The Road to Hana

Never before has the aphorism “it’s the journey not the destination” been more true than exploring the road to Hana. While the town of Hana itself certainly has its charm, it is the journey to the town that holds the rewards.

With this in mind you want to take your time and spend the day taking in the sights and sounds of the road to Hana. You want to leave early enough such that you won’t feel rushed to get back. Leaving the condo by 7:30 should work out fine. If you have people in your party that are of the “are we there yet” mentality… leave them behind.

Take the CD that is in with the travel books. This will be your audio guide and it is timed to the drive so that it will tell you when and where to pull off to get the most out of your journey. You don’t really need directions, go past the airport and get on Hana Highway. Make sure to bring water and a camera.

 

Meeting Makana

One of my favorite musicians Makana came to town last week and played a great show at the Kuumba Jazz center to a packed house. But the day before he played there, he gave a talk on activism at the university.  I thought I would stop by my old school and check out what he had to say and maybe get a chance to talk to him. I showed up a little early expecting to find a large meeting room, but it was a small class room with a few chairs and a couch. There were only three people there sitting on the couch and one of them was Makana. I introduced myself and told him I was a big fan. I was wearing my Makana shirt that I got via his kickstarter campaign. I though I might have him sign it but at that point it seemed kind of goofy so I just sat down and we talked for a while about his guitar pickup, recording, ProTools, Maui and all kinds of stuff. It was so nice to be able to just sit and talk. After a while more people showed up and the talk began. He talked about his activism, but mostly about how our concepts of “the World” and of the “Self” are bullshit. He sang a couple of songs, one was a take off of the Pink Floyd song “Wish You Were Here” but with his anti Monsanto GMO lyrics “Wish you Weren’t Here” funny but musically amazing. He also sang “We Are The Many” and told the story about singing the song for the Obamas and using the media for his message. It was great to meet him in person and get a chance to say hello and let him know how much I appreciated his music.

Condo update – Blinds

We have replaced the black out curtains in the master bedroom with blinds. The blinds have separate upper and lower sections, so you can close the bottom for privacy but keep the upper open for more natural light. I really enjoy being able to see that the sun has risen in the mornings. With the black out curtains I never knew what time is was outside and we usually left them closed making the bedroom very dark all the time. We love these new blinds and think you will too.

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Bike to La Perouse Bay

This is one of my most favorite bike rides on Maui. It will take you along one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, and then put you into a lava field that remains unchanged for hundreds of years. It ends up in La Perouse Bay. A little under 20 miles out and back.

As you enter the Ahihi Kinau preserve keep an eye out for the yellow gates on the right. This is the parking area to use for snorkeling the area known as “the dumps”. This is probably the best snorkeling on Maui. Huge number of fish and turtles. You want to wear good shoes and booties if you have them because you will need to walk through a lava field to get there and the beach is rocky. Not a spot for beginners.

 

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Baby Stuff

We get a number of people asking about if we have baby stuff in the condo. We have some sand toys and other toys but for cribs, playpens, high chairs etc. you have to rent those from various companies on Maui. A couple that we have had people use are http://www.akamaimothers.com and http://www.nokaoibabyrentals.com. They will come in and set everything up before your stay and take it all down when you leave. People seem pretty happy with both of them and the rates seem very reasonable.

Maui Canoe Club

Want to get an idea how the ancient Hawaiians got to the islands? Go on an outrigger canoe paddle with the Maui Canoe Club.

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To go, meet up on the beach with the club any weekday (weekends are for members only) at 7:30 and 8:30 AM. You need to get there 20 minutes early so you should leave the condo by 6:50 or 7:50. It costs $20 for an hour outing or $40 for 4 outings.

To get there from the condo get back on the Piilani Highway 31  (turn right out of the condo entrance and take the first right Keonekai Rd) north like you are going to Lahaina. Turn left at the light to North Kihei Rd (HI 310, where the sign says Lahaina). Stay to the right and follow HI 310 past the Sugar Beach Resort (the big gear on the left) for only a couple of blocks. You should see the red and white canoes on your left. Park on the left.

 

Low Cost / No Cost Flights to Hawaii

A few people have asked how to get low cost flights to Maui so I thought I would share a few tricks.

Use Hawaiian Airlines Miles Program

We have a Hawaiian Airlines VISA card through their Hawaiian Miles program. We pass practically every purchase we make though this card and as a result we typically get enough miles for at least one round trip flight a year for no cost. Critical to this trick is to always pay the monthly balance to avoid any interest payments.

After we starting running our finances this way I wondered why we didn’t do it sooner. We only have to worry if there is enough money on our checking account once a month to pay the card balance and you get 30 days to pay for everything interest free. Most of the things I used to have to write a check for each month are now on auto-pay through this card and my life is a lot simpler.

We put all our normal expenses through this card and it is amazing how quickly this adds up. Some examples are:

  • Groceries
  • Gas
  • Monthly cell phone bill
  • Monthly cable TV bill
  • Water bill
  • Garbage bill
  • Gym memberships
  • Dining out
  • Any large purchases (appliances, furniture)

When you sign up you get extra bonus miles and if you take the application they hand out on the plane you get even more bonus miles.

HawaiianMiles are earned 1 HawaiianMile per 1$ spent or mile flown and are at 10:1, you will need 25,000 HawaiianMiles to fly one way 2,500 miles (for us) to Maui.

Certain purchases earn 2x or more than usual. Look at their partners program.

We like this program better than the Alaska Airlines miles program because we can pool all of our miles together from all family members at no additional cost. Alaska charges you so much to transfer miles it it ends up not being worth it. However they have an awesome companion fare feature – see below.

Use Alaska Airlines Companion Fare

We also have an Alaska Airlines VISA that we use when flying on Alaska Airlines. While we do earn miles for flying, we don’t use this card for purchasing anything except Alaska Airline tickets themselves because you get 3x bonus miles that way. The beauty of this card is that each year you are awarded a companion fare. This allows you to buy a second ticket anywhere they fly for $99 (plus tax). The card itself has a $75 yearly fee, so for about $175 you can get a second round trip to Maui each year. If more than one family member also has this card, you can get that many companion fares each year. You get 25,000 bonus miles when you sign up, and usually they have extra bonus miles if you take the application from the flight attendant.

We don’t use this card for normal purchases to get miles because they make it prohibitively expensive to share miles with others.

Book in Advance

We always book our next flight immediately after we return from Hawaii, about 4 months or more ahead of time.

View Fares by Month

When you are browsing online for ticket prices, use the “view fares by month” or similar feature on the web site. You will be amazed at the difference in price leaving one day sooner or later than the day you might have picked. In the high season leaving on a Tuesday for example can be half the cost of leaving on Sunday or Monday.

Travel in the Off Season

This may be easier said than done but if you have the option, going in September or October will be the lowest cost. If it has turned cold where you live, it will be expense to fly to Maui. If it is a school vacation time, expect to pay double.

Hope this helps you save some money!

 

Tony Gora 2013

Started out foggy but the sun came out and conditions were flat for the 12 miles from the Santa Cruz harbor to the buoy off Natural Bridges, back and in. I was in seat two. Although our finish order was not great our speed was in the high 6 to 7 MPH the whole way. That is pretty darn fast for me. Thanks to the rest of the guys in my boat Andrew, Jay D, Carter, DK, and Rich.

 

 

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Slack Key Show

If you like Hawaiian music the Slack Key Show in Napili is a must see. Run by the legendary George Kahumoku every Wednesday at the Napili Kai resort  and Sea House restaurant, it provides a showcase for Hawaiian Ki ho’alu or slack key guitar. Each week in addition to George there is a special guest. We have seen some of the top artists in the world there. Backing them up are Da Ukulele Boys and Sterling Seaton. Sometimes George’s son Keoki will also play and he is a real treat as well.

The show starts at 7:30. Some nights it is packed and you will need to reserve your tickets ahead of time by calling in a few days before. Other nights you will be able to show up at the door and buy tickets. I guess it depends on the season and who is playing. Parking is tight so you may want to get there early. You can take a walk on the beach of Napili Bay at sunset, you won’t regret that!

This is NOT a luau or any kind of fake tourist trap. It is authentic Hawaiian music and culture. It does not have a fancy production, just a stage full of musicians playing the best slack key and having fun with each other.

Dinner before is available at the Sea House. The food is pretty darn good and the sunset view has to be one of the best.