You know Hawaii loves Spam.  How much so? Well, Hawaii residents and visitors consume nearly 7 million cans of Spam each year. That’s a lot of Spam! With Hawaii’s love of Spam combined with an influence of Japanese cooking, the popular Hawaii snack, Spam Musubi, evolved. What is Spam Musubi? The ingredients are rice, rice seasoning including sesame seeds, nori ... Read More »

Elvis Presley and Hawaii went together like chocolate and macadamia nuts. The two definitely had a beautiful love affair with each other.  I can’t say that I blame them. Can you? One of Elvis’ most famous concerts, Aloha from Hawaii, took place in Honolulu in 1973. Per Wikipedia, the concert was broadcast live via satellite and was the most watched ... Read More »

The first of May is a celebration of lei in Hawaiian culture. Last year, we were fortunate to join in the annual celebration at Marriott’s Waiohai Beach Club on Kauai. We enjoyed seeing a lei making competition, a royal court procession, hula and cultural presentations. See our follow up post for interesting information we learned about the Hawaiian lei. If ... Read More »

I was reading HONOLULU Magazine over the weekend and noticed an ad for a shop in Hawaii’s largest mall, Ala Moana Center. The ad provides directions to the shop saying that it was on the “mauka side” of the shopping center. What that ad means is that the shop is located on the mountain side of the mall. Seeing the ... Read More »

Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaianaole was born in Kauai in 1871 and his birthday, March 26, is celebrated as a Hawaii state holiday.  If you visit Hawaii around his holiday, you may have an opportunity to join in celebrations of this beloved Hawaiian prince. Prince Kuhio was the last reigning prince in Hawaii who became a politician representing Hawaii in Washington, ... Read More »

Oh, goody! It’s time for another Monday Hawaiian music giveaway! This week’s music giveaway CD is The 50 Greatest Hawaii Music Albums Ever. The record company, Mountain Apple, describes this CD as follows: In June 2004 HONOLULU Magazine put together a panel of experts and named The 50 Greatest Hawai’i Music Albums Ever. From those great albums we’ve selected the ... Read More »

As Andy mentioned on the Jake Shimabokuru post, each week this March, we’ll be giving away an island music CD. We’ll host this contest each Monday during March. We’re kicking of this March Madness Monday Music Giveaway today! Today’s giveaway is IZ Kamakawiwo’ole’s Facing Future CD. For a chance to win this CD, you’ll need to comment either: – here ... Read More »

Here’s all the latest for a destination that’s the greatest. 🙂 *  Airfare deals to Hawaii are becoming a little more scarce, but if you can fly from the West Coast you’re chances of finding a deal are best. Here’s a roundup airfare deals worth mentioning: If you’re going to Hawaii this summer, why not go in style? Hawaiian Airlines ... Read More »

Within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, you’ll find an astonishing number of images carved in 400 to 500 year old pahoehoe lava flow stone. If these Hawaiian petroglyphs could talk, what a story they could share, as there are more than 20,000 petroglyphs in Pu’u Loa. The vast majority of the petroglyphs are small dot-like holes that are approximately two inches ... Read More »

When you visit Hawaii, you might come across two sticks crossed in the shape of an X with two ball shapes on top. That’s a symbol of kapu and when you see it, you should take notice. That kapu symbol will most likely be warning you one that entry or further approach is forbidden because the point is sacred and ... Read More »