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.

The Tradition

The tradition we have of stargazing really started from our after dinner strolls on the beach, especially walking off some Hula Pie. By the third day of our first trip so long ago, it became it’s own activity outright. While the views from our lanai at the Sheraton were nice for watching the skies at night, we couldn’t think of anything better than heading down to the beach and watching the stars from there and listening to the waves at the same time. Ahhhh.

To our surprise, there wasn’t a lot of activity down by the water at that time of night. Since sunset is typically about 5:45pm-6:45pm depending on the time of year, it’s already nice and dark by around 8-9pm when the stars come out. Where was everyone? Still out having dinner or enjoying the nightlife in Lahaina? Too much sunshine and fresh air putting folks to sleep way too early (we’ve been there)?  In any case, having the entire beach practically to ourselves made us feel like the only ones on the planet. Not to mention the enormous number of stars in the skies making our planet seem that much less significant as well.

The Geek in Me

I do admit that I was always fascinated with space and astronomy growing up, but perhaps of where we lived, it never became a big part of my life. It could very well be that deprivation that makes me feel so excited now that I’m all grown up. As amazing and prevalent as the stars above are on a moonless sky over the island of Maui, I of course needed to take it to the next level and get myself all geeked out.

So, in later trips, our tradition went from after dinner strolls watching the skies, to just the two of us laying on the beach admiring the heavens, to me filling up half a carry-on bag with all sorts of toys. How could I resist?

At first, it was just the tripod, my DSLR camera and a book or two about how to take photos of the stars (also known as astrophotography). That worked out pretty well, and I had a blast doing it. I soon encountered a little unexpected deja vu. You see, on our first trip, we took a guided tour along the Road to Hana and came back with some really great photos. The problem was, when all was said and done, I couldn’t tell where half the photos were taken.

So, for the next trip to Hana, I brought along a GPS Travel Recorder that logged the locations of the photos on our second trip to Hana, and all was well. Similarly, I now had all these photos of the night sky over Maui, and I had know way of identifying most of the stars in the sky. Luckily, this really, really cool guy on Flickr, mattie_shoes, had a similar photo as mine (the one at the start of this post) and was awesome enough to identify what I was looking at.

For the next trip, I was a little more prepared. I found this really cool software app for my smartphone called Pocket Stars, that would use the built-in GPS on my phone to show me the exact sky map of what I was looking at while we were out stargazing. How cool was that! Total geek heaven.

Even More Toys

Now, most people would probably just stop there. Not me, though. When we were visiting Maui in April for our first chance at seeing the whales, I started looking into binoculars to bring with us. I soon discovered that binoculars were also popular for stargazing (which was news to me) and I would up with a Celestron Binoculars that not only gave us amazing views of the whales off in the distance, but also served double duty for bringing the stars and galaxies in the sky even closer. Granted, these binoculars are HUGE and weigh in close to 6 pounds. They aren’t the easiest to travel with, and were really tiring to use at first, but they’re so cool.

Fortunately, that pretty much wrapped up my little techie shopping spree for stargazing on Maui, at least for now.

Other Options

Just to reiterate, you don’t have to geek out like me to enjoy the stars over Maui. At the very least, all you need is your own two eyes and a clear night. If you’re looking for some additional help or even a tour or two, check out these links below.

• Star book – The Sky Tonight. This star guidebook featuring details and sky maps specifically made for Hawaii’s location (21° N latitude).  We picked up a copy a few years ago at the Borders Express in Whalers Village, which unfortunately is now closed.  Checkout Barnes and Noble in the Lahaina Gateway for a copy, and you can use postal code 96761 to see if they have a copy in stock.
• Tour of the Stars – Hyatt Maui Regency.  If staying in the area, why not head over to the Hyatt to see one of there guided tours of the night skies.  They have multiple time slots per night, a powerful telescope and a onsite astronomer to lead the stargazing.
• Guided Tour – Star Gazers Maui. Don’t want to worry about clouds ruining your stargazing activities?  Simple, just drive up to Haleakala 10,000ft above sea level.  That ought to do it. Star Gazers Maui is a guided tour option that will meet you up there and aims to give you the ultimate stargazing experience. They supply hot chocalate, down jackets, a telescope and enough knowledge to keep you entertained for hours.
• Stargazing Q&A – GoVisitHawaii.com.  Sheila over at Go Visit Hawaii recently shared a Q&A session on stargazing in Hawaii with Becky Sydney, the president of the Maui Astronomy Club. It offers great insight into stargazing when visiting Hawaii, including some of Becky’s favorite astronomy links (be sure to check them out).  If you’re interested in the Maui Astronomy Club or other clubs across the islands, I found this little directory for more info.
• Astrophotography books.  If you want to try and capture photos of the stars like I do (or better), you can also pick up a few books on astrophotography or search the many resources online on the topic.  I’ve listed the two books I really liked over on my photography website.
• Flickr Group – Stars Over Hawaii.  There is also a small Flickr group for sharing star photos that were taken from the amazing location that is Hawaii. You can check out photos there as well as add your own if you’re on Flickr.
• Flickr Group – Astrometry.  This has to be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen on Flickr.  The folks behind this group (from Astrometry.net) have leveraged their massive database of star photographs and data, as well as the Flickr API to automatically identify different stars and galaxies in your photos.  Check out this blog post for more geeky details.

Talk Story

Have any good stargazing stories or tips?  Maybe you have some great star photos of your own. I’d love to hear from you, and if you’re looking for more photos like the ones I posted here, you can find them in our Stars over Maui photo album.

Mahalo.

Growing up playing ice hockey in Chicago, I never thought of myself as much of a beach person. Yet, like many other things, that perception changed after our first trip to Maui. Maybe it has to do with the mystique of being on a small island in the middle of a giant ocean, but for whatever reason, I’m hooked now. Cindy, on the other hand, has always been a sun worshiper, so there’s no twisting her arm to head out for a beach day.

New Beach Tradition

We have a beach tradition of looking for at least 3 new beaches to visit on each trip. Obviously, it was easy the first time, since everything was new to us. Nowadays, however, it takes a some effort, and a little bit more driving.

While our Beaches page lists the different stretches of sand that we’ve already been to on the Valley Isle, there are even more out there just waiting for us. We’ve been to beaches all across the island; West, South, and East. We’ve seen white sandy beaches, golden crescents, black and red sand beaches. All on this tiny little island. How sweet is that?

By this point in our travels, we’ve hit most of the well known spots, so it’s time to discover some of the hidden gems. While we’ve been to beaches big and small, I’m not in the habit of comparing one beach against another and claiming one the very best. In our eyes, each beach has it’s own offerings, and challenges, so that no two are really alike. Depending on what you like to do, or want to do on a given day, there’s probably a beach for you.

Past Trips

Here’s a quick recap of beaches we’ve visited on our different trips. There’s usually no rhyme or reason for picking which beaches we want to see when making our plans, and it really comes down to deciding the day before, or the morning of one of our beach days.

Our First Beaches – June ’06

• Ka’anapali Beach
• Waianapanapa State Park – Black Sand Beach

Beach Hopping, Part Two – September ’07

• D.T. Fleming Beach Park
• Kahekili Beach – North side of Black Rock
• Kapalua Beach

The Most Recent Trip – April ’08

• Koki Beach – Red Sand Beach
• Kama’ole Beach Park I
• Maluaka Beach
• Big Beach – Makena State Park

What’s Next?

As I mentioned, we haven’t spent too much time selecting the beaches for our February trip, but a few ideas are out there. I’d like to, at some point, visit the other two Kama’ole Beach Parks, and go back up to Napili Bay. Then there’s the overnight trip to Hana, which will give us more than enough time to stop at Hamoa beach, Hana Bay, and even some of the beaches near Paia as well. You can see where this is going.

Talk Story

By the looks of it, this doesn’t seem to be a tradition that will be ending anytime soon. While it’s hard for us to choose, but maybe you have a favorite beach that you wanted to mention? Are you a repeat Maui visitor that has similar beach going habits, or maybe you stick to a select few? Jump on in and talk story.

Mahalo.

The Travel Traditions Series here at the blog features our habits and rituals that we have for various aspects of our frequent trips to the island of Maui. Getting to know the island so well after all these years, having a few traditions adds a little continuity to our visits, while still giving us so much flexibility to enjoy many new things each trip.

To follow along with future editions of our Travel Traditions Series, be sure to subscribe to our blog feed to get the latest posts and updates.

The Aloha09 Project

This post is participating in the Aloha09 project, aimed at spreading the Aloha Spirit throughout the world. Read more about our participation and at the official website.

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 1,000 words (or in this case, 1,000 calories), let’s start there, shall we?

Our favorite place for Hula Pie is Leilani’s in Whalers Village, and we make a point of treating ourselves to this slice of heaven on every trip. While Kimo’s holds the bragging rights to creating the original Hula Pie, the beauty is that Kimo’s, Leilani’s, Hula Grill, and other restaurants across the islands are all operated by TS Restaurants and offer this on their dessert menus. As you can see from the picture above, it even has it’s own plate!

Perhaps my most memorable slice of Hula Pie was last April when we celebrated by birthday on Maui. It took three of us to make a pretty serious dent that night, as you can see below. Come to think of it, I don’t believe we’ve ever actually finished an entire slice ourselves. We do have friends, however, that will go to Kimo’s in Lahaina and skip dinner altogether. They’ll just have drinks and Hula Pie right on their outdoor patio in the harbor. Doesn’t that sound nice?

The After Photo

What’s In It?

Here’s what makes the Hula Pie so ono:

• Macadamia Nut Ice Cream (Cindy’s favorite, by the way)
• Chocolate Cookie Crust
• Chocolate Fudge
• Whipped Cream
• Macadamia Nuts on top

Why Leilani’s?

Even though Hula Pie can be found all over the island of Maui, we’ve grown fond of enjoying ours at Leilani’s. Not only is the location great, right there in Whalers Village, the atmosphere is absolutely perfect. If you time it just right (and plan ahead), you can be enjoying your slice of Hula Pie just as the sun sets, and you’ll have a great view of it. It doesn’t get much better than that, to be quite honest.

Afterwards, we like to work off some of those extra calories. That’s where the little sugar buzz comes in handy, too. We’ll spend some time and stroll around Whalers Village after dinner, doing some window shopping or just enjoying the sights of everything lit while night starts to fall. About an hour of doing that, we’ll head back to the beach and take our time walking back to the Sheraton.

The key phrase there is “taking our time,” because those nighttime strolls along the beach are probably the most memorable and heartfelt moments we’ve ever spent on the Valley Isle. Or anywhere else, for that matter. Regardless of what else we end up on doing on any of our trips, they can never top those walks along the beach at night.

Those that have similar memories know exactly what I’m referring to, and understand that it’s hard to put into words. This photo was taken from one of those walks, and while it doesn’t do the moment complete justice, it gives you a good glimpse of the types of views we enjoy and why we’re taking our time.

** pauses to enjoy the view **

Back to the Hula Pie. Have you endulged in this tropical delight before? Maybe you think you’ve found a dessert that rivals the Hula Pie? Maybe the timing of this post is a little off, being just after New Years and all, but one little slice couldn’t hurt, could it?

Mahalo.

The Travel Traditions Series here at the blog features our habits and rituals that we have for various aspects of our frequent trips to the island of Maui. Getting to know the island so well after all these years, having a few traditions adds a little continuity to our visits, while still giving us so much flexibility to enjoy many new things each trip.

To follow along with future editions of our Travel Traditions Series, be sure to subscribe to our blog feed to get the latest posts and updates.

The Aloha09 Project

This post is participating in the Aloha09 project, aimed at spreading the Aloha Spirit throughout the world. Read more about our participation and at the official website.

Our first full day centers around dinner at one our favorites places to eat in Maui, Cheeseburger in Paradise. But that’s not until later in the afternoon, so let me start with the rest of the day first. On this first day, we’re still recovering from the timezone difference between Chicago and Hawaii, so I typically find myself getting up much earlier than I do on the rest of the trip. Our arrival day post talked a little bit about the lanai in our ocean front room at the Sheraton, so I’ll usually make my way out there for a little bit, trying not to wake Cindy.

Early mornings are so peaceful and quiet on Maui. Because we stay in Ka’anapali, which is on the western most part of the island, we don’t get the benefit of watching the sunrise each day. But that’s okay, looking out onto the ocean that first morning after a well needed night’s rest is a personal moment of reflection for me. I’ll take a moment to be thankful for the opportunity to visit such a wonderful place each year, and for all those long hours of hard work and sacrafices we have to endure throughout the year to make these trips happen. One of the few times I’ll actually think about work and things back home while we’re on vacation.

Anyway, here’s a quick clip that was taken on the lanai from one of our earlier trips. It might not seem that exciting, but as I mentioned above, it’s very peaceful.

Once we’re both awake and finished getting ready that morning, we’ll head downstairs to the Keka’a Terrace for their breakfast buffet. A lot of folks mention skipping the resort breakfast buffet as a good way to save money on Hawaii, and their 100% correct. Luckily for us, and depending on what package we book with the Sheraton, we get vouchers for free buffet breakfast every morning. That’s a big plus, since we’ll head down to eat at around 9am or so, have a big breakfast, and skip out on lunch.

Front Street
With breakfast out of the way, we’ll make our way down to Lahaina town around 1pm or so and walk around Front Street to soak up a little of the atmosphere there for awhile. The majority of the places we’ll eat out for dinner are in Lahaina, so we’ll find ourselves there about 5-6 times during a two week trip. The more times we walk along that popular stretch of road, browsing through store windows and some of the general stores, the more we just feel right at home. For a first day tradition, it really gets us back into that “we never left” mode.

Depending on what the day is like, we’ll trek on over to the Banyan tree and check out some of the boats in the harbor. We’ll probably spend about 2-3 hours or so, just walking up and down the shops, seeing what has changed since last year, things like that. We might do a little shopping, and we’ll usually start looking for a new set of Aloha wear for our luau that trip.

The First Dinner
Close to about 4pm, we’re starting to get hungry and it’s time for our traditional day one dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise. We first stumbled across Cheeseburger while in Waikiki for our honeymoon. We really enjoyed the atmosphere and absolutely loved the food. Honestly, any place that has burgers and chicken sandwiches, and lets you add a slice of grilled pineapple to any sandwich is my kind of place.

Their motto above the door reads “Paradise Served Daily”, and would tend to think it’s right on. At their Lahaina location, Cheeseburger in Paradase doesn’t have a bad place to sit. With two levels, you can stay on the ground floor and watch the folks stroll along by, but we opt for the second story seating and a view of the water. We’ll be there early enough where there isn’t that long of a wait, but depending on where we sit, that late afternoon sun in the western sky might be a little too strong while you’re trying to eat. Afterall, you are right on the water in Lahaina Harbor, so be sure to say hello to Lana’i out nearby.

Dessert
We’re not that big on dessert while on vacation, although we are very found of the Hula Pie at Leilani’s. After getting back to our resort around 5:30pm or so, we’ll take a stroll over to Whalers Village and endulge in a little Haagen Dazs to celebrate the evening. For me, it’s the pineapple and coconut ice cream, while Cindy will switch off between the while chocolate macadamia nut ice cream and the frozen mocha drink they have (I don’t remember the name).

After a short stroll around Whalers, we’ll take our time heading back to the Sheraton. On nights like this first one, we’ll just catch the final glimpse of the sunset while at Whalers, and with the cliff dive ceremony at Black Rock already completed, we’ll see the torches on Black Rock lit from afar. And when I say we’ll “take our time” heading back, that means we’ll kick off the slippahs and walk along the beach itself rather than the beachwalk that we usually take. By the time we eventually make it back to the Sheraton, we usually have a view looking something like this.

Not a bad way to finish off Day One, eh?

The Travel Traditions Series here at the blog features our habits and rituals that we have for various aspects of our frequent trips to the island of Maui. Getting to know the island so well after all these years, having a few traditions adds a little continuity to our visits, while still giving us so much flexibility to enjoy many new things each trip.

To follow along with future editions of our Travel Traditions Series, be su
re to subscribe to our blog feed to get the latest posts and updates.

Whether it’s your first trip to Maui, or you go every year; whether it’s been 10 months or 25 years since you last visited the Valley Isle, that first day is special. And regardless of where on the mainland you may live, or any other country for that matter, that flight plan is going to do a good number on you one way or another.

We currently live in Chicago, and whether we take a direct flight or have to stop on the way, the journey to Maui is never shorter than 9 hours on a plane, and more time waiting in lines at the airport, sitting at the gate, the usual. We’ve always taken a morning flight out of O’Hare, which depending on delays, has gotten us to Kahului anywhere from 2:30pm to 4:00pm. Since our resort of choice is the Sheraton Maui Resort in Ka’anapali, we plan for about a 45 minute drive from the airport.

By this time, it’s usually around 4:30pm or so, but our bodies are telling us it’s 9:30pm Chicago time. Seeing as we had gotten up around 6:00am to get to the airport early enough, that’s already a long day, is it not? The Sheraton, like many resorts I assume, has a drive-up quick check-in. Being pros at the Sheraton, we know exactly where to go and where to park, so not needing the bell hop’s help is a time saver. The welcome attendant likes to greet you with a fresh flower lei, which we absolutely love, and that first deep breath with one of those around your neck is a good shot in the arm for getting through the next few hours.

Our Room
With our fresh leis, we head to our ocean front room. Although outrageously priced, we’re lucky enough to splurge for this option and truly enjoy it. Once in our room, we’ll usually just throw the bags on the bed and unpack just whatever we need to freshen up. After all, 9+ hours on a plane isn’t exactly a day at the spa. Anyway, with the beautiful lanai you see pictured here, we just have to step out for a moment and let it sink in that we’re finally back on Maui. In about 2-3 days, it will feel like we really never left the island in the first place.

It’s usually around 5:30pm or so by now, and time for us to head down to the Lagoon Bar at the Sheraton, right along the pool area if possible (shown above). Timing it accordingly, they will still be serving food, so we each grab a tropical drink of our choice and split a cheeseburger. Looking out towards the ocean from the Lagoon Bar after such a long travel day is such a release. We’re usually finishing up our light meal just in time for the Black Rock Cliff Dive Ceremony, which happens every night at sunset at the Sheraton. We’ll watch the cliff dive about 3-4 times a trip, but obviously that first one is the best.

Quick Shopping Trip
After the cliff dive, it’s about 6:30pm, although it’s starting to feel like midnight for us because of the time difference. We have one more stop before we retire for the night, so we hop in the car and drive over to the Lahaina Cannery Mall. Our mission there is just one stop (maybe two, if Cindy wants Starbucks). Since we stay for two weeks at a time, we like to stock up on all the essentials and a few snacks for our room by doing a little grocery shopping at Safeway. We like to make our first trip to the store this first night so that’s one less thing to do on our first full day of the trip.

There’s some initial sticker shock at first, seeing that the cost of living and everything else is so much higher on Maui than back home, but we’ll bring coupons and our savings club card to help soften the blow. If we were CostCo members and wanted to make a separate trip back to Kahului (without a car full of luggage), we could go down that route, too. For us, having a Safeway so close is good enough. We don’t necessarily have a list, so we just end up browsing all the aisles and getting what we feel like. We’ll stop at Safeway a few more times during the trip, so if we forget something, it’s no big deal.

Calling it a Night
Coming back to the Sheraton with our groceries, it’s about 8pm and you can sometimes hear the Royal Lahaina Luau up north along Kahekili Beach starting to get underway from our parking lot at the Sheraton. At this time of night, there usually isn’t that great a choice for parking. Since we stay in the ocean front rooms, there is a dedicated lot in the back, which isn’t that large. Lugging the groceries up to our room and loading the fridge, we have little energy for much else by now. We may turn on the news if we’re still awake enough to follow it, but the goal at that point is just to get some serious shuteye, and to wake up the next morning fully refreshed for our first full day in paradise.

To follow along with future editions of our Travel Traditions Series, be sure to subscribe to our blog feed to get the latest posts and updates.

Well, this week I’m going to be starting a new Travel Tradition Series here at the blog that will feature those different habits of ours, and will offer more insight into the what, where, when and why. We hope it will give you a better feel for our trips to the Valley Isle and why we think Maui is such a magical place. It will also be a great way for you to talk story with us and other readers, ask questions about a particular activity or ritual that we have, and to share your own similar habits and ideas with everyone.

So stay tuned this week for the first edition, and we look forward to hearing your feedback on the new series.

Mahalo.