Books about Hawai`i

For the past year, I have almost exclusively read books about Hawai`i. Whether they be about travel, history, indvidual's memoirs, language, food or local culture, I have devoured them.

I first ran into some difficulty finding books about Hawai`i beyond the travel guides, but I've learned how to narrow down searches on amazon and also have discovered a few gems at the Hawai`i General Store in Seattle and Basically Books on our trips to Hilo.

I put together this list, with links to the amazon page for purchase and more information. I'd recommend all of them, and have included a few words on each.

Travel

Ultimate Kaua`i Guidebook, Wizard Publications - The "Bible" series of Hawai`i guidebooks, often known simply as the "blue book." Wizard does a marvelous job, using locals to write about the islands and offering great money-saving tips.

Kaui Underground Guide, Lenore & Mirah Horowitz - We used both the blue book and this one for our trip to Kaua`i and found both very useful. This one had some great restaurant reviews. The two worked well together, as there was different information in each guide.

Big Island Revealed, Wizard Publications - Again, the ultimate source for Big Island travel. Never leave home without it. And you can access their website for updates, or web-only reviews.

Pocket Guide to Lana`i, Marcia Zina Mager & Dennis Aubrey - Lana`i is such a mystery to me, and this helped me gain a sense of what it has to offer for the traveler. The Wizard series does not include Moloka`i or Lana`i, but rather includes bits of information on them in Maui Revealed. It's actually hard to track down travel books exlusively on Lana`i!

Exploring Historic Hilo, Leslie Lang - A pictorial with descriptions of old Hilo town. A great way to connect to the town before visiting, or after you've returned.

Food

Best of the Best from Hawai`i, Gwen McKee & Barbara Moseley - We use this one all the time. Favorite recipes include the scallops with oranges and shrimp curry. Yum!

Big Island Of Hawaii Restaurants And Dining With Hilo And The Kona Coast, Robert Carpenter & Cindy Carpenter - Just got this one in the mail, and look forward to checking it out to see what we've missed!

Chefs of Aloha, Island Heritage Publishing - Picked this one up at a bakery/gift shop on the Big Island. The hearts of palm salad recipe is terrific!

History

Concise History of the Hawaiian Islands, Dr. Phil Barnes - I've read this 3 times. It's just as the title suggests - concise and quickly gets you up to speed on the history of the islands, mostly from unification on. The author also owns the vacation house we stayed at in Puna! I refer back to this one often, for dates or a refresher.

Nana I Ke Kumu (Look to the Source) volume I, Mary Pukui, E.W. Haertig, Catherine A. Lee - I just finished this one. It is written in an encyclopedic format and outlines various ancient Hawaiian terms and the rituals/beliefs attached. It is designed for the Case Worker working with Native Hawaiian clients to better understand their cultural perspective.

Ancient History of the Hawaiian People to the Times of Kamehameha I, Fornander - Just started this one yesterday!

Biography/Memoir

No Footprints in the Sand - A Memoir of Kalaupapa, Henry Kalalahilimoku Nalaielua - A beautiful tale of a man who simply would not let disease and banishment stop him from living his dreams.

Olivia: My Life of Exile in Kalaupapa, Olivia R. Breitha - A similar story, though slightly more angry in tone.

Hawai`i's Story by Hawai`i's Queen, Lili`uokalani - The biography of Hawai`i's last Queen and Royal Sovereign. Details her trips to Europe, her struggle to retain the Monarchy and ultimately her imprisonment.

Pauahi: The Kamehameha Legacy, George H. Kanahele - A product of the Kamehameha Schools, a quick biography of Bernice Pauahi Bishop, whose generosity made the entire school system possible. Interesting insight into an amazing woman.

Aloha Niihau/ Oral Histories, Emalia Licayan; Virginia Nizo and Elama - I read much of this on Kehena Beach in Puna. Three different accounts of life on Ni`ihau - then and now.

Language

Learning Hawaiian Language at Home, Kahikahealani Wight - Comes with a CD. Haven't spent much time with this one yet as I have other CDs I'm learning from (Topics Entertainment)

A Pocket Guide to the Hawaiian Language - A nice introduction to the Hawaiian language

New Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary: With a Concise Grammar and Given Names in Hawaiian, Mary Kawena Pukui - Good reference to have around. We use it often.

Local/Moving to Hawai`i

So You Want to Live in Hawaii: The Guide to Settling and Succeeding in the Islands, Toni Polancy - Some call it too negative, but it's more of a wake-up call for the starry-eyed Mainlander who dreams of packing up and embarking on a lifestyle of fun, sun and mai tais without considering the greater realities of life on the 50th state.

Family Traditions in Hawai`i, Joan Namkoong - Discussion on the various cultural practices of the people who make up the islands, including Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, and Tongan. Holidays, birthdays, weddings, and funeral traditions are described.

Fiction/Folklore

Hotel Honolulu, Paul Theroux - This one doesn't have a whole lot to do with Hawai`i, other than its setting but anyone who knows a bit about the culture will get a kick out of the characters, the Pidgin and the politics they discuss. Also just a good page turner!

La'ieikawai , Dennis Kawaharada - Story of twin sisters who are separated at birth. Hawaiian mythology.

Magazines

Hana Hou - the magazine of Hawaiian Airlines


Hawai`i Magazine

Upcoming Polynesian Festival

Thanks to Gregg Porter for posting this on the NW Hawaiian mailing list:

More details will be forthcoming, but I wanted to start confirming
the rumors that have been floating around --- there will be a four-
day festival of Hawaiian music, hula & culture on Washington State's
Olympic Peninsula at the beginning of October.

The Olympic Festival of Polynesian Arts and Culture will be centered
on workshops by acclaimed musicians Keoki Kahumoku, Herb Ohta, Jr.
and Sonny Lim. The workshops will be held at The Inn at Port Hadlock;
there will also be connected events at The Upstage Theatre &
Restaurant in Port Townsend.

Events will begin Thursday, October 2, with an opening celebration
concert; there will also be a lu`au on Friday night, a jam session on
Saturday night, and a closing concert Sunday night. Workshops will be
held during the day on Friday, October 3 through Sunday, October 5.

There will be a special lodging deal at The Inn at Port Hadlock for
workshop attendees; information on workshop, event and lodging prices
will be announced shortly, and registration will begin August 15.
This event is co-sponsored by Hawaii Music Live, The Inn at Port
Hadlock and Discovery Arts.

More details will be posted in the near future at
www/hawaiimusiclive.com

Childhood Memories of Hawai'i

As my first official post, I thought I'd start at the very beginning of my Hawaiian adventures - my first trip to Hawai'i.

I was 3 years old, I believe, when my Dad brought the whole family on a business trip to Honolulu. While he did service calls, my Mom, sister and I spent the days exploring. At least that's what I'm told. I have very few memories of the trip, being so young at the time. Most are memory 'snapshots' - incomplete, blurry pictures from moments of the trip.

The first thing I think I remember of the trip is the Honolulu Aquarium. I remember a pool outside the main building, with some sort of marine mammal inside. I recall being able to walk down some steps to an underground viewing area, where you could watch the seals or dolphins or whatever they were from under water. I also remember the inside of the aquarium being cavernous, and believe I recall seeing an Opah - either stuffed or a real one.

My second memory is even less clear. It's of watching a hula performance in a courtyard below us, and I'm looking through bars, like a railing or something. I think I also remember falling asleep there, though I'm not sure.



And the last memory is the one captured in this photo - of sitting on top of a boat with my sister, sorting through clumps of rock and coral and seaweed, looking for crabs and things. I distinctly remember seeing the little creatures crawling around. This picture (and the memory) were on a glass bottom boat trip we all took together (that's my sister smiling for the camera, my Dad in the cowboy hat and mustache, me in the blue shorts, and my Mom's behind the camera). I could swear my Dad was scuba diving during the boat trip, and was one of the people bringing stuff up for us to look through - but I think that's concocted from other stories of this trip or other trips heard throughout the years, and is most likely a composition of multiple experiences.

The most talked about moment of the trip, however, is something I don't remember at all. Apparently, I decided to walk into the deep end of a swimming pool. I just walked over, stepped in, and sank to the bottom, making no attempt to swim or save myself. From what I'm told, this happened at the hotel pool while my Dad (a former lifeguard) was at work, and my poor Mother can't swim. I guess there was a guy sitting by the pool but he made no effort to help. My sister, just a few years older than me, jumped in and pulled me up to the top of the water, saving my life.

She later became a life guard.

Beach House in Moloka`i

In late November 2006, we traveled to the little island of Moloka`i. Moloka`i is home to only about 7,000 people, and has the largest Native Hawaiian population outside of Ni`ihau. We flew into Honolulu and then connected on a very tiny airplane into the Moloka`i airport, which is six miles northwest of the main island town of Kaunakakai.

We then got in our rental car and drove east about 25 miles, to the 19 mile marker (19 miles east of town) to the house we found through internet searches. Called simply "Moloka`i Beach House," it proved to be as welcoming and tranquil as we had hoped. We spent six glorious nights there, enjoying the large backyard and private beach. At the time there were only three hotels on the island: Hotel Moloka`i, The Lodge at Moloka`i Ranch (now closed) and the Kaluakoi Hotel/Resort. We ate lunch at Hotel Moloka`i and had both a lunch and dinner at the beautiful Lodge, but were glad to have chosen the beach house.

Driving to town took about 30 minutes so we'd try to stock up on groceries every few days. For the most part, our routine was to cook breakfast and dinner while venturing out for lunch. Kaunakakai has two grocery stores, a liquor store, post-office, organic market, library, ice cream parlor, dive shop, an awesome bakery, a few restaurants and some galleries and gift shops. Not a booming metropolis, but essentially all one needs.

Downtown Kaunakakai



The house has plenty of space, making it a very comfortable place for us to spread out. While we didn't need three bedrooms, we've found that vacations homes with more than one bedroom often have more living space and we really appreciate not feeling like we're on top of one another since we tend to spend a lot of time just relaxing at the house.

View of house from backyard:



Front of house:



Kitchen/dining area:



Main living room: great for napping, reading, gazing out at the sea



Backyard around sunset - that's Maui in the background!



Gazebo in backyard - great for morning coffee or cocktails



Moloka`i is a special place, and this house was just perfect for us. While in a residential neighhorhood, we never saw the neighbors and felt like we had a decent amount of privacy.

More to come on our adventures around the island, including snorkeling, touring an old sugar plantation, exploring the west side of the island (which is mostly closed now) and the Moloka`i Museum.

Other Hawaiian Resources

There are a plethora of resources out there on the web that we use quite often in gathering information about Hawai`i.

One of our favorites is this site we stumbled upon earlier this year: Hilo Living www.hiloliving.com

A family relocated from the hustle and bustle of Silicon Valley to sleepy Hilo town and document the changes in their new daily lives. The site also links to two different blogs, includes news updates, picture galleries and a calendar of events going on in the Hilo area.

Staying on Hilo, worth checking out is the newly re-styled www.downtownhilo.com. The site offers insightful information into the town's history, attractions and also features a community discussion area where people chat about their recent trips.

The Big Island Weekly is the Big Island's weekly, free alternative paper. It covers issues such as local politics, environmental concerns, upcoming art exhibits, the island music scene and includes a thorough calendar of the week's events across the Big Island.

On a more local front, the Northwest Hawai`i Times is the on-line version of the free monthly paper. It tends to be a month or so behind so we usually pick up the paper at one of the drop locations (Delite Bakery on Beacon Hill, Uwajimaya, Hawai`i General Store, Northshore Hawaiian Barbeque are a few places we've found copies). However, this is a great option when you want to find something in the archives, like that recipe for Okinawan sweep potato pie!

The NW Hawn Calendar is a yahoo mailing list, groups.yahoo.com/group/nwhawncalendar with over 300 members. This is a must if you want to find out about all the Hawaiian music events that go on in the Northwest area. This list has fairly high traffic with two or three messages a day, largely centered around music and hula.

Another great source for Hawaiian music and hula is Pacific Mele. In addition to listing concert dates, the site features interviews with the artists and links to their own web sites.

Local retailers also sometimes offer special events or workshops, such as the Hawai`i General Store in Wallingford or Island Life in SoDo. Both are terrific places to shop for Hawaiiana and island-inspired decor, and are staffed by knowledgable kanaka full of aloha! The Hawai`i General Store also houses a travel agency, specializing in trips to the islands and partnered with Hawaiian Airlines. Several of our wedding guests used this service and were quite impressed with the competitive fares, helpful tips and friendly service.

These are just a few, and we'll post more as we stumble across them. So, hele on, warm up those browsers and show your kokua!

The Best Mai Tai in Seattle

It's Friday so let's talk about Hawai`i's most celebrated cocktail: the mai tai. There is much debate over both the origins of the mai tai, and the exact recipe. Both Trader Vics and Don the Beachcomber claim to have invented the tropical wonder. One thing is certain, though: the drink originated in California, not Hawai`i. However, as tourism began to soar with the advent of airplanes, the drink quickly became synonymous with Paradise.

All in the name of research, we've sipped our way through many variations of the drink that in Tahitian means "good." The most standard recipe calls for orange juice, pineapple juice, orgeat, lime juice, grenadine, light rum and dark rum. However, some mixologists choose orange caracou over the OJ while others go with a different type of juice altogether. The real "juice," though, is almost always light rum mixed in with a float of dark rum on top.

We can rave about Don the Beachcomber's famed delight that we've had at the Royal Kona or delicious buckets of aloha at Honolulu Airport's Stinger Ray's, but today we shall comment on those more accessible to us. Here we will rate four version of the institution known as the Mai Tai right here in our hometown:

1. 'Ohana - Ohana Mai Tai 8.00
Bacardi Light Rum, Amaretto, orange and pineapple juices, a dash of grenadine, and a float of Myer’s Dark Rum.



We've only been to `Ohana once and we'll get into the food and service in some future post. As for the mai tai, we were not very impressed. In fact, it's our least favorite on the local scene. Too much grenadine and not enough rum made for a lingering, saccharine taste. The Amaretto in lieu of the orgeat is a nice touch if done correctly, though, and we've been inspired to start doing that at home.

2. Hula Hula

Their menu only says "A Blend of Rum & Juices Create this Native Delight." Hula Hula is a relatively new establishment in Seattle's Lower Queen Anne neighborhood. Again, we have only been here once but were impressed with the layout and decor. They even had surfing videos playing behind the bar and the bartender was incredibly friendly.

This one rates fairly high, and deserves an honorable mention. It wasn't too sweet, or toxically strong and the flavors were fresh. Third place, but definitely one to keep on the radar.

3. The Islander

Rum, Apricot Brandy, Crème de Noyeaux, Lime,
Passionfruit, Pineapple Juice, Myer’s Rum Float (8 bucks)

We go to The Islander fairly often, as they have great food, outdoor seating and a wicked drink menu (be careful!). Their mai tai is a bit of a departure, using apricot brandy instead of orange juice and Creme de Noyeaux (an almond liquer) instead of orgeat or amaretto. They serve them in nice tall glasses, and they disappear rapidly. This is one of Seattle's best happy hours all around and home of the second best mai tai in town.

4. Luau



That brings us to the big kahuna, numero uno (or quattro in this list). Hands down the winner for best mai tai in Seattle is Luau Polynesian Lounge in the Green Lake neighborhood.

Kaha Mai Tai
Bacardi Silver, Meyers Dark rum, guava nectar, pineapple juice, Grenadine and the Kaha secret...$6.40

Maybe it's the guava nectar, maybe it's the secret ingredient or perhaps it's the Noon-6pm happy hour when you can suck them down at 5 bucks a pop...this masterpiece is one we always come back to (though Dan G. is currently addicted to their Pina Coladas and that is another post entirely).

We find ourselves at Luau more regularly than any other spot in town, and we don't live very close. Aside from the drinks, the food is `ono and the staff is usually brimming with aloha. We'll be talking about this place often.

Happy Friday. Drink up! A hui hou!

Kaua`i: Beginning overview

We spent six blissful nights exploring the island and just relaxing at our hotel. Some highlights included a guided tour up the Wailua River (the only navigable river in all of Hawai`i) to the Fern Grotto. It's a popular spot to get married.



We also got to go inside the grotto!



We also hiked down to some beautiful beaches, Donkey Beach and Secret Beach.



The beaches in Kaua`i are pristine, and private.



We also saw Waimea Canyon, which was quite breathtaking.


As were the Wailua Falls.



More to come on our hotel, spouting horn, some tropical gardens, the shave ice and some 'ono grindz!

Welcome to our Hawai`i Blog!

This will be a place where we can share our Hawaiian adventures - whether they be on the Islands or here in the Pacific Northwest. Lucky for us, the Seattle area Hawaiian scene is thriving with a number of restaurants, music venues, stores, festivals and a monthly newspaper dedicated to all things Hawaiian in relation to those of us living here in the PNW.

In March 2005, we took our first trip to Hawai`i together. Dan G had been twice before: once to Oahu when he was just three years old, and once in 2003 to the Eastern side of the Big Island with a friend.

After doing some research, we decided on Kaua`i. It being Dan D's first trip to the islands, he wanted to see a less-traveled spot. We stayed for six nights in the Radisson Kaua`i hotel/resort (now the Hilton) in the own of Lihue, which conveniently is where the main airport is located. It was a very short drive to the resort, which was laid out beautifully against the Pacific Ocean with its own private (but not swimmable) beach.

After checking in, we wandered down to the pool area for the Manager's happy hour (free mai tais, beer, wine from 5-6pm!). Sitting there sipping the tropical libations, hearing the faint sound of the ukulele against the waves crashing and looking just feet away from the deep blue sea...it was a turning point. The beginning of our now 3-plus year love affair with the archipelago that is the most isolated land on earth. We'll talk about our 6 nights on the Garden Isle more in further posts, and share pictures.

It wasn't until late November 2006 that we returned to once-named Sandwich Islands. This time we decided to check out the Friendly Isle, Moloka`i. Tourism isn't as rampant on Moloka`i, often referred to as the most "Hawaiian" island. With only three hotels to choose from, we decided to rent a house instead. We loved it! It is now our preferred means of lodging, though we still enjoy a few nights in a hotel here and there.

In future posts, we'll share pictures of the marvelous house (right on the beach!) and all the treasures Moloka`i has to offer.

In the Spring of 2007 we became engaged and it wasn't long after that Hawai`i was decided on as our destination. That October we traveled to the Big Island (a favorite of Dan G's) for 10 nights. We first hit Kona for 3 nights in a hotel and then drove to the Puna region and rented a house for 7 nights. It was on this trip that we found the site of our wedding! More on this trip to come...

And then, of course, we come to June 2008. We flew back to the Big Island, this time in reverse of our previous trip. We spent the first 5 nights in Hilo and the next 5 nights in Kona. We were married June 15, 2008 at the Falls at Reeds Island, the location we fell in love with last October. It was a spectacular trip, a beautiful ceremony and solidified our lasting aloha for these islands (and the Big Island in particular). We'll be back soon, probably next Spring or Summer and hope to increase our stay to three weeks.

This blog is dedicated to sharing our love of all things Hawaiian - the food, the culture, the music, the ecology, the history, the people, the language, and the way of life known simply as aloha that continues to inspire us.

Mahalo nui loa na ho'olaule'a me la kaua a Kipa hou mai!