Taken by Kris Nelson on February 19th, 2009.
Location: Our lanai at the Sheraton Maui Resort, Ka’anapali, Maui

A sampling of the morning views we used to enjoy when staying at the ocean front rooms at the Sheraton Maui Resort in Ka’anapali. Sure, we paid a premium for those rooms, and all budget-minded travelers will say that you can save a ton of money on cheaper rooms that you’re not really going to spend that much time in anyway. And they’re right.

Still, for two weeks out of the year, being able to wake up and walk out on your balcony and see views like this…

I like to think it was worth it.

Mahalo,
– Kris

This photo is from my Maui Portfolio on my photography website. Head on over there if you’d like to see more.

Taken by Kris Nelson on February 21st, 2009
Location: Whale Day Parade down South Kihei Road, Kihei, Maui

March of the Whales

Yesterday was the 30th annual Whale Day celebration at Kalama Park in Kihei, and although we couldn’t be there again this year, a lot of my Maui Tweeps and a few new friends had another great #MauiTweetup.

For more details about the entire Maui Whale Festival, visit http://www.mauiwhalefestival.org, and for more details about the #MauiTweetup, head over to A Maui Blog or check out @AMauiBlog’s new Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/amauiblog.

Mahalo,
– Kris

Taken by Kris Nelson on Septmember 19th, 2009
Location: Honolua Bay near Kapalua, Maui

For this week’s Sunday Photo I wanted to share the latest panoramic image I’ve worked with from our trip last September. This one is from down by the water of Honolua Bay, and if haven’t seen the bay from this level, you really should make the trip down there.

For those you that might have seen Honolua Bay from the lookout point above, that boat there out on the water is the one you usually see from the top.  If you haven’t seen Honolua Bay at all, here’s a different view, too.

View Larger

I know it’s kind of hard to see all the details in the version above, so if you want to see more, check out the Large and Original views over on Flickr.

Aloha,
– Kris

Browse more Sunday Photos

Taken by Kris Nelson on September 18th, 2009.
Location: High Above D.T. Fleming Beach Park via helicopter

Right up the coast from last week’s photo, this one is of nearby D.T. Fleming Beach. As I go back through more of my photos from this aerial shoot during the Maui Photo Festival last year, I continue to countdown to this year’s workshops in August. Maybe we’ll see you there this time?

More Photos on Facebook

Over the summer, I shared a list of my favorite Maui themed Facebook pages, including the one I created for my other site, Maui by Photo.

Well, as my addiction to intrigue with photography has flourished in the past year, I ended up creating another Facebook page for my photography work.  Take a look at Kris Nelson Photography on Facebook if you’d like to see more of my favorite images. There are more than just Maui images there, but if you’re so inclined, feel free to become a fan and leave a note on my wall asking that Maui be shown front and center.

Mahalo,
– Kris

Browse more Sunday Photos.

Taken by Kris Nelson on September 18th, 2009.
Location: High Above Kapalua Beach via helicopter

Looking down at Kapalua Beach and the Ritz Carlton Kapalua Bay Residences to the left.

For a closer look of Kapalua Beach from the ground, check out this previous entry in the Sunday Photo series.

Taken by Kris Nelson on Friday, September 17, 2007
Location: D.T. Fleming Beach, Kapalua, Maui

A warm beach scene for those of us living in the deep freeze of winter on the mainland, dreaming of our next visit to Maui.

Maui Christmas Everyone!

It’s hard to believe there’s only a week left in ‘09 already. Cindy and I would like to wish everyone a very happy holiday and a happy and healthy new year ahead.

Island Christmas Posts

While we have yet to celebrate Christmas and New Years on the Valley Isle, it is still near the top of our list. Until then, I wanted to share some holiday posts from a few of my favorite Hawaii bloggers.

• A Maui Blog – A Merry Maui Christmas to All
• A Maui Blog – The Night Before Christmas Pidgin Kind
• Go Visit Hawaii – Twelve Days of Christmas (Hawaii-Style)
• Hawaii Vacation Blog – Christmas in Hawaii

I could list dozens of reasons why it would be so cool to spend the holidays on Maui someday. Rather than ramble on about that, I’ll just throw one out there. The Whales!

Wishing everyone peace and love,
 - Kris and Cindy

Aloha Friday Everyone!

The last Friday before Xmas, and for me at least, before a full week off for the holiday. Sweet!

Back to task, I reluctantly woke up from a very vivid dream about Maui this morning, and it was too unreal. I know it’s been a long while since our last post here, but it certainly isn’t because our Aloha for Maui has faded. The holidays, among other things, have been monopolizing much of our time lately, but that’s not what you want to read about, you’re here to Talk Story about Maui.

Our Next Trip(s)?

Perhaps one of the reasons gorgeous visions of Maui popped into my dreams last night is that we’re thinking about fitting in our next trip early in ‘10. Originally, we wanted to return in February for a week as we did this year, as that seemed to be an amazing time to see the whales. Unfortunately, our budget window for that trip sort of came and passed, so now we’re thinking of something in March.

We’re almost certainly going ahead with our plans to return in August for the Maui Photo Festival after such an amazing time in September, so that throws our annual trip budget a little curveball. Originally, the plan was to spend the entire month of August on Maui (2 weeks vacation, 2 works telecommuting) as an initial test to see if the island lifestyle was indeed for us. That is certainly something we still want to do, but planning two trips for consecutive years is forcing us to consider additional sacrifices and savings on top of what we already do each year.

Change of Venue

While we are evaluating a trip in March, we’ve committed to mixing it up from what we’ve done in the past. As you’re able to tell, our previous trips have all been focused out of West Maui, more precisely our absolute favorite Sheraton Maui Resort in Ka’anapali. No question that is an amazing home base for two weeks in paradise, but the accommodations we indulge in there, while well worth it, aren’t the most budget friendly.

So, in order for us to squeeze in two trips (a total of 5 weeks, actually) this year, mix things up a little bit and get a different sense of the island, and be closer to some of our cool friends in South Maui, we’re going to be looking at condo rentals in Kihei this time around. We’re not entirely strangers to the condo rental idea ourselves, since that’s what we do when make our seasonal visits up to Door County, WI. It’s just that we haven’t done so yet on the Valley Isle up to this point, and as I’m just starting to scratch the surface, there are a ton of options out there.

When talking about an early trip in ‘10, I had initially wanted to return to Hana and spend at least one night there as we did in ‘09, but that might have to wait until August.   The good news is there is still so much exploring (and photos) that we have on our list just around South Maui itself that it would more than fill up an entire week. Take La Perouse Bay, for example, which my friend and Maui photographer Peter Liu (@PeterLiu47) has captured so beautifully at sunset on his blog.

Stay Tuned

Although we still haven’t finalized whether our March trip to Maui will happen or not, I still hope to have more details soon and maybe even an update to the site here and there depending on how ambitious I get next week. To say I’ve been spreading myself thin would be an understatement (just ask my wife), but just because I can’t update this blog as much as I’d like to doesn’t mean the Aloha spirit in my heart is not always with me.

Wishing for the best, I can’t wait to see all my awesome Maui friends in person again real soon.

Mahalo,
– Kris

Taken by Kris Nelson on Monday, September 14th, 2009.
Location: Along Honoapiilani Highway in northwest Maui

This is a shot from our first day on Maui during our trip for the Maui Photo Festival back in September. It was one of the places along the end of Honoapiilani Hwy (just before the Kahekili Hwy starts) that we pulled over to enjoy the view.

Slow Going
You can probably tell that the updates and posts here at our blog have been pretty scarce lately. Well, after the Maui Photo Festival much of my free time has been behind the camera and in the digital darkroom as I feed my renewed shutterbug addiction. If you’re interested in seeing more of what I’ve been up to lately, head over to my photography site.

Never fear, though, our love for Maui is still as strong as ever. We’re excited to hear that the whales have arrived for their winter visit, and we’re targeting the end of November to lock down plans for our next one-week trip in February to see them again for ourselves.

Other Posts
Since there hasn’t been much here to read, I thought I’d add a few links that might help with your Maui fix.

• My reviews and photos from the ‘09 Maui Photo Festival
• A little insight into my experience at the Sunset Hula photo shoot
• Another great #MauiTweetup from October, courtesy of @jalove
• Some pumpkin picking at the Kula Country Farm thanks to A Maui Blog
• The official Maui Photo Festival 2009 group on Flickr

Mahalo, and enjoy,
- Kris

Aloha Friday
A cloud covered Molokai as seen from a private area of the Sheraton Maui Resort.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost 3 months since my last Aloha Friday post. I guess it goes to show just how busy of a summer it has been for me. Regardless, I’m still working on getting things a little more regular here.

This photo is an oldie but still a goodie. It’s taken from one of the viewing areas at the Sheraton Maui Resort in Ka’anapali. In fact, it’s only one of many great views you can find at the Sheraton.

More FollowFriday Coming Soon
I’m writing this a little unprepared today, so the return of Follow Friday (aka #FollowFriday on Twitter) will have to wait until next week. I’m excited, though, because I met so many great people at the Maui Photo Festival last month and have a great list of tweeps you’d be interested in following.

And speaking of the Maui Photo Festival, they’ve recently announced the dates for the 2nd annual event next year. If you couldn’t attend this year, or wasn’t sure what it was about, let me tell you, it was absolutely amazing. I still owe you details and photos from my MPF experience this year, and hoping to feature some of them this weekend over at Maui by Photo. In the meantime, find me as @MauiByPhoto on Twitter and ask away.

Back to the dates for next year’s event, block off August 25-29 on your calendars. Also, there will be a big push on preregistration starting in a few weeks, and great early bird deals to save money on your registration. Check out their site (and here) as more details are released.

Hope to see you there next year.