that had already become a focus for my insatiable curiosity about the history of our home.  In future posts I’ll fill you all in as I get through the items I bought at the gift shop.

The setting of Queen Emma Summer Palace is so peaceful.  It is a piece of Hawai’i’s Royal history that sits for all to view.  All can hear that history as told by those who give guides through the summer home of one of Hawaii’s very special Queens.  Queen Emma is the queen who founded The Queen’s Medical Center which remains until today as a non-profit hospital and the trauma center of Honolulu.

While the Queen Emma Summer Palace is frequented by tour buses and visitors with inquiring minds, I just found it alluring  because of its quiet beauty and its little gift shop that held so much in store for the culturally hungry.

Another thing that was drawn to my attention by the ladies in the gift shop was something known as the Daughters of Hawai’i.  This organization “maintains and operates two palaces to promote the history and culture of Hawai’i.“  The only problem was that to officially become a “Daughter” I would have to be able to trace my family’s Hawaii residence back to years prior to 1880.   Well, I’m fairly sure about 1920 or slightly earlier but 1880 might just be a bit too far back.  But, I can still be a Calabash Cousin!

A “calabash” family member is one who has grown up around you and/or shared a close friendship with you.  Well, that fit!  So, I sent in the application and was pleasantly surprised to soon receive a welcome letter.   In the body of the letter was written,  “The “Calabash Cousins” was established in  1986 as a support group to the Daughters of Hawai’i whose mission is “to perpetuate the memory and spirit of old Hawai’i and of historic facts, and to preserve the nomenclature and correct pronunciation of the Hawaiian language.” 

Funny they should mention that!  Did I tell you guys about H2O and the recent decision by the University of Hawaii’s Board of Regents?   Such a coincidence!  See?  Now it’s my duty! 

If you have not visited the Queen Emma Summer Palace, you should add it to your to-do list.  You’ll find it an educational endeavor and one that was very worthy of your time!

Queen Emma Summer Palace
2913 Pali Hwy
Honolulu, HI 96817
Phone: (808) 595-6291

I know you must recognize this little guy.  If you don’t, enjoy the Carnival and get ready to sign up!

Welcome to the latest chapter of the Carnival of Aloha.  What’s the mode of transportation for the Carnival?  We’re going on the wings of this very bright, adorable, blue bird!

Don’t worry, this bird gets all around the world without any trouble at all!  He is a tiny little thing so we might need to have several of them.  Don’t worry about that either, I see them everywhere!

Pua is the one who ”flew” the blue bird to our Carnival by saying, Twitter about Hawaii Join Us that she posted over at Best Hawaii Vacation with Hawaii Vacation Blog.  Pua’s message said, “Let’s get our Hawaii blogging community even stronger! Our Hawaii mybloglog community and Evelyn’s monthly hosted Aloha Carnival - much mahalo Evelyn for doing this - are places which unite us Hawaii bloggers in our passion for blogging about Hawaii. How about ‘Twitter’ about Hawaii? I am ready. Are you?”  We all need to go leave a comment on Pua’s blog with our Twitter name — @Who?

As we gather all of our blue birds together, this is a rockin’ ride so we need to be ready for the trip!

Angie tells us how to Prepare for the unexpected over at True Aloha, saying, “Hope this helps some people with their travel plans! It gives us some peace of mind! Also, this carnival is a celebration, it me and the hubbs 13 year anniversary!”

We do need to hold on tight to those tiny wings so we need someone to tell us about fitness and staying strong!

Ryan Suenaga does a good job of this with the Ford Island Bridge 10K posted at The Athletic Diabetic.  I’m so jealous!  I really need to focus on getting signed up for that run!  I’ve never been out there.  Thanks for sharing this Ryan!  Hope you stay in top shape with no injuries!

While we’re up in the air with our little bird friend, let’s check out our celestial surroundings!

Sheila helps us out with a Stargazing Q&A With Hawaii Astronomy Expert posted at Hawaii Vacation Blog - GoVisitHawaii.com, saying, “Before I took my first trip to Hawaii, I didn’t realize what a special place Hawaii is for stargazing. It was on my trip when I noticed the amazing number of stars I could see compared to home. This article is meant to help the novice (like me) enjoy Hawaii’s night sky.”

Ahhh, the night sky.  Andrew at A Darker View usually takes care of the night sky for us.  Andrew?  Hey, where’s Andrew?  Oh!

Andrew Cooper is talking about Digital Hawaiian - A Darker View posted at A Darker View.  This is great!  Thank you, Andrew, for the markup needed for those letters!  It would have taken me forever to find any of those and I’m probably going to be needing them soon too!

While Andrew talks about trying to assimilate the culture and language, let’s go get knee-deep in one of our favorite cultural events.

Kris Bordessa takes us to the Merrie Monarch 2009 in Photos posted at Big Island on the Cheap, saying, “Leslie’s view from the sidelines of Merrie Monarch.” I love this and it is so appreciated by people like me when we can’t get there ourselves.  Thank you, Kris!

Preservation of culture is so important, as is the protection of our wildlife.

GrrlScientist tells us all about Saving the `Alalâ posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “One of the rarest forest birds in the world, the critically endangered `Alalâ, or Hawaiian Crow, Corvus hawaiiensis, was awarded $14.3 million in conservation funding over the next five years, according to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).” Wow, this is great! I don’t think we would have known this if you hadn’t shared it with us, my scientific friend. 

We need to be careful with our little blue bird too so we’re going to take him with us on board a submarine for our next stop — I don’t think Atlantis Submarines will mind having him aboard.

Kris Nelson takes us on a whale of a sub, sharing some News: Maui Sub Spies Whales from Below posted at Ka’anapali Dreamin’ Blog.  You’ve got to check out this unreal video!  Oh, and don’t worry about our bird, Atlantis Submarines already knows our twittering blue friend!

Let’s go back to the surface now and take a political stance!  No, not standing on the water – standing at the Hawaii State Capitol! 

Mel presents Hawaii Tax Day Tea Party - a set on Flickr posted at Content from Hawaii Tax Day Tea Party, saying, “The taxpayers are angry - the politicians are clueless - read our lips: NO NEW TAXES! I also blogged this at: After the Tea Party What?“  As always, Mel, your photos and video are perfect and so very illustrative.

Things were just a little heated over there so let’s go back in the water!

Liza Pierce floated in a little late here but then, so did I!  Liza shares a heart-felt post about Paddling Out, Scattering of Ashes, Honoring A Loved One Who Passed Away that she posted at A Maui Blog.  There’s something so peaceful about this and it truly is a wonderful way to say Aloha to a loved one!

Evelyn (that’s me) was waffling about which post to share but Liza answered that question for me.  While we’re on the topic of deceased loved ones, I wanted to share a little story about a personal error that I made and that I beat myself up about.  Emotional reconciliation is such a wonderful thing and I made more than one Discovery at Mauna ‘Ala!

That’s it for this chapter! Submit your blog articles to the next edition of the Carnival of Aloha using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: carnival of aloha, blog carnival.

Here’s something different — I’ve noticed that when people are asked about their relationships they often say things like, “it’s complicated.”  Married, single, divorced?  Boy friend/girl friend?  “It’s complicated.”  If someone were to ask me about my “relationship” with my home and its people, I would have to say, “it’s complicated.” There is no question that I am very passionate about my home and there is no doubt that I love its people very deeply. But, just like we all do with members of our family, I get ticked off sometimes.  Whether it be with family or with others, we all have a tendency to fly off the handle about things before we know the full story.

Before sharing my internal grumblings with you guys, I will always try to be sure that I’m right or, as I am about to do now, I will tell you the whole story, all about how wrong I was, and how I corrected my internal strife.

Ho’oponopono is one of my favorite Hawaiian concepts. It is a way that families or groups get together to discuss their differences and resolve any issues they may be having between them. You could call it a healing process.  It’s a process that I’ve always admired and one that I took to heart many years ago.  More recently, I saw it labeled as, ”mental cleansing.”  That definition certainly works for me on this one!

So, with all of that in mind, let me share a little story. Don’t “go off” until you’ve read the whole thing!  I already did that.

Torn and Reconciled

On April 20th, I finally got to walk on the grounds of the Royal Mausoleum. I was excited and a little scared. I walked across the lawn looking at things and something suddenly made me stop and think – I couldn’t believe it. Shock and dismay left me questioning my ability to judge character.  “Why? How could they do that to them?!? How could they be so cruel?”

Let me explain.  We need to back up a little to understand this faulty thought process of mine.  It all started with a small bit of knowledge — knowledge that Kamehameha Schools removed the “Bishop” name from their own. They didn’t want a “haole name” in the name of the school. Fine. That’s your choice. Whatever. To be honest, with all of the bad publicity surrounding Bishop Estate, I would have preferred to disassociate from that as well. I shook my head and left it at that. Then I read somewhere about the love between Princess Bernice Pauahi and Charles Reed Bishop and I started to feel badly and very sad about the name thing.

Now let’s get back to the Mausoleum. Stay with me now, this is where I mix things all up in my head.

The gates are open at Mauna ‘Ala, the Royal Mausoleum, and I can go in! There’s the Queen’s burial site! There’s Queen Lili’uokalani’s resting place, the last sovereign of Hawaii. Wow, finally! Who’s next to her? John Dominis. (My mental wheels go screech!) “Huh?”

“Uh, excuse me, what’s more haole than that?”  Okay, there is Error #1.  This is also known as jumping to conclusions without thinking. Can we talk about a time line here? Hint: There is NO connection between these burials and the name of Kamehameha Schools! Moving on…

They put Charles Reed Bishop out on the lawn all by himself! Enter in my Error #2.

“Where’s his wife anyway? Probably down there with the Queen and everybody else and I just didn’t see her name,” grumble, grumble, grumble. As you can see from the picture above, this was Error #3. Bernice Pauahi’s name is with the rest of the Kamehameha family, right next to Charles out there on the lawn! (That’s the crypt that Charles built for them after she died, by the way.)

Yes there were errors but they accomplished something important — they sent me on a mission to understand what happened.  That mission has opened doors to so many things!

Elimination of the Errors

• Error #1: I had the Kamehameha School thing stuck in my brain and that was recent. Queen Lili’uokalani and Governor Dominis were interred many, many years before that! I get one slap for that one.

• Error #2: Charles Bishop was put there by his own design. One more slap for me! Kamehameha School might want to rethink the removal of the name of someone with so much caring, respect, and regard for the royal family!  Just a thought.

• Error #3: She’s right there! Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop is not only right next to Mr. Bishop’s memorial stone, his ashes were actually interred with her in the Kamehameha Crypt before it was permanently sealed! Three slaps for me!

I could not have been more wrong!  My internal dismay and whining changed into something like this:

“OMG! There she is! Charles was put where? OMG! See?!? They didn’t. They couldn’t. They wouldn’t. They could never be cruel! I knew that.”

Research, patience, and understanding leads to an internal drama successfully reconciled.  The fact that Charles’ urn  was placed on Bernice Pauahi’s casket by Prince Kuhio was just wonderful frosting on the cake for me! (Source: Mauna ‘Ala Hawai’i’s Royal Mausoleum, Last Remnant of a Lost Kingdom by Don Chapman with William Kaihe’ekai Mai’oho)  Their love was not overlooked, it was highly respected.  Ponopono = setting it straight; setting me straight!

I’m not saying that Charles was an angel.  I don’t know enough about it all, but I’ll keep digging and I’ll let you know!

SPECIAL NOTE about Kamehameha Schools: Don’t take any of this the wrong way! If I had a child, right now, with Hawaiian blood, I would do everything in my power to enroll that child in the Kamehameha Schools system. They produce fine students! I have only the highest respect for the quality of education that they provide! (It’s not their fault that I’m a mush bucket who jumps to conclusions.)

There’s so much to uncover, so much to tell — I don’t even know where to start.  The stories all link together, the history all links together, my discoveries all link together. I want so much to share — it’s so fascinating. There is so much we don’t know! Did our education system let us down. In this department I’m afraid they did. I’ll share what I find, I promise!

In the mean time, Mauna ‘Ala is a beautiful place to visit and to just sit down for a while and think.  It’s so peaceful and there is such a feeling of safety and sanctity there.  If you have not been there, you need to be sure you add it to your list of places to visit!

In Search of Restoration

As you step carefully down the narrow stairway, you well see a little plaque on your left next to the gate. You can see it in the picture to the right. On the plaque is written a short little blessing labeled the “Kawananakoa Gate Blessing.” (The Kawananakoa family is there with the Queen too!)

That little plaque reads as follows:

HARBINGERS OF ALOHA
THROUGH A BLACK LACE VEIL, SHIMMERING
UNLOCK OUR LOVE
LEST WE FORGET FROM WHENCE WE CAME

AND AS WE TOO SLIP THE SURLY BONDS OF EARTH
TO FLY WITH IWALANI
LET OUR CHILDREN JOIN HANDS HERE
TO TOUCH THE SOUL OF ALOHA

                                               August 29, 1986

It’s not all that old.  I don’t know who wrote it but it’s very beautiful, very touching, and very fitting. In a coming post, “In Search of Restoration,” I will tell you why I say it is so fitting.

For now, I just felt the need to share my little joyful moment of discovery with the World.  Readers know where my heart is. This is my home and this is our history.

Just a reminder to bloggers: the deadline for the next Carnival of Aloha is this coming Friday.  It was supposed to be Wednesday but I extended it because I know we’re all in a time crunch these days.

Join us f0r a little break from the monotony and a chance to share our favorite blog posts with each other and the rest of the blogosphere!

Don’t forget to submit your posts that you want to share before midnight on Friday, May 1st!  As long as it’s about Hawai’i, you’re good to go! 

All aboard for the March 30, 2009 edition of the Carnival of Aloha!  Since we will probably not say much about it for a long time, I thought it might be appropriate to make the Superferry our means of “transportation” this month.For those who have not heard, the Superferry is leaving the islands.  We may not have reason to talk about them again, except for the unfortunate, financial fall-out left behind for some interisland businesses that found it a thriftier way to transport their goods.

That being said, lets talk about the water!

Wayne Cross shares My First Scuba Diving Vacation posted at First Scuba Diving Vacation, saying, “Everybody who dives has to have a first diving experience. Mine was about twenty years ago of the Big Island of Hawaii with a group of my friends. None of us were certified. How could we be, since it was our first time? If we had been certified, at least we could have said we had previously dived to the bottom of some community pool back on the mainland.”  Scuba is still on my list of things to do, Wayne, so you’re ahead of me! 

Angie keeps us in the water only not quite as deep as she asks, Going snorkeling? Know what you’re looking at which she shares with us over at True Aloha.  This is a great resource for snorkelers who want to be able to identify both the strange and the beautiful.  Thanks for sharing, Angie!

Kris Nelson takes us back on land but doesn’t let us dry off much as we go Chasing Waterfalls over at the Ka’anapali Dreamin’ Blog. Kris says, “This is one entry of many in our Trip Journal from our stay in Maui last month. We did so many amazing things this year, but our return to Hana was certainly way up on the top of that list.”  Hana would always be at the top of my list too, Kris. Thank you for joining us and for sharing your explorations. 

Liz Wright presents SNL Mocks Clueless Hawaiian Honeymooners posted at Travelogged.  I honestly got a really good chuckle out of the clip.  I thought about it and read some of the comments about the clip.  Yes, it wasn’t very nice of Saturday Night Live to take a pot shot like that, but SNL is satire afterall.  While blown out of proportion, it isn’t too far from the truth about a lot of places.  But then, I would imagine you could say the same thing about any State, although I’m not sure.  I still liked the video, I couldn’t help it.

Well, while reality can be a little depressing laughter is always a good medicine.  Besides, when we get depressed what do we do?  We eat!  Andrew has done a fine job of feeding us for this Carnival!

Andrew Cooper tells us all about  SPAM - A Darker View posted at A Darker View.  Oh my, the onolicious things you can make with SPAM!  Honest!  Trust me, if you come to visit and stay around long enough, you’ll love it too!

Aside from yummy recipes, we’ve got more good news, at least I think it’s good news!

Ryan Suenaga stopped by to let us in on a little secret.  Ryan notices an increase in speed shares it with us in Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: Hidden Bandwidth Upgrade? posted over at Uncommon Cents.  I think you may be right, Ryan.  And here I thought my little laptop was just that good.  Shucks! 

See, we do have things to celebrate!  Just like the end of the work week and fireworks on a Friday.  Oh, wait, we’ve got that too!

Sheila made sure that we would have some for the Carnival!  She tells us all about the Free Fireworks Show Every Friday Night in Waikiki that she posted over at Go Visit Hawaii.  Sheila, you may need to ask Andy to share how he got those great photos! Those are wonderful!

Wouldn’t it be great to watch the fireworks while snuggled up in a quilt?

Kris Bordessa has us “covered” with the Merrie Monarch Hawaiian Quilt Exhibit posted at Big Island on the Cheap.  Kris says, “The art of Hawaiian quilting has captured the imagination of people from around the world. As part of the upcoming Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo, the Merrie Monarch Hawaiian Quilt Exhibit runs from 4/4/09-4/30/09.”  This is awesome stuff gang.  If you can get there, by all means, do!

I did it again.  I ran into something that I couldn’t resist including here.  Kris created the perfect spot for it too.  Emery is going to kill me for not asking but time was too short.  I just discovered this yesterday and I couldn’t help myself.

Emery tells all about how their hula halau planted WAUKE!  You guys have got to read this over at the Halau Na Pua ‘O Uluhaimalama blog.  This is yet another cultural happening over on the Big Island of Hawaii.  Wauke is the plant they make tapa cloth out of.  Cool!  I just thought this was so awesome, it pulled at my heart strings, and I really wanted to share!

Now I ask you, what’s better to follow a hula halau than a selection of our favorite Hawaiian flowers?

Pua took care of that for us as she tells all about Our Favorite Hawaiian Flowers at Best Hawaii Vacation with Hawaii Vacation Blog.  Pua includes a virtual invitation saying, “Hawaii residents and visitors to the Hawaiian Islands alike admire the unique beauty of tropical flowers. We invite all of you to share your ‘favorite Hawaiian flower’ with our Best Hawaii Vacation blog visitors. Let’s have some flower power fun! Mahalo, Pua”

That concludes this edition.  I have not posted enough to justify sharing my own post this go ’round.  I’ve got 11 or 12 posts in the blog oven but they’re not quite done.

Signing off this time and thanking the Superferry for taking a chance and making a go of it.  Sorry guys.

Like me, you bloggers need to submit your favorite blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Aloha using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.  The guidelines are here.

Technorati tags: carnival of aloha, blog carnival.

The April chapter of the Carnival of Aloha is scheduled to go live on March 30th.  The deadline for submissions has been extended to Friday, March 27th!

So, let’s all make like birds of a feather and pull our posts together!  Please join us for the upcoming Carnival by submitting your favorite post about Hawaii using this submission form.  I’m looking forward to reading the fun and interesting things that come “flying” in at the last minute!   

Welcome to the March, 2009 Chapter of the Carnival of Aloha!  I was a little stumped about our method of transportation this month but it suddenly hit me — let’s just take a car!

This lovely, cushy ride was one of the automobiles at the recent Kruse International Collector Car auction held at the Hawaii Convention Center on Valentine’s Day.

We have got a lot of things to talk about this month so we need some sustenance to get us through!  We’re stopping for food first!  No eating in the car, please. 

Kris had some trouble getting submission site to work right while trying to submit the following post but we got it through and now we all get to share in the reward — this is an awesome write-up about Fresh Pao Doce - Thursdays posted at Big Island on the Cheap.  Pao Doce (Portuguese sweet bread) for all!  The pictures are sure to get your mouth watering.  Now that I think about it, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like Portuguese sweet bread.  Great post, Kris, and the pictures are awesome!

Kuanyin speaks volumes in her post, Maui At The Crossroads posted at Who’s Yo Mama?.  In these economic times, it’s all about having that kind of positive attitude, in spite of it all.  Maui seems to have this down!

Liza joins us from A Maui Blog and tells us to “Just Talk Story” on Maui.  We should just talk story no matter where we are.  Like a lot of us, Liza gets hung up on writing something great and ends up with blogger’s block.  Liza let go of that idea and decides to share with us what’s on her mind and what’s happening soon.  That really worked out nicely, Liza!

Meanwhile, over on Kauai, there’s a little bit of trouble sleeping.

Vanessa Wolf warns us about a Dead Rooster Walking posted at Wide Awake in Wonderland.  This little guy’s days were numbered as you will see in the tone of this sleep-deprived blogger visiting Kauai and its avian population.  I had to chuckle at this one, Vanessa.  Sorry, I loved it!

All is not lost, we do have one visitor who plans to come back.  (I really don’t think the roosters were enough to keep Vanessa away anyway!)

Lindsay shares the post about Hawaii Shore Excursion Ideas for Cruisers posted at Cruises 101.  Makes me want to take a cruise too!  I think I’ll avoid the helicopter rides though.  Thank you, Lindsay, for sharing this.  I don’t think I have heard any real feedback about the cruises from island to island. Feel free to share more of this adventure with us!

There’s a lot of room for adventures and Sheila, our Hawaii boomerang, found another.

Sheila gives us more excitement by telling us how she went to See the Banzai Pipeline at Ehukai Beach Park posted at Hawaii Vacation Blog - GoVisitHawaii.com.  Sheila said, “Well, I finally got to see the big ones and what a mesmerizing sight it was! It was so interesting that we went to watch the waves on two days of our 7 day Oahu vacation.” Thanks, Sheila, I so need to get out there!

The vacation/adventure options don’t stop there.

Pua presents a Mauna Kea Summit Adventure that she posted at Best Hawaii Vacation with Hawaii Vacation Blog.  Pua asks if we’ve ”Ever wondered what else you can do on top of snow-covered Mauna Kea summit, besides stargazing and watching the spectacular sun rise over the Big Island? Read Keoki’s very own ‘Mauna Kea Summit adventure’. Sorry guys the post got a little long, so we decided to deliver it in 2 parts. Don’t forget to click the link to ‘Mauna Kea Volcano’ which is the beginning of the story. The only part missing is the photo of Keoki on his boogie board - no digital camera then. Too bad!”  Aw, shucks!  Digital cameras are such a God-send aren’t they, Pua?

There are other reasons to visit Hawai’i.  No matter why you come to visit, you’re left with a lasting impression.

Jason Zuckerman put his impression into his art work. Aloha, Welcome to Big Kahuna’s Kite Shop posted at Jay Zuck’s Sketch of the Day, was very moving for me when I read it.  Jay says, “I chronicle my journey to Hawaii to scatter my Nana’s ashes in the warm waters of the land she loved. The trip inspired a fun layout sketch I call, ‘Aloha, Welcome to Big Kahuna’s Kite Shop.’”  I think you should make prints, Jay, so we can buy them and share the story whenever somebody asks us about it.  Thanks, Jay, for sharing that bit of aloha you took home with you!  Definitely a conversation piece!

The next one is my doing, thanks to Entrecard.  The icon and the title of this blog fascinated me and then this post caught my attention.

Jack over at Comics Legends and Lore wrote a post that caught my eye.  Charlie don’t surf was an unexpected find and one that I’ll call a piece of educational history that actually kind of links in nicely with Homespun Honolulu’s most recent blog about Hanauma Bay’s Historical Firsts.

My goodness, what an electic group for this Chapter!  They all complimented each other well and went together without a hitch!  Must be that car!  That concludes this edition and, as always, I can’t thank the contributors enough for their educational and flavorful submissions.  You guys are the best!

Don’t forget to submit your blog article 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.

Technorati tags: carnival of aloha, blog carnival.

It’s that time again! The deadline for submitting posts for the March chapter of the Carnival of Aloha is this Wednesday, February 25th. Please come join in the fun.

We’ve got some interesting additions for the upcoming Carnival, scheduled to go live on March 2nd. I’m looking forward to it and it should be interesting for readers! If you would like to join us, please submit your Hawai’i-based blog post over at BlogCarnival.com using this form.

Mahalo to Hawai’i Naturalist on Flickr for the picture-perfect gardenia. Check out this artist’s photos and art. Take time to smell admire the flowers — I was impressed.

Never let it be said that we do things slowly around here, even if we’ve had a bit of a problem with takeoff this month!  :)   As carnival rides go, this has got to be one of the most exciting.

When the first post of this month’s Carnival came soaring in on the Internet’s coconut wireless, I could see our mode of transportation in the making — for February we are going to paraglide through the Carnival of Aloha.

Bobbie starts us off with Perceived Risk, and Point of View posted at The Right Blue, saying, “Re category choice — not really travel to us kama’ainas, but maybe to those away from Hawaii? More like tales of “life in Hawaii.”   You’re right, Bobbie, it’s not exactly travel, but, it’s quite a trip!  I love the stories I have heard (second hand) from paragliders who, from their great vantage point, watch the swimmers below as they swim with the sharks and don’t even know it.  I love that story and I know you are certainly aware of it!

Part of Bobbie’s post talks about our next blogger who tried something just as fun-loving and zany on Kauai.  For the Carnival, however, Sheila is providing our food.  No risks here, except for our waistlines!

Sheila talks about Leonard’s Bakery - A Honolulu Delight over at Hawaii Vacation Blog - GoVisitHawaii.com, saying, “Hot malasadas, anyone? :-)”  I say, “Me, me, meeee!”  One of my favorites since about age 9 or 10, compliments of the Leonard’s Malasada wagon in the parking lot at Gem’s in Waipahu.  Remember that striped wagon?  Remember Gem’s in Waipahu?  Oh dear, I’m dating myself!

Okay, maybe that was a little too much sugar?  Nah!  How about some gau?!?  Okay, how about dragons and lions and beauty queens, oh my!  I look forward to Chinese New Year and I’m particularly appreciative that Mel, my favorite pictorial genius, has gifted us with his steady hand and crisp photos.

Mel says Kung Hee Fat Choy - Year of the Ox posted at Mel’s Internet Universe Weblog and defined as, “Chinese New Year parade post and photos + link in Downtown Honolulu, January 24, 2009.”  Follow his Flickr link to view the wonderful colors of this event.  Thank you, Mel!  Even though I missed it all this year, I can relive it through your photos.

Speaking of things that fly, like dragons and us as we paraglide, did you know that carnivals can be educational?  We’re going to prove it as we fly with the birds.

GrrlScientist shares more ecological science as she tells us to Meet the Great Speciators: The White-Eyes by reading her post over at Living the Scientific Life, explaining, “Did you know that some lineages evolve (speciate) faster than others? This hot-off-the-presses paper tells you more about this fascinating phenomenon as identified in a group of birds from the southern hemisphere: the White-eyes (might be interesting because there is a white-eye that lives in Hawaii: the Japanese white-eye was introduced to the island many years ago).”  See?  I told you there’s some intellect around here!

Since we’re up high, let’s fly over to Maui.

Pua sends us over to Haleakala via her post at Best Hawaii Vacation with Hawaii Vacation Blog. Pua wanted to “share one of the biggest Maui attractions - a visit to Haleakala National Park - with our Maui visitors. Find tips about a visit to Haleakala, the House of the Sun.”

We’re really up high and some of us are still high on the election year.  In fact, we even have a specialty booth this month.  In the political arena we have an Obama Fan Club.

HawaiiVacationGifts felt compelled to share, President Barack Obama–Born & Raised in Hawaii, Self Guided Tour posted at Hawaii Vacation Gifts by Double Brush-Hawaiian Gifts & Blog.  We can’t help it.

Evelyn joins Hawaii Vacation Gifts (yeah, yeah, me too) in talking about it just one more time as she tells everyone that Hawaii [was] Well Represented at 2009 Inauguration.

So, as the Obama girls conclude this Chapter of the Carnival of Aloha, we urge you to submit your blog articles to the next chapter using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: carnival of aloha, blog carnival.