Mort Luby is a longtime friend of our family, and has been spending his winters painting in Maui for many years now. We had the great pleasure of having lunch with Mort and his wife in Haiku during our winter ’09 trip, and were treated to a tour of his workshop. We also have a few “Luby’s” hanging on the walls of our home, too.

If you do happen to be on Maui near one of these galleries, do try to stop in and take a look. And if you’re at the gallery during one of the sessions when he’s painting, please tell him Kris, Cindy, and baby say Aloha!

Mahalo,
– Kris

Taken from the recent Maui Hands mailing list.

Our Featured Artist

All Three Galleries, February and March

Mort Luby

Mort Luby will demonstrate his painting technique in all three Maui Hands galleries during February and March. The Haiku-based painter of oils and watercolors will bring his easel to Maui Hands Pa’ia every Monday afternoon. On Wednesday evenings, from 3 to 8 pm, he will wield his brushes in the gallery at the Hyatt Regency Resort and Spa in Ka’anapali. Friday evenings, from 4 to 7 pm, will find him at Maui Hands on Front Street in Lahaina, where he has been designated as the ‘Artist in Residence’ for two months.

Luby’s paintings depict a wide variety of local scenes, ranging from surfing scenes at Ho’okipa to beach encounters at Big Beach to children playing around the base of the famous Banyan Tree. Many of his smaller paintings were created during outdoor sessions with the Plein Air Painters of Maui. Most of the larger pieces were done at his studio.

Luby is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He also received art instruction at the University of Wisconsin, the Scottsdale Artists School and the Chicago Art Institute. He has studied with many of the America’s greatest painters. He has won more than 40 awards, including four best-of-show citations.

Before plunging into a full-time art career 15 years ago, Luby was CEO of Luby Publishing Inc., a publisher of sports magazines. He was also an Associated Press stringer for more than 40 years, traveling to more than 60 countries to cover various sports events.

Maui Hands Gallery Locations and info.

We’ve been huge fans of these guys since we first saw them popping up their heads from the water outside of our ocean front room at the Sheraton. And since we’re not avid snorkelers, we get our up-close turtle fix by visiting the Maui Ocean Center instead. Based on this update from the MOC, I think there’s a very good chance we’ll be paying them a visit next month as part of our mini Trip 5. They look too cute to pass up.

More from the newsletter:

Turtles at Maui Ocean Center
Maui Ocean Center cares for a total of 12 green sea turtles; the six new hatchlings and six which are juvenile. While at Maui Ocean Center, the turtles are fed a primarily vegetarian diet, including algae brought from the ocean, to prepare them for their eventual release to the open sea. The turtles were captive-bred at Sea Life Park on Oahu. Sea Life Park is home to a colony of adult Hawaiian green sea turtles which produces 200 to 300 hatchlings each year, most of which are released into the wild. A few of these, including the turtles at Maui Ocean Center, become part of the Hawaii Green Sea Turtle Educational Loan Program and are released at a later age to provide an educational opportunity for those that visit these institutions.

If you happen to be nearby in the next month or so, and hadn’t thought of visiting the ocean center, maybe this might change your mind.

In fact, I remember shooting video from the Turtle Lagoon exhibit at the MOC a few years ago that I posted on YouTube. Grant it, I spend way more time working with Photoshop than editing movies, so the quality has a lot to be desired, but it’s still fun. Someday I’ll get around to tweaking the quality.

In any case, here you go.

More Honu Love

• Sunday Photo: Grumpy Honu
• Sunday Photo: Swimming Honu
• Sights & Tours: Maui Ocean Center
• Maui by Photo: Maui Ocean Center
• Official Website: Maui Ocean Center

Some Suggested Reading
In case you weren’t aware, statehood in Hawaii to some Native Hawaiians and their supporters is a very controversial subject. It was certainly not something I was aware of when we started visiting the islands with frequency, and a subject I have been following for about a year now.

This statehood milestone has given rise to more media coverage of these issues of Hawaiian sovereignty and, combined with the power of the Internet, information and history surrounding this movement has never been more accessible. I wanted to share a few news articles and links for those who are interested in learning more.

• News Article: The Effects of Statehood differ among Hawaiians – The Maui News
• Special News Section: 50th Anniversary of Statehood – The Maui News
• Blog Post: Hawaii celebrates its 50th anniversary of statehood, sort of – Hawaii Magazine
• Magazine Article: The Akaka Bill – Maui Magazine, July-August Issue
• Wikipedia Article: The Akaka Bill

My Opinion
One of my primary rules here for this blog is not to engage in politics or enter into these types of debates. There are many other forums and places that are better suited for such. I realize that is a cop out for not sharing my own views here, and I apologize.

I will say that ever since I fell in love with the Hawaiian islands (particularly Maui) as a visitor a few years ago, I have done everything I can to support the land, her people, and their culture. I do my best to live Aloha and share that spirit with as many people as I can, and through as many channels as I have access to here on the mainland. I have connected with, and met in person, some of the greatest people I know through talking story and sharing experiences with Hawaii, more so than any other place I’ve visited. That is one of the many things that continues to draw us back to the islands year after year.

I have done my best to understand the debate over statehood and the views on both sides. Of course, in the end I am truly just an outsider looking in on the entire matter, and therefore I only play the role of an observer with goals to stay as informed and educated on the subject as possible. I’m not one to try an influence others one way or another on most topics, and this is one of them. At best, my hope is to share the information that I come across that I feel is helpful to others.

Talk Story
Again, my intent here is not to start a debate or argue for or against statehood. I would still love to hear your thoughts, though, and if you have a link or two that you’d like to share, please feel free to do so.

Also, if you are planning to celebrate this anniversary, I’d love to hear about those stories, too.

Mahalo,
– Kris

Aloha Friday
An old version of the sign out front of Whalers Village.

Back today with another Aloha Friday photo after missing the last few weeks.  I like this photo, even though this sign has since replaced with a new one.  It’s a reminder that even though all of our past trips have essentially centered out of the same spot in Ka’anapali, there is something always new and different to discover at Whalers Village.  The second year we were there, they updated the sign and a few shops.  This past February, there were even bigger changes with the Rusty Harpoon moving out and the edition of Cindy’s favorite, Swarovski, near where Tiffany’s used to be.

Our Aloha Friday photo each week is from our Maui Photo Day Calendar. Visit www.mauiphotocal.com for more details on how to add a new Maui photo on your iGoogle page or your blog everyday, as well as how to subscribe via RSS.

In the News – Sheraton Working Giving Back
In addition to the Aloha Friday photo, I ran across this article in the Lahaina News this morning that I wanted to pass along:

School receives fresh coat of paint from Sheraton workers

You probably know by now that we’re fans of the Sheraton, so that’s one reason why it popped up on my radar (thanks to a Google News Search).  It’s just one of many touching examples of how people from all over the islands regularly show off their Aloha Spirit and give back to the communities around them. I posted a link to another story back in December about members of the Ka’anapali Beach Resort Association joined to participate in a holiday drive that raised 30,000 pounds of food for families in need. You may only hear about these stories every now and then, but you can rest assured that this type of community sharing and commitment can be found somewhere on the islands just about every week, however large or small.

Follow Friday
So, I’ve been sort of absent from the Twitter seen for the last two weeks now, only jumping back in earlier this week. I don’t have a full Follow Friday list like before, and I actually wanted to take a moment for a shameless plug of the new Maui site I’m working on.

So, I’m inviting you to follow @MauiByPhoto on Twitter and help me spread the word.  I’m targeting Monday for the initial launch of the new site, so be sure to look for an announcement soon.

As for the new site?  It’s going to be mainly a blog format, but with a few slight twists. Relatively small in the grand scheme of things, it’s primary goal is to highlight the beauty and magic of Maui through some of my best photos, and be a place where fellow Maui fans and residents can talk story about some of the best places, and their favorite memories, on the island.  It’s not a replacement for the site here or any other of the great Hawaii blogs out there, just a little place to stop along the way.

I’m pretty excited (and slightly nervous) about the concept, and here’s to hoping it’s well received.  Hoping to see you there.

Mahalo,
- Kris

Maui News Article: County ‘drawing a line’ in sand with park rules
Posted on: June 21st, 09

The short recap of the story and the issues at hand are new rules being proposed by the county’s Parks and Recreation department. The aim of the new rules is to limit the number of tour and activity operators that can function on certain beaches, as well as only during specified periods. The effort is being made to help reduce some of the crowding these tour operators are said to have on beaches around the island, both popular and small.

Please read the article for all the details, as well as good points on both side of the argument. Since our site here has a good mix of both Maui residents and frequent visitors to the Valley Isle, I thought there’d be a good range of opinions to talk story about. Cindy and I, personally, like to refrain from planning our beach trips on the weekends, mainly because we assume that’s when the island residents make their way to the beach to enjoy the paradise around them.

Talk Story
Tell us what you think. There are good arguments to be made on each side, particularly the point of “why now?”  Also, if you’re a resident of Maui, have you seen some of these crowding scenarios first-hand?  We’ve seen the usual surf schools and even a catamaran every now and then docking right on the sands of Ka’anapali Beach. For us, it’s not a major inconvenience, but that’s because we’re only visiting.

What do you think?

The Depth of Pursuit

When most people think of whale watching in Maui, they usually envision boats out on the water leaving from Lahaina or Maalaea Harbors. Well, how about a close encounter with the giant mammals from a different angle, under the water!

That’s exactly the unexpected scenario that the crew and passengers of a Atlantis Submarines excursion witnessed earlier this month. Now, we haven’t taken a submarine tour ourselves on our trips, but we can only imagine how amazing this 45-minute standoff with not just one whale, but an entire competition pod was.

Be sure to check out the article for all the incredible details and notes on just how rare of an occurrence this is for a submarine tour. There are also a few photos and a link to an absolutely remarkable video of the encounter that was posted to YouTube.

Enjoy.

Wanted to pass along a short article from The Maui News about a closure to the Road to Hana over the weekend.

Mudslide Closes Part of Highway for Five Hours

You see those signs along highways all over the island of Maui. They say things like “Falling Rocks” and other cautionary messages that ask you to stay aware while driving to and from your destination. Well, they are there for a good reason. There was a mudslide near mile marker 21 about 13 miles north of Hana over the weekend that closed the roadway for 5 hours in both directions. Be sure to checkout the article link above for a picture of the mudslide before crews arrived at the scene and the rest of the story details.

Luckily no motorists were in the immediate vicinity at the time of the mudslide and no injuries were reported.

Road Closure Notifications
Seeing that something like this incident could certainly cause you to alter your plans for a day of sightseeing on Maui, I thought I’d pass on another tip for you. Did you know that the County of Maui website has an alert system for these and many other types of road closures across the island?  You can even sign up for email alerts, which are ultra handy if you’re traveling with a smartphone that has email capabilities.

To learn more about Road Report Notifications, visit this page at the county’s website for more details on how to sign up for alerts. During the time we were visiting Maui on our last trip, I received 11 email alerts in just a two week period. While only 2 of those ended up to be relevant to the area of the island we were visiting that day, they were still nice to have.

Now that we’re back home on the mainland, I still have the alerts setup just for informative purposes. It also gives me a good feel for what types of traffic and other road mishaps occur every now and then on Maui, sort of as a change of pace to the traffic headaches we have here in the Chicagoland area.

Talk Story
Do you have any other road tips or stories of your own similar to this one? Why not tell us about them here.

We had a great time at Whale Day this year, and we’re fans of all the work the Pacific Whale Foundation does. Now that the Great Whale Festival 2009 is officially over, I thought I’d share a few press releases from PWF on a few of the events that I found on their website (and their newsletter).

PWF Press Release - Whale Day Draws Record Crowds

While we were at the festival, they were estimating about 10,000 people in attendance. I was never good at estimating crowd sizes, but at first it didn’t seem like there where that many people there. Yet, by around 3pm when the bands really started rockin’, I took another look around and the place we surely packed.

According to the press release, the final numbers came in at over 13,000 people, which was a new record for the event. Now that is impressive. There were so many great sponsors and even more local merchants and booths setup, so I’m hoping all of them came away with a good day at the register (so to speak).

PWF Press Release - Great Maui Whale Count: 1,010 Humpback Whales!

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to participate in the Great Maui Whale Count this year. It was held on Saturday, February 28th, which was the day we were leaving. It also marked the final day of the 2009 Maui Whale Festival activities. While the number for the annual volunteer count was down from last year, the press release has some pretty neat details about how the count is conducted around the island and the coordination involved.

The press release also concluded with a quote citing that almost 50,000 individuals participated in the Maui Whale Festival events and the PWF Eco-Adventures tours in the month of February. Personally, we were at the Whale Day celebration as well as taking a dinner cruise and two whale watch tours with PWF. I pretty excited to see so many others shared in the different activities and offerings that the Pacific Whale Foundation offers, their proceeds are aimed at conservation, protection, and education programs both locally and throughout the world.

While we might not make it back to Maui next February for these festivities, we’re certain this won’t be the last time.

Talk Story
Did you participate in any of the Maui Whale Festival activities?  The fun run or the parade, perhaps? Have you attended the festival in years past? Do share.

The Debate
I’ve been seeing article likes this one from the Star-Bulletin about once a week or so these past few months from different sources. The latest debates are around Hawaii statewide legislation that could ban the use of plastic shopping bags in supermarkets and retailers by 2011. In fact, Maui County had already started that same push last summer, trying to help keep these things out of their landfills.

Now, I’m not one to jump into these arguments and volley back and forth on the issues, and I’m not going to start now. I will say, however, while the lawmakers and other organizations battle it out, you can still make your own choices. That’s what we do.

What We’re Doing
Like more and more people we’re seeing everyday here in Chicago, people are starting to bring their own re-usable shopping bags to the grocery store. We started ourselves around mid-summer last year, and we’re planning to bring them with us next week when we visit Maui. The majority of the bags we’ve seen around us have been about $0.99 each, with an insulated bag (for the freezer stuff) going for about $1.99 each. That doesn’t seem too high to make a difference.

So why do it? It just seems like a good idea. Sure, there are metrics out there to support the cause eliminating plastic bags. They’re probably giant numbers in the billions or trillions of bags per year, depending on who’s counting. Those numbers just seem too large to comprehend sometimes, and besides from looking up all those statistics, it just seems like a very easy way to help the environment. By not throwing these plastic bags away, or recycling them, each week, we’re eliminating either the space they will take up in a landfill or the cost and energy involved in recycling them.

Making a Difference?
Maybe it’s just a very small difference for one family to make, but it is a difference none-the-less. Consider this scenario. You’re grocery shopping on vacation like we do, and get pegged as an out-of-towner (usually because of our Chicago-based savings card at Safeway). You have been thoughtful enough to bring your own bags from home, or purchase them in the store itself. It shows the cashier and the bagger that even though you don’t live in Hawaii, you don’t want to leave more of your garbage behind when you return to the mainland.

You might not actually get a shaka for it, but rest assured that they will take notice that you’re respecting their land just as much as they do, and that you have just a little extra Aloha Spirit in you than other visitors.

Talk Story
Have any tips or tricks of your own for being green on your vacation? Share them with us.

Mahalo,
- Kris