Posts Tagged ‘Hana’

Sunday Photo: Hana Bay

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

Hana Bay

Taken by Kris Nelson on February 23rd, 2009
Location: Hana Bay, Maui

Today’s Sunday Photo was inspired by the comments from @jalove in response to Friday’s post about Koki Beach. We were actually there twice on our little overnight trip to Hana last February, once on the first day to enjoy the little picnic lunch we packed, and on the second day on our back from Oheo Gulch.

On that second visit, I was still a little wet, but hungry enough to make a stop for a bite to eat. We grabbed food at the little diner place they have there, which I honestly don’t remember the name of. There was this cute little dog we saw both times, but he was extra friendly that second day because we ate in the little pavilion there.

The bay was pretty nice, and while the waves were washing in, the activity at the pier was pretty low. I’ve been told there are a lot of fishing boats that operate out of the bay here regularly that catch fish served that night at local establishments. Pretty nice.

One of the benefits of driving to Hana ourselves, we actually were able to stop and enjoy this little area. The first year we visited Hana with a tour group, we drove into the pay area, but didn’t even stop. It was just a fly by, so to speak. Good thing we made our way back this time, and probably not the last time, either.

4th of July Photos
I hope everyone had a great 4th of July, wherever you were. While we didn’t make it to Maui this year for the festivities, we’re living vicariously through the photos and blogs of others. Yet another reason why I love Twitter, Flickr, and blogging! :)

  • Liza, aka @AMauiBlog, captured the Paniolo Parade in Makawao and posted photos on her blog and Flickr.
  • Maui tweeps @Ucsmiles and @jalove were also tweeting pics from the same parade, too. It was like I was there (especially while I was getting rained on in the northern suburbs of Chicago).
  • Peter, aka @peterliuphoto and @PeterLiu47, snapped photos from the Lahaina fireworks later in the evening. He posted those on his blog, as well as this awesome slideshow on Flickr.

Talk Story
While this wasn’t intended to be a 4th of July post, what the heck, go ahead and talk story about your weekend, and share some links, too.

Mahalo,
- Kris

Aloha Friday – June 5th, 2009

Friday, June 5th, 2009

0605 - June 5th

Aloha Friday
A car stopped near a one-lane bridge along the road to Hana.

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.

So Much Aloha in a Time of Need
Earlier this week, I posted an update on Twitter that Cindy and I had to rush out to Des Moines (from Chicago) for a family emergency.  Cindy’s younger sister, Jill, needed to have emergency heart surgery and actually had to be resuscitated twice on Tuesday during the entire ordeal (that morning and then again during pre-op).

It’s been a very difficult week to say the least. But the messages, prayers, and well wishes from my Twitter friends from Hawaii have been so supportive and heartfelt. There was so much Aloha from so many great people. I wanted to extended another huge Mahalo to @raatz, @AMauiBlog, @OahuAJ, @GoVisitHawaii, and @AngelaKeen for their thoughts and support, and to all the other friends and family members that have sent us messages, phone calls, and emails these passed few days.

Just a quick update, Jill remains in the Cardiac ICU unit at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, IA, in critical but stable condition.  She continues to make small improvements each day, and Wednesday night she was able to open her eyes and acknowledge that we were all there by her side.  Yesterday morning, Cindy and I got to meet the pastor at Jill’s church who drove down from Northern Iowa to see her. We said a pray with her and she knows she has God on her side, too.

Cindy and I had to return home late last night, but Jill is still on our minds and in our hearts. Her mom, husband, and his family will be back visiting her again tonight and staying over the weekend. Cindy and I are also trying to arrange another visit for the following weekend as well.  It’s going to be a long road, but we’re all confident that with her strength and everyone’s support, she’s going to pull through.

Thank you again, everyone.

- Kris

Sunday Photo: Hamoa Beach

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

Hamoa Beach

Taken by Kris Nelson on February 23rd, 2009
Location: Hamoa Beach, East Maui

Another weekend has passed, and I’m inching along through sorting and uploading photos from our more recent Maui trip.  Most recently, I managed to get a few photos from Hana Bay and a few from Hamoa Beach like the one pictured above. It’s photos like this that make me miss Maui the most. It just looks so serene and peaceful. Ahhhh.

Anyway, I hope to have a special treat for next Sunday, as I ordered the full DVD of photos from our vacation portrait session with island photographer Natalie Brown. I’m anticipating it to arrive sometime this week, and will pick a few to feature next Sunday. I’m also planning on having some our favorites available as a slideshow and yet another post on Natalie’s great work and how choosing to have professional portraits taken while vacationing in paradise was such a wonderful idea for us.

Stay tuned for that, and have a nice week.

Mahalo,
- Kris

The Waikoloa Condominiums

Monday, May 11th, 2009

File this one under “If I had $1 Million Dollars.”

A little bit of a tangent here today. Back in the beginning of the year, I signed up for the Hotel Hana-Maui newsletter because we were visiting their lovely property for an overnight stay in February. For whatever reason, I hadn’t seen any activity from that newsletter until late last week.

Cottage 17

So, what was the first update from the Hotel Hana-Maui newsletter that I received? It was details about a real-estate listing for two remaining cottages at the Waikoloa Condominiums on the grounds of the Hotel Hana-Maui. Now, some might have been thrown off by receiving a real estate solicitation from a resort newsletter, but I surprisingly didn’t mind as much. After all, we absolutely fell in love with the Hotel Hana-Maui when we stayed there for a night last February. Everything was so peaceful and quiet, relaxed and serene, we easily could have stayed there for an extra 3 nights had our schedule (and budget) allowed for it.

That said, I played along with the newsletter entry and clicked the link to check out more about these condo units. Wow! They obviously had to be bigger than the Sea Cottage we stayed in, which were absolutely gorgeous to start with. These condo units included full gourmet kitchen with appliances, fully furnished, bamboo floors, and a private, covered lanai just to rattle off some of the amenities listed.

East Maui SunriseNow, I’m not trying to turn this into a free promotion on behalf of the realtor selling these condos, but I really paused and pictured what it would be like living out there. Having a beautifully furnished townhome-style condo on the edge of Heavenly Hana. Literally on the tip of East Maui, watching the sunrise every morning, heading down to Hamoa Beach in the afternoon, or enjoying a horseback ride at the Hana Ranch before dinner. Sigh. That would be too perfect.

Flashing back to reality now, the price tag for one of these two units was an obvious splash of cold water on the face. The first unit rings up at $675,000 while the second trails behind at $725,000. Relative to some of the premier properties, and even some mid-range choices, in hot spots over in West Maui and South Maui, those prices seem rather attractive, don’t they?

But alas, way too rich for our blood. The little 5 minute virtual getaway, if anything, did let me relive some of the short moments we enjoyed staying at the Hotel Hana-Maui earlier this year. And it certainly left me wanting to plan for a longer stay at the resort on one of our upcoming trips back to the Valley Isle.

More Details
I would be amiss if I didn’t share the link to the details of these condominiums that I’ve been talking about here, so I’m posting it below. Again, not trying to be a sounding board for island real estate agents out there, just passing this along to all my fellow dreamers out there. :)

Visit http://www.uniquelyhana.com for more details and photos.

Mahalo,
- Kris

Sunday Photo: East Maui Sunrise

Sunday, April 12th, 2009

East Maui Sunrise

Taken by Kris Nelson on February 24th, 2009
Location: Hotel Hana-Maui, East Maui

Aloha and Happy Easter everyone. For the Sunday Photo on this special holiday, I figured a shot of sunrise would be the most fitting. This was taken on our last trip to Maui during our stay in Hana (which I really, really miss). Everything was so quiet and peaceful this early in the morning, and even though the cloud cover overtook most of the sky, the sun still managed to make an appearance.

I hope those of you that celebrate Easter have a lovely day with your friends and family today. And if you’re a fan of the cottontail variety this time of year, our own bunnies have a little holiday wish for you, too.

Mahalo,
- Kris


If you like this photo, you can see more in our Sunday Photos series here at the blog. Our website also features daily photos on the Today’s Photos page, and you can also get a new photo from Maui everyday on your Google home page. Check out our Maui Photo Day Calendar for more details.