Honolulu’s Chinatown

by Adrienne Wilson on

By the time I made it into Chinatown many of the shops had
closed. It was only five o’clock in the afternoon, so I was pretty surprised, but there were a few open
here and there. My two main reasons for going into the historic 15-block area of Oahu was to get my friend a tacky
tee-shirt he requested and also to see if anything major had changed since I had been there five years ago. Chinatown
never really rocked my socks off in the first place and it didn’t do anything differently this second go round. As a
tourist attraction I find the area is most lively when there are events and performances taking place. All of which may
have happened earlier that day, but since I arrived later that afternoon who knows? See the calendar of upcoming events
here.

Touring Chinatown on an everyday basis as a neighborhood spot can have its rewards though. Whether you’re stopping
into the market for fresh veggies and seafood or grabbing a bite to eat in one of the many inexpensive
and delicious food joints you’re bound to find something to tickle your fancy.   

Riding Back from Zihuatanejo

by Erik Olsen on

Zihuatanejo (we’re into foriegn-sounding names today). The
name sounded familiar to me because I remember it from the movie The
Shawshank Redemption. Remember, that’s where the Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins were reunited after all those fun
buddy bonding years in prison? Well, it’s a real place. The kind of place you’d hang with Jack Johnson, or your wife,
or, well, old prison buddies.

Well here’s a nice story about Zihuatanejo in
the Boulder Daily Camera.
The author is posting to the paper as he rides a bicycle back from Mexico, no mean feat. The rider is a recent graduate
of the University and is on a strict “two-cans-of-beans-per-day diet”. The dispatches are enjoyable and they make a
nice contra-positive to the earlier story about the Ice Hotel.

Stay in the Ice Hotel in Sweden

by Erik Olsen on

I have no idea how to pronounce this. Jukkasjärvi. It looks like a
cat just walked across my keyboard. But the name is Swedish and refers to a place, a village in Sweden that is home to
the famous Ice Hotel. This is not the place you want to go if your idea of a
vacation is Bermuda shorts and Mai Tais. The Ice Hotel can be found up in Swedish Lapland, about 120 miles inside the
Arctic Circle. Which means it’s cold. Think shrinkage.

But here’s the really interesting part about the hotel. The hotel is built anew every year. That’s right. Just about
now, about thirty artists and builders take water from the nearby river, make large blocks of ice and they begin
carving and building a hotel. It takes months, and they have a viable blueprint they follow, but when it opens on
December 9, it will welcome visitors eager for a cold dark stay in a hotel made of ice. And then, if you are really
dedicated, you can wait around until May when the thing melts. Consider chipping off a piece for your Absolut on the
rocks.

Hawaii Dispatch: 4 Church, Stampin’ & Ko Olina

by Adrienne Wilson on

It’s been a day or so since I’ve had the chance to post a dispatch and I do apologize. My friend 
received a bit of bad news changing the mood and ultimately some of our plans, which is
quite alright being the flexible person that I am. Last I left off we were on our way to the North Shore, but had
gotten sidetracked by pineapple ice cream, wine, and mango chutney. Mmm…

By the time we made it to Historic Haleiwa town (which isn’t far) we
decided to fill our belly’s before laying out on the beach and quickly decided on the
Grass Skirt Grill. A very casual dining kind of restaurant with
fare such as burgers and fish burgers. I nabbed a Mahi-Mahi burger and my friend had the Ahi-Ahi, both highly
delicious. I’d recommend either one.  Next stop was the Waimea Beach Park where we of course did nothing, but
catch some sun, sand, water and talked about good times from the past.

The following day we had anticipated going hiking, but as I mentioned our plans got rearranged. First thing Sunday
morning, we headed to my friend’s church in
Waialua. Back home I never go to church much and every time I end up visiting a friend I get sucked into the whole
experience, but let me just say this was one of the nicest churches I’ve been to. Located on
Farrington Hwy in Waialua, the church is mostly locals, which when I say that I mean there were few of the
stationed military personnel in attendance. After welcoming visitors, where all newcomers get lei’d (quite an
experience in church) Pastor Lee got into a pretty lengthy sermon. At this point I’ll flash forward.

My friend had made a promise to attend a friend of a friends Stampin’ Party and said it shouldn’t take long.
Afterwards we would split and go to Manoa Falls. Didn’t happen. The Stampin’ fun went a little longer than we expected
and we ended up heading to the Ko Olina Lagoon’s to hangout. I couldn’t
remember if I had been to Ko Olina in the past, but after we arrived memories came whirling back at me. The lagoons are
all man made, but they are some of the nicer beaches if you enjoy going the resort way in Hawai’i.

Hawaii: Big Island Festival

by Kelly Amabile on

So has all this Hawaii talk from Adrienne gotcha itching to go?
Now’s as good a time as any, especially with a slew of advertised discounts and reduced packages floating around. How
about a last minute trip to the Big Island for the annual
Big Island Festival, which runs from November 9th through the
12th? This Kohala Coast food and wine festival celebrates Hawaii’s culinary and cultural traditions with over 40
events, including appearances by Food and Wine’s 2005
Chefs.

Here are a few recently advertised flights/packages to the Big Island:


RT from Austin, from $465 [Expedia]

$168/night with every
4th night free at ResortQuest Shores at Waikoloa [Sidestep]

Stay 4 nights and get
one night free at the Royal Kona Resort, from $597 [Travelocity]