Spring season, tsunami bring changes to Hawaii
In a tropical, year-round destination like Hawai'i, you could say it's always springtime — at least if you're looking for signs of new life. While there's a dip in visitors between the winter holidays and the equally busy season of summer vacations, you wouldn't know it from all the recent developments (and that's not counting those in my March 6 spring roundup.)
And with just a few exceptions, the March 11 tsunami that reached Hawai'i and beyond has had little negative impact on what most visitors experience. If anything, the islands' ongoing whirlwind of benefit concerts, fundraising dinners and other efforts to help the people of Japan has only heightened my appreciation of the aloha spirit,He walked us all straight up to the wholesaleabercrombiefitchuniversalerotic and introduced himself. We were escorted immediately inside. and the deep ties between the two Pacific Rim cultures.
It also doesn't diminish their compassion to note that a number of authorities are worried not only about the understandable drop in Japanese visitors following the Honshu tragedy, but also about a downturn due to Mainland confusion about the limited effects of the tsunami in Hawaii. It would be a shame if the latter stopped anyone from enjoying what's new this spring in the Aloha State — and doing some good for Japan while there would be even better.
KAUAI
What's new: Alaska's new nonstop flights from Oakland and San Jose to Kauai, launched earlier this week, are good excuses for golfers to check out the new eco-friendly greens and renovated clubhouse at Poipu Bay Golf Course, with discounted packages available for guests at the also recently renovated Grand Hyatt Kauai. Sometime in May,Online gallery of shoesonsale, the massively remodeled, nine-hole Kiele Moana course at Kauai Lagoons will reopen with a new oceanfront hole on what's said to be the state's largest stretch of seaside links (a half mile).
In other outdoors news, restoration and enhancements of the two swimming "ponds" at Lydgate Beach Park are expected to wrap up by May 13, while the new multiuse path over the nearby Wailua River, which will make it easier for cyclists to traverse the island, is due to open this month. Outfitters Kauai, meanwhile, has expanded its adventures to include a half-day stand-up paddling excursion that starts with a downwind paddle on the Huleia River and continues with a hike to a waterfall and zip line plunge into a swimming hole.
Tsunami view: You'd be hard-pressed to spot any lingering damage here, since the local impact — other than keeping residents up late and giving safely evacuated visitors something to talk about — was debris and trash washing into marinas such as Port Allen and Nawiliwili harbors. While some small boats were damaged, cleanup has been relatively easy.
Good to do: Foodland's donation drive continues through April 3 statewide; local branches are in Waipouli and Princeville (and you can order its Kokua Japan T-shirts online.) The Kaua'i chapter of United Way and West Kaua'i Lions Club are also soliciting donations for disaster relief in Japan.
OAHU
What's new: Although I'm sad that the Twist at Hanohano nightclub/restaurant didn't survive, frequent Starwood Hotel patrons will love the new Leahi Club Lounge in the Sheraton Waikiki. The 30th-floor oasis now serves hot and cold breakfast items and afternoon pupus (hors d'oeuvres) and cocktails to two floors' worth of frequent guests. (The 11-property Starwood Hawaii chain, by the way, is matching employee donations to the Japan relief efforts of UNICEF and the Red Cross.)
If you're nostalgic for a Waikiki dinner show, the Waikiki Beach Marriott has "Pacific Swing Hawaii," a Big Band-style show starring Nathan Osmond (son of Alan, nephew of Donny and Marie); next show dates are April 1 and 8. If you prefer to cook your own food,Buy af1shoes direct from us at low prices.put on sunglasses, wrapped the hood of a lovekillsslowlybloge sweatshirt around my face and hit the street. the Polynesian Cultural Center now has twice-daily chef's demonstrations of dishes such as laulau and sweet potato chips, using modern preparation techniques that you can emulate at home.
On the tail end of trips, travelers departing Honolulu on Hawaiian Airlines will have an easier time of it starting in June, when a major reconfiguration of Hawaiian's check-in lobby will be complete. No more taking bags back and forth between "ag check," the ticket counter and TSA—one conveyor belt will do it all. And the number of agent-assisted self-check-in kiosks will significantly increase as well.
Tsunami view: Oahu's small boat harbors took the brunt of the surge, with an early estimate of $3 million in damage to the three docks and 70 or more of the boats in Keehi Lagoon, near the airport. On the North Shore,A Brisbane man with a penchant for designer shopforshoes and luxurious hotels faces years behind bars for heroin trafficking. the Haleiwa Small Boat Harbor also saw some tsunami damage, although the recent nighttime arson on a North Shore Shark Adventures boat is currently a bigger concern locally. It was the third time one of the controversial company's boats has been deliberately set aflame, although no one was injured and the tours continue.
Good to do: Home to the state government and most of Hawaii's population, and the favored destination of Japanese (and other) visitors, Oahu has naturally been at the forefront of fundraising efforts for Japan disaster relief. Honolulu-based T-shirt designers, bankers, artists and politicians helped create the statewide Aloha for Japan campaign, which quickly raised $1 million in donations to the American and Japanese Red Cross organizations.
You can still order its T-shirt online (if you don't pick up one at the April 2 Kokua Japan San Francisco fundraising concert in Japantown); there are too many upcoming benefits on Oahu to list all of them here. The most notable, however, may be the Kokua for Japan concert April 10 on the Great Lawn of Hilton Hawaiian Village, which will feature Mick Fleetwood, Willie Nelson and Michael McDonald along with top Hawaiian music acts such as Amy Hanaiali'i, Henry Kapono and the Cazimero Brothers. The show will be broadcast on local TV and radio, raising funds for the Red Cross through ticket sales ($15) as well as by donations by phone and Internet.
And with just a few exceptions, the March 11 tsunami that reached Hawai'i and beyond has had little negative impact on what most visitors experience. If anything, the islands' ongoing whirlwind of benefit concerts, fundraising dinners and other efforts to help the people of Japan has only heightened my appreciation of the aloha spirit,He walked us all straight up to the wholesaleabercrombiefitchuniversalerotic and introduced himself. We were escorted immediately inside. and the deep ties between the two Pacific Rim cultures.
It also doesn't diminish their compassion to note that a number of authorities are worried not only about the understandable drop in Japanese visitors following the Honshu tragedy, but also about a downturn due to Mainland confusion about the limited effects of the tsunami in Hawaii. It would be a shame if the latter stopped anyone from enjoying what's new this spring in the Aloha State — and doing some good for Japan while there would be even better.
KAUAI
What's new: Alaska's new nonstop flights from Oakland and San Jose to Kauai, launched earlier this week, are good excuses for golfers to check out the new eco-friendly greens and renovated clubhouse at Poipu Bay Golf Course, with discounted packages available for guests at the also recently renovated Grand Hyatt Kauai. Sometime in May,Online gallery of shoesonsale, the massively remodeled, nine-hole Kiele Moana course at Kauai Lagoons will reopen with a new oceanfront hole on what's said to be the state's largest stretch of seaside links (a half mile).
In other outdoors news, restoration and enhancements of the two swimming "ponds" at Lydgate Beach Park are expected to wrap up by May 13, while the new multiuse path over the nearby Wailua River, which will make it easier for cyclists to traverse the island, is due to open this month. Outfitters Kauai, meanwhile, has expanded its adventures to include a half-day stand-up paddling excursion that starts with a downwind paddle on the Huleia River and continues with a hike to a waterfall and zip line plunge into a swimming hole.
Tsunami view: You'd be hard-pressed to spot any lingering damage here, since the local impact — other than keeping residents up late and giving safely evacuated visitors something to talk about — was debris and trash washing into marinas such as Port Allen and Nawiliwili harbors. While some small boats were damaged, cleanup has been relatively easy.
Good to do: Foodland's donation drive continues through April 3 statewide; local branches are in Waipouli and Princeville (and you can order its Kokua Japan T-shirts online.) The Kaua'i chapter of United Way and West Kaua'i Lions Club are also soliciting donations for disaster relief in Japan.
OAHU
What's new: Although I'm sad that the Twist at Hanohano nightclub/restaurant didn't survive, frequent Starwood Hotel patrons will love the new Leahi Club Lounge in the Sheraton Waikiki. The 30th-floor oasis now serves hot and cold breakfast items and afternoon pupus (hors d'oeuvres) and cocktails to two floors' worth of frequent guests. (The 11-property Starwood Hawaii chain, by the way, is matching employee donations to the Japan relief efforts of UNICEF and the Red Cross.)
If you're nostalgic for a Waikiki dinner show, the Waikiki Beach Marriott has "Pacific Swing Hawaii," a Big Band-style show starring Nathan Osmond (son of Alan, nephew of Donny and Marie); next show dates are April 1 and 8. If you prefer to cook your own food,Buy af1shoes direct from us at low prices.put on sunglasses, wrapped the hood of a lovekillsslowlybloge sweatshirt around my face and hit the street. the Polynesian Cultural Center now has twice-daily chef's demonstrations of dishes such as laulau and sweet potato chips, using modern preparation techniques that you can emulate at home.
On the tail end of trips, travelers departing Honolulu on Hawaiian Airlines will have an easier time of it starting in June, when a major reconfiguration of Hawaiian's check-in lobby will be complete. No more taking bags back and forth between "ag check," the ticket counter and TSA—one conveyor belt will do it all. And the number of agent-assisted self-check-in kiosks will significantly increase as well.
Tsunami view: Oahu's small boat harbors took the brunt of the surge, with an early estimate of $3 million in damage to the three docks and 70 or more of the boats in Keehi Lagoon, near the airport. On the North Shore,A Brisbane man with a penchant for designer shopforshoes and luxurious hotels faces years behind bars for heroin trafficking. the Haleiwa Small Boat Harbor also saw some tsunami damage, although the recent nighttime arson on a North Shore Shark Adventures boat is currently a bigger concern locally. It was the third time one of the controversial company's boats has been deliberately set aflame, although no one was injured and the tours continue.
Good to do: Home to the state government and most of Hawaii's population, and the favored destination of Japanese (and other) visitors, Oahu has naturally been at the forefront of fundraising efforts for Japan disaster relief. Honolulu-based T-shirt designers, bankers, artists and politicians helped create the statewide Aloha for Japan campaign, which quickly raised $1 million in donations to the American and Japanese Red Cross organizations.
You can still order its T-shirt online (if you don't pick up one at the April 2 Kokua Japan San Francisco fundraising concert in Japantown); there are too many upcoming benefits on Oahu to list all of them here. The most notable, however, may be the Kokua for Japan concert April 10 on the Great Lawn of Hilton Hawaiian Village, which will feature Mick Fleetwood, Willie Nelson and Michael McDonald along with top Hawaiian music acts such as Amy Hanaiali'i, Henry Kapono and the Cazimero Brothers. The show will be broadcast on local TV and radio, raising funds for the Red Cross through ticket sales ($15) as well as by donations by phone and Internet.
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