Ka'anapali Dreamin'

After a brief hiatus, we’re back with another edition in our Travel Traditions series. And with this tradition, it’s something that is both free and can be done anywhere on any of the Hawaiian islands. How sweet it that!

Picture Worth a Thousand Stars

Allow me to start with one of my favorite (and luckiest) photos on this week’s topic, Stargazing.

Those familiar with the Ka’anapali area might recognize that as Black Rock, and the astronomers in the house are calling out the Milky Way on the left. And for good measure, that bright object right in the center there is not a star, but the planet Jupiter.

I’ve touched on the topic of stargazing on Maui in various parts here and there over the last year or so, so the regular readers have heard this story before. We, like a fair number of people who visit Hawaii, come from a highly populated area where night skies full of stars of this magnitude aren’t readily available. When we came out to Maui for the first time, it totally blew us away, and quickly became one of the top must-do things on each of our trips.

Not many things stir up images of Hawaii better than a luau. And while some are more authentic than others, as a malihini (visitor) a luau is just another great way to celebrate an evening on the islands with about 100 new friends. That’s why we always reserve at least one evening for a lovely [...]

This one is a little harder to call a tradition, but whether we plan to or not, we (er, Cindy) always manage to come home with one or two pieces of jewelry that she did have when we landed. Of all the types of souveniers you can bring home from Hawaii, jewelry is one that [...]

For some reason, one of the few phrases from high school Spanish class that I remember is “vamos a la playa,” which translates to “let’s go to the beach.” And that’s where this week’s Travel Tradition is taking us. Growing up playing ice hockey in Chicago, I never thought of myself as much of a [...]

Disclaimer: If one of your New Years resolutions involves skipping dessert, please bookmark this post and read it in a few months. You’ve been warned. This week’s Travel Tradition is by far the most delicious. Perhaps Sheila at Go Visit Hawaii said it best, Hula Pie! Oh My! They say a picture is worth a [...]

Our Travel Traditions series this week brings us to a tradition that’s not always easy to plan for, Live Entertainment. In addition to attending a luau or two each trip, we still like to find something that’s happening during our trip such as a festival, a concert, things like that. Sure, there are running shows [...]