Favorite Local Beach

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Aloha!
Keawakapu beach, in Kihei (south Maui) is one of our very favorite beaches. We have spent many lazy Sunday mornings there, as lots of locals do. The Hawaiian word Keawakapu means forbidden cave. It is pronounced with the “w” sounding as a “v”, just like the town of Haleiwa on Oahu is pronounced Ha-lay-eeee-vah.
It’s pretty low-key, especially on a Sunday. The best part, to me, is the shade trees:
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A wise person told me, soon after I moved to Maui, that “Hawaii is best done in the shade.” As a newbie, of course I thought he was nuts. Then all I did was look for shade!

It is an expansive beach, which is good,
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because on crowded days, you can barely get past all the sun umbrellas in the sand, and people picking their guitars and singing. It’s just a happy place to hang out. One interesting thing about the beach is that there is a reef around 400 yards from the shore made from 150 car bodies which were dumped in the year 1962.
The beach is adjacent to the Mana Kai hotel. There is Zack’s Deli, a good place to grab a wrap for lunch. And if you’re willing to part with some cash, there is the Five Palms Restaurant, with covered outdoor seating, a spiffy bar, and a really lovely dining room. (It used to be our go-to for special occasions, but then the prices got to be more than as locals we were willing to spend.) I still miss the days of $8.95 crab cakes there for brunch!

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I really love a comfortable, quiet restaurant with booths, and this one can have spectacular whale-watching in the winter.

So check out Keawakapu beach and let me know your experience. You can rent boogie boards, stand-up paddle boards, and kayaks. There’s great snorkeling too, so there’s really something for everyone.

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A hui hou! If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button on the Homepage, or to the right.

Aloha, Jamaica

Aloha, Dogs and Cats

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Aloha!
Thinking of bringing a dog or kitty to Hawaii? Well for starters, be sure to Google all the hoopla surrounding Johnny Depp trying to smuggle his dogs into Australia on his private jet. You don’t want to go THERE!

I myself postponed moving to Hawaii because of my aged kitty. This was back before a 5-day quarantine even existed…it was 120 days. For those of you not familiar, it’s because Hawaii does not have rabies, that all animals must be quarantined. I have heard so many stories of people determined to move to Hawaii who had to have one, two or three pets shut up in quarantine cells on Oahu… people who would fly over from Maui just to visit their pets. And what depressed pets they were, also!

So the good news is, if you are planning to move and have pets, you can get it down to a five – day quarantine if you follow all the policies and procedures.
Here is the website: http://www.hawaiiag.org.
A puppy or kitten will be about 10 months of age by the time all the preparations are completed. Puppies and kittens not able to meet all of the requirements for the five – day – or less program will be quarantined for 120 days.
This site offers FAQs, a dog and cat import form, and a Hawaii Rabies Quarantine Information Brochure,which contains important information about pre-arrival requirements, quarantine stations, procedures, policies, rules, operations and fees.
There are ways to possibly do a direct airport release, but note: due to limitation in interisland service on the weekend, pets arriving on Thursday or Friday may not be transferred to satellite quarantine stations and approved hospitals on neighbor islands till the following Monday.

You can email your questions to: rabiesfree@hawaii.gov

Miss Lili says follow the rules….
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…and have a happy move to Hawaii with your pets!

A hui hou! If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button to the right, or on the Homepage.

Aloha! Jamaica

Has the Rest of the Country Caught Up With Hawaii?

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Aloha!
So we get into a cab at the airport on Maui, and it looks a bit like a traveling circus wagon. The driver nods a lot and laughs a lot, as there is a language barrier.
But she certainly understands the local way in Hawaii, according to a worn, printed sticker on the passenger door:
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It says (in pidgin)
8 am Supposed to start work
8:14 We come dragging in
9 to 10 am COFFEE BREAK
10:30 to 11 am We “talk story”
12 noon KAU KAU…time for eat
1 to 3 pm Rest up from lunch
3 to 4 o’clock Coffee Break
4 to 4:30 Shoot da bull on da phone
5 pm. PAU HANA!! Time for quit work

When you move to Hawaii, one of the adjustments is the sssllllooow pace. Things get done when they get done, regardless of your schedule.
But maybe the rest of the country has caught on. Between checking email, surfing the web, and surreptitiously shopping online while at work, -(okay, admit it…are you reading this at work? 😁) how many mainland workers have their own version of that sticker in the taxi?

The world is becoming homogenous. Now workers can pretend that they, too, are on “Hawaii time.” Now all they need is a palm tree outside their window…

A hui hou! Thanks for reading along. If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button to the right, or on the Homepage.

Aloha! Jamaica

Happy Feet (not)

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Aloha!
Is there anything more delicious than the feeling of summertime, running around in shorts and flip-flops… (known as “slippahs” in the islands)?
I often say that the reason I moved to Maui was because I never wanted to wear real shoes again – – and that wasn’t much of an exaggeration. My feet and I have been at war since day one, since I wear a triple A with a quad heel. Yeah, try finding those on sale at Target. And those shoes had to house an impossibly high arch.

Flip-flops were the solution, and I had happy, happy feet…or so I thought.

As I sat in the podiatrist’s office, he took my bony little foot in his hand and said, “How long in Hawaii?”
Silly me, I thought he was just making conversation. “16 years,” I replied.
“Well, that’s the whole problem, then,” he said. He pointed to my arch, then pushed down on my foot, and it kind of squished out sideways. “Fallen arches. Flat feet…”luau feet”, they’re called here. Comes from running around barefoot, or wearing slippahs all the time. Big problem here.”

The solution is closed shoes and orthotic inserts. Not very island-friendly! In fact, anyone running around the islands in tennis shoes and socks will be suspected of being a tourist.

I had a friend who was about 4’10”, and she wore 4 inch heels her entire life. Then they bought a condo in Hawaii. They spent six weeks renovating it, and she ran around barefoot the whole time. Her arches fell within that amount of time, and she had to have surgery on her feet. Paradise lost!

As Gilda Radnor would say, “It’s always something!”

A hui hou. If you like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button to the right, or on the Homepage.

Aloha, Jamaica

The Lure of the Islands

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Aloha!
“She had loved islands from the time she spent her first summer on one. She was eight at the time. Thirty-four now, she still felt the island aura – – an isolation that made worries seem distant, a separation from the real world that lent itself to dreams.”
From “Sweet Salt Air” by Barbara Delinsky

And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?
When I was a sophomore in high school, my family had the good fortune to spend Christmas break on one of the Florida Keys. Having left snow, sleet, and icy roads behind in the Midwest, I was immediately hooked. Why doesn’t everybody live here? I wondered. And when I first came to Maui, I wondered the same thing. But being so far from the mainland isn’t for everyone. Or how slow the pace of life is. Or how hard it is to get things. Or, and this is a biggee…the high cost of everything, particularly real estate.

So what draws those who live on islands to be there? With the pace of life today, I offer another quote, this one from Oliver Wendell Holmes: “I would not give a fig for the simplicity on this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.”

So maybe THAT’s what it’s all about. I get letters weekly from people who want to move to Maui and have many questions. Is everyone just really trying to get to the simplicity on the other side of the complexity that our world has become?

A hui hou! If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button to the right, or on the Homepage.

Aloha, Jamaica

The Things You’ll Do to Live on Maui

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Aloha!

The old song says, “The things you’ll do for lo-o-ve 🎶” and the same is true of Maui. It truly can be like falling down the rabbit hole. And just like Alice, the longer you live here, the more normal it becomes. Case in point: my hairdresser. Just finding someone to do passable blonde highlights on the island ( without having to sell your car to pay for them) is a small feat. Those hotel/spa/hairdresser prices don’t fly on a Mauian’s paycheck!

My hairdresser used to work at the fancy hotel. Then at the fancy salon. Now he works out of his home, which is a postage stamp-sized Ohana (cottage) behind someone else’s house in Kihei. He could no longer afford to rent a station at the high-priced places. There is no air conditioning, so the minute he slaps that plastic gown on me, I’m sweating like a sumo wrestler. Then there’s the lighting, or rather, lack of it. I peer toward the mirror and have to squint to see myself.

But the most interesting feature is the rinse bowl. It is out in his shed… the garden shed, like, from Sears. He leads me to it through the small yard, and it is dilapidated and falling down, and feels about 50° hotter than his already hot house.

I close my eyes as he rinses my hair, and go to my happy place. You know, the way they say when you’re stressed, you should picture yourself on a beach or a tropical island. Oh, wait–I’m already on that island. But this is one of the ways people afford to live here.

Like Wonderland, when you live on Maui, many things are upside down, inside-out and backwards of what you’d expect. But hey, I have some affordable blonde highlights.

A hui hou! If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button on the Homepage or to the right.

Aloha, Jamaica

Waves, Whales and Wags

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Aloha!

We are staying on Oahu’s North Shore with Mike’s brother and sister-in-law. It’s a time of tears and remembrances (Mike’s mom passed away last month), but also of laughter and telling stories around the kitchen table.

The North Shore is busy – – TOO busy for someone like Mike – – who remembers the old days when there was no traffic and he had surf spots practically to himself.

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Now there’s a surf contest every time you turn around,
and the daily surf lineup is fierce with competition for a wave. (I used to think surfers were mellow before I met Mike. Ha!)

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Traffic, which is one way into Haleiwa and one way out, single lanes – – (unless you’re willing to drive the looonng way around the island), is snarled and tempers flare. I’ve sat for an hour trying to go from Haleiwa (Ha-lay-ee-va) to Foodland, and that’s normally a 10–15 minute drive. The world is getting smaller, there are more and more people, and Hawaii is no exception.

As if the waves aren’t enough of a draw, there are the whales. We had all walked to the beach for sunset, lawn chairs in tow, and the sun was a brilliant orangey-red thanks to the VOG factor (volcanic organic gas). Riveting–until we noticed the whale puffs to our right…then it was like a tennis match – – faces swinging left to sunset, right to whales, back to sunset, not wanting to miss anything.

We had all swung right when two very large whales broke the water surface and did a perfectly synchronized double-breach, mid – air. Like 4th of July, the crowd oohed and ahhed. It was as if we were at Sea World watching a dolphin show, but with huge whales, in the wild, with no trainer. Mike said he had seen a double- breach maybe 30 times in his entire life in Hawaii. I had never seen it. What a special moment. No photo of course – – and if I’d had my head glued to a camera I wouldn’t have truly experienced it.

Then there are the weddings (and engagements) taking place on the beach… Flashes going off from large professional cameras and processions of barefoot dressed – up bridesmaids and beaming brides.

Lastly, the dogs, who frolic with circles of friends in the water, on the shore, and sometimes in a conga line. I half expect them to dance, they are just so darned happy to be Hawaii beach dogs.

So if you come to Oahu’s North Shore, be sure to pack your patience – – particularly if you have your heart set on the famous Matsumoto’s shave ice. The line is always out the door!

A hui hou! If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button to the right or on the Homepage.

Aloha, Jamaica

I Wish You Peace

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Aloha!

Many of you have written to ask where the blog has been. Thank you!
To answer, this last half of 2015 has been stuffed full of stress, not the least of which was Mike’s mom being diagnosed with stage – four cancer, then passing away.

Because our plates have been so full, I have been trying to uni- task, instead of multi-task. Can you remember back when we all gave something our full attention instead of scattershot one-eye-on-the-ball attention? I do. I remember that feeling in the distant past… and I’m trying to find it again.

I also know (from taking care of my ailing parents and being Executor of their estate) that it really only takes one major incident for life to slide off the plate. The last five years have been like a fire drill for us, in that four parents passed away… and we really need to regroup. Interestingly, this has been the same time period since I started writing this blog.

I really appreciate all the interest you have shown in the blog. Thank you for writing, for asking, for caring. I will get it back up and running when life calms down a little.

Because no matter what, no matter what the movies would have us believe….no matter how beautiful the scenery is on “Hawaii 5-0”, life on Maui and on all the islands, is still REAL LIFE. A friend who lived here for six years, and then moved away, made this comment: “People really have themselves talked into believing that if they could just move to Hawaii life would be PERFECT. No more worries, no more stress, just a kicked – back lifestyle where life is just really good. But that’s not the reality. People still get really sick here, people still die here, people lose their jobs here, people get eaten by sharks here!” (I had to laugh about that last part!)

So wherever you are during this holiday season, I wish you peace. I hope that you can stop for a moment during this busy, busy time and truly appreciate what you have been given…particularly those you hold dear.

May 2016 bring you joy.

Aloha, Jamaica

I’ll Be There For You

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Aloha!

The 20 – some things I know are obsessed with the show “Friends.”
The catchy theme song alone will speak to that age group, and since fashion has been stuck in the skinny jeans/pin – straight hair rut for-ev-er, they can see themselves up on screen – – but with one major difference.

I happened to catch the episode recently where Rachel gives birth and the Friends get to come see little Emma Geller – Green for the first time. There is a reverent moment as they stand around the hospital bed and watch Rachel hold her… then they begin carefully passing Emma around. (Joey, of course, breaks the gravity of the moment by saying, “But, she looks so REAL!”)

And then it hit me. The Friends were having a moment, and no one had a camera or a cell phone. They said, “Me, next!” to hold the baby, not to snap a selfie with her so they could post it immediately. They were PRESENT. You could feel their very strong bond as a group. And wouldn’t those selfies be all about them and their reaction to Emma, instead of the joy of Emma herself?

And that’s why “Friends” wouldn’t get made today – – unless they did it as a retro show. I submitted a Family script to a producer who complained that there wasn’t enough technology in it.”But the character is TWELVE,” I said. “I did that on purpose.”

What does this have to do with Maui? When I moved here in 1999, I didn’t have a cell phone (just like the Friends.) I had to pay per call to talk to my mother. Today if she were still alive, we could Facetime each other in our kitchens.

And that is what makes a move to Maui easier these days – – you don’t have to lose touch with friends and family back home.

But, what about touch?

My friend Becky in California’s 98-year-old mother just fell and broke her hip in Minnesota. Do we really think mom is going to be happy with a FaceTime chat from her hospital bed? Of course not. Becky is making a plane reservation as we speak.

Maybe the 20 – somethings are so enamored with “Friends” for a subconscious reason: the very lack of technology. The Friends go hang out in each other’s apartments. They go to Central Perk and actually talk to each other, instead of staring at their screens.

The theme song says, “I’ll be there for you…” It meant in person.

Has that gotten lost in translation?

A hui hou! If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button on the Homepage, or to the right. Mahalo for readin along!

Aloha, Jamaica

Reader Question on Housing Answered

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Aloha!

A reader recently wrote with this question:

“I just accepted a job as a court reporter at the courthouse in Wailuku. Will it be any easier for me to find a place to rent because I am working for the State? I also am not a kid. I am 40 years old, and plan on living there for the rest of my life.”

Here’s my answer:

Well, the good news, Gerri-Jo, is that you got a job! (The second good news is that it’s with the State of Hawaii.) So here’s the bad news: it probably won’t make much difference as you hunt for a place to live.

Here’s a local example: I know a lady who is about 65 and has lived on Maui almost 30 years. The place where she lives is being sold so she must move out. She is trying unsuccessfully to find a new place to live. Her comment to me was, “None of the local people want to rent to a haole lady.” Now to be fair, this also works in reverse. The haole landlords may say, “I don’t want to rent to a local because they are loud and will have 10 family members over all the time.” So it’s a pretty delicate balance.

When people move to Maui from wherever, it takes a while to realize that none of the former rules apply. So people may think, “I have a good job, this will get my foot in the door for housing…” but it doesn’t seem to work that way. (Just as dressing too nicely can make people here suspicious.)

The proven method to get housing is always through a friend or word-of-mouth… which is easier said than done when you’re sitting on the mainland and you don’t know anyone in Hawaii. Your best bet might be to go through anyone you’ve had contact with at your new job. If they’re going to work with you or employ you, they will have a vested interest in seeing you housed.

Also, is there any group you are affiliated with currently, such as Toastmasters, a sorority, or a house of worship, where you could call ahead and contact members in that group, to see if anyone knew of anything coming available?

Be aware that the rental market is very tight right now. Start early and be relentless with follow-up. If you can afford it, you might even offer a little higher rent then they are asking, to show how serious you are.

Food always helps in any situation in Hawaii!

Be patient and kind and always respectful.

If all else fails, start by living in a vacation rental. And call every realtor you find online to see if any do rental placements.

I wish you all the best and hope you find something soon! Congratulations on your new job and new life in Hawaii.

A hui hou! If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button to the right, or on the Homepage. Mahalo for reading along.

Aloha, Jamaica

Locals Weigh in On Tourists, Part Two

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Aloha!
Here is the second half of my last post (“Locals Weigh In on Tourists,” July 23rd.) A couple posted to reddit.com that they would be coming to Maui, but didn’t want to be annoying tourists….and asked what not to do.

Here are the Maui locals’ answers:

(Stop) Stopping at the top of my driveway to take family vacation photos.

Try to avoid renting a convertible Mustang please. (Author intrusion: nothing brands you as a tourist faster than a convertible. Oh, and an ugly visor – – particularly one with a Hawaiian print. People think they’re coming to Maui and blending in by doing these things, when in truth they are picking up bad habits from other tourists, not the locals.)

Another answer: THINK before asking stupid questions! I worked on a sailboat and actually got these questions:
“What elevation are we at?”
“Where can I dive under the island to see the chain?”
“Is there a bridge to the mainland?”
“Is that a cane fire or is the volcano exploding?”
(Author intrusion: and my favorite question that I got as a hotel concierge: “Is that Japan?” ….as they pointed at the island of Lanai.)

John Card, a mauidailyescape reader, wrote after my last post about tourists who drive too slow (also from reddit.com). John asked,
“They say tourists drive too slow (the speed limit) – yet I see “Slow down! This ain’t the mainland!!” bumper stickers all over the place when I am there. So which is it? I’m happy to oblige either way…”
My answer: Well, John, that is both simple and complicated. I can only speak for myself and Mike, but if I had to wager a guess, it would be that it is the old – timers you see with the “Slow down! This ain’t the mainland!” bumper stickers. People who have lived here forever, and aren’t used to the traffic patterns from the mainland or even Oahu. Or road rage. And there’s a good chance that even THEY are driving too slow for locals who have to be at work on time. So there is the complication.

A few days ago we were in a road construction zone, and I pulled onto the road from a parking lot, only to have a Local in a big black truck lay on his horn, and zoom around me at the earliest possible opportunity. Maui is going through growing pains, there aren’t enough roads for the number of tourists, and drivers are frustrated by the road construction, which at times seems it’s being headed up by the Three Stooges.

The areas with speed limits that seem too low to the locals who have to be at work on time are Mokelele Highway (to and from Kihei), and Dairy Road (Kuihelani Highway) that leads to Lahaina from Kahului. There were sections of this road at 35 mph and then 45 mph for years, which frustrated people no end. (I did notice a new sign at 55 mph just the other day, so maybe they are testing it out!)
Then there is the whole “Pali,” issue, the road that winds through the mountain and tunnel from Maalaea to Lahaina. The problem with this section is that it scares tourists half to death to have a steep cliff on one side and ocean drop-off on the other, so they white-knuckle it. Then there’s the problem of tourists busily sightseeing instead of driving. (“Oh look, a WHALE!!!) This adds up to 25 mph in a 45 mph zone…and locals who are just really needing to get work are ready to kill somebody.

The road to Hana? Don’t get me started. An angry local who lives out there and has made his monthly trip to Costco and just wants to get back home before dark will ride your bumper whether you are local or a tourist. It’s like the wild West out there. They have no patience with people who are driving the speed limit, scared of the curves, sightseeing, or just enjoying the day. I would imagine people in convertibles are particularly vulnerable to their anger!

Back to an answer on reddit. com:

Avoid being rude/demanding/complaining. They’ll either act like they’re taking you seriously, then have all their co-workers start pulling pranks, or you mess with the wrong person and they’re ready to fight. Since you’re asking this question, my guess is that you will not run into this problem. Just be respectful. Maui is more fun if you don’t expect everything to go according to plan. Be ready to improvise. It is what it is.

Wise advice. Maui is particularly vulnerable to bad service. Many people who work on Maui just don’t have the mainland work ethic, and then there’s the whole “Surf’s up, dude!” culture, and the truth is that on any given night, there’s a high likelihood that multiple waiters and/or the chef himself did not show up at a restaurant where you’re dining, and that’s why your food is taking so long. So resisting or complaining is fruitless.

In Maui, the best motto is “Just go with it!” (Ironically, the name of the Adam Sandler/Jennifer Aniston film set on Maui).

So, if you are a Maui local reading this, what are YOUR pet peeves about tourists?

A hui hou! If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button to the right, or on the Homepage.

Aloha, Jamaica

Locals Weigh in On Tourists

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Aloha!

First, I would like to thank all of our loyal mauidailyescape readers. We know there are lots of reading options out there, so we appreciate your hanging out here!

That said, we know that a lot of people are trying to limit their time spent online, which makes your readership that much more special. I am not an online junkie, and so things float into my airspace at a slower rate than some. For instance, I had never heard of reddit.com, and just found out it is in the top 20 of all social media sites. So for giggles, I plugged in Maui to see what came up. A couple posted that they would soon be traveling to Maui, but didn’t want to be annoying tourist-types, and asked what they could do. Here are some answers from reddit.com:

QUESTION: “Aloha Maui locals! What do the tourists do that drive you crazy?”
ANSWERS:
“If you’re at the beach and you see people body – surfing in the Shorebreak, even though you might want to try it, do not go directly to the exact spot they are – – something annoying tourists do – – go somewhere else down the beach. You can get hurt if they are in the wrong spot and it can piss people off if you invade their space or get in the way.”

Another person posted: “This has happened to me more than once, body – boarding at the beach. Watching the waves come in, go to catch it and have to bail because a tourist is standing directly in front of me. I had to give up for the day one time because an entire family spread out in the area I was riding.”

(Author’s note: BE EXTREMELY MINDFUL when skim boarding, particularly at Big
Beach. Our friend’s 20-something son is now a quadriplegic from skim-boarding at Big Beach.)

And then onto posted speed limits: “Annoying: tourists going the actual speed limit. 25 mph is for scooters in 1981, not a car in 2014.”

Another person followed up: “Pull over. Some people drive like psychos on the mainland ’cause they’re in a rush and get frustrated if someone is going slow. Locals do get angry if you’re not paying attention. The speed limits on Maui are very unrealistic.” (I concur!)

And another: “Making illegal U–turns to save driving one extra mile to the next intersection.”

More next post…!

A hui hou! If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button to the right, or on the Homepage.

Aloha, Jamaica

Why Elevation Matters On Maui

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Aloha!

People write to me all the time to ask where they should live when they move to Maui. This question stumps me. It would seem they would know if they are beach people or mountain people….or if they want to be surrounded by tourists, or live in the middle of nowhere. So here’s some food for thought….

Let’s say you plan to move to Maui and will drive an electric car. You get to live in a jaw – droppingly beautiful place and help the planet while you drive, right?

Not so fast. A friend did just that – – moved his family to Kula at around 3,000 feet elevation, and bought an electric car. Only one problem: he found he cannot go up and down the hill on only one charge. At flat – level driving, the car (a Leaf) was rated to make the mileage – – it just couldn’t handle the elevation (kind of like my brother-in-law who got elevation-sick while we were all visiting the lavender farm in Kula. Hi, Richard!)

(www.aliikulalavender.com/ “In the uplands of Maui, nestled along the skirt of Haleakala (House of the Sun) mountain lay the beautiful gardens of Ali`i Kula Lavender. Maui’s Lavender Lifestyle experience.”)

But I digress. Of course, that is just another thing to consider…will you suffer from elevation sickness?

So my Kula friend now plans his days around charging his car. One day he had a meeting in Kahului (flat-land), then another meeting right afterward in Makawao (1,500 ft.) He had to re-schedule the second meeting to build in charging time, so he could make it back up the hill. Not a happy camper.

We inherited a Prius when my mom passed away. She is named “Lulu” and is the first car I’ve owned on Maui that won’t let me run the air-conditioner up the hill to Upcountry without grinding and complaining. So I pat her and turn off the A.C., even though it’s 95° out. My insurance agent told me she has the same problem with her small – cylinder car, that is neither electric or hybrid. Just not enough power.

The beauty of living Upcountry is that you can get a view, you’re away from the tourists, and it’s a bit cool-ah in Ku-la. (I owe that one to my niece).

The downside to elevation is that it’s really hard on your brakes. I burned mine up as soon as I moved Upcountry, and my mechanic said, “Downshift the whole way down, to save your brakes.” To which I replied, “But that makes the engine grind – – what about my transmission?” He just shrugged and said, “Choose.”

Everything in Maui comes down to choice, just like life. Beach or mountain? Hot or cool? Flat or views? Close to work, or a commute?

I leave you with this: your ears will pop every time you go up and down the mountain. I’ve always wondered this about airline folks too…is that an okay thing?

A hui hou! If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button to the right, or on the Homepage.

Aloha, Jamaica

Maui Voted Seventh Best Island in the World

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Aloha!

In case you haven’t heard, the readers of Travel and Leisure magazine have once again named Maui the best island in Hawaii, and the seventh best in the world.

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Readers voted in the magazine’s annual “World’s Best” awards, based on the ratings of five characteristics: natural attractions/beaches, activities/sights, restaurants/food, people/friendliness and value.

The island of Kauai followed at the number eight ranking.

Here are the 10 best islands in the world, according to Travel + Leisure:

Galapagos Islands
Bali
Maldives
Tasmania in Australia
Santorini in Greece
Moorea in French Polynesia
Maui
Kauai
Great Barrier Reef and
Malta.

So, mauidailyescape readers, how would YOU vote? Where does the beautiful isle of Maui rank for you out of the Hawaiian islands…and in the world?

A hui hou! If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button to the right, or on the Homepage.

Aloha, Jamaica

Have You Seen ‘Aloha’ ?

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Aloha!

The Cameron Crowe-directed film ‘Aloha,’ set in Hawaii on Oahu, just seems to keep stirring the pot. Crowe has defended himself on a series of issues, and the film was the subject of one of the leaked emails in the Sony hack where SPE co-chairman Amy Pascal weighed in on production cost overruns and had scathing words for the movie.

Now comes Guy Aoki, head and founder of MANAA (Media Action Network for Asian-Americans) where in a press release to the New York Post, he accused Columbia Pictures of a “whitewashed” version of Hawaii. “Caucasians only make up 30% of the population (of Hawaii), but from watching this film, you’d think they made up 99%,” he said. “This comes in a long line of films: “The Descendants,” “50 First Dates,” “Blue Crush,” “Pearl Harbor” –that uses Hawaii for its exotic backdrop but goes out of its way to exclude the very people who live there,” Aoki said.

“Aloha” stars Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Alec Baldwin and Bill Murray in the story of a military contractor (Cooper) who moves to Hawaii for work and falls for an energetic Air Force member (Stone).

According to Aoki, the largest roles for Islanders in “Aloha” are characters without names, some of whom are described as “Indian pedestrian,” “Upscale Japanese tourist,” and “upscale restaurant guest.” Aoki asks, “How can you educate your audience to the ‘rich history’ of Hawaii by using mostly white people and excluding the majority of the people who live there and who helped build that history?”

Wonder if he’s ever seen a little television show called “Magnum, P.I”?

A Hollywood Reporter article of 5/23/15 by Ryan Gajewski quotes a source from the movie as saying that no member of MANAA has yet to see the film or read the script and that the films storyline centers on “the spirit of the Hawaiian people.”

What do you think of the movies Aoki called out that were filmed in Hawaii? In letters to me, many blog readers name “The Descendants” as a movie shot in Hawaii that “gets them through the winter.”
Do you even care what a movie shot in Hawaii is about….because you watch mostly for the scenery?
And if you’re local, do you feel under-represented or misrepresented in Hollywood? Please weigh in…

A hui hou! If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button to the right, or on the Homepage. Thanks for reading along!

Aloha, Jamaica

Scene and Heard

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Aloha!

These are things seen and heard around the island lately…

T-shirt that reads, “Tatooed AND Employed!”

Another t-shirt: “Automatic Aloha.” Do you think that Aloha is automatic here? Or something that is earned?

And another: “Aloha Always.”

According to bestplaces.net, the Upcountry town of Makawao’s cost of living is 74.80% higher than the U.S. average.

T-shirt: “Stuck on this Island.” Could go either way…

News report: the lava in the lava lake on Kiluaea on the Big Island is the highest it has ever been, historically. And the vent is spewing at 60,000 gallons per minute. Explains why we are still having VOG (volcanic organic gas) in the summer….supposedly the non-vog season:

Taken July 2nd, 2015 from Upcountry Maui

Taken July 2nd, 2015 from Upcountry Maui


That’s not fog. Or clouds. It’s sulphur-dioxide in the air from the volcano.

Bumper sticker: “Keep it Hawaiian.”

New t-shirts ( and hats and everything else) that read “IAL” (I am local). Then under that: “Better than a state I.D.” Being “a local” is very important here. I’ve lived lots of places and have not seen people so fiercely/loyally defend their turf anywhere else.

A hui hou! If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button to the right, or on the Homepage.

Aloha, Jamaica

Hawaiian Snow in June

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Aloha!
Nope, it’s probably not what you think.
Hawaiian Snow is what the locals call the ash from the sugarcane burn. Makes a mess, gets all over everything… your car, your driveway… Inside on your garage floor, on your porch furniture, your sidewalk….your clean laundry on the line. Then if it’s on your car and you open the car door, it blows inside and now it’s on everything inside your car: the seats, the dash, the car mats.
It’s black and greasy and sticks like a son of a gun.

We had Hawaiian snow today. I had to get Mike to the airport, and we didn’t have time to scrub the porches or wash the car before leaving. So as I ran errands after dropping him off, the ash continued to blow inside the car every time I opened the doors. It actually stained the seats. Grrrr.

The snow I pictured in Hawaii was white and you could ski on it, on the Big Island. Not black, tar-like and all over my stuff.

This email arrived today in my inbox:

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Summer school, anyone?

This notice appeared in “Maui Time,” which bills itself as “Maui’s only locally owned independent newspaper” this week:

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They’re getting ready to burn the sugarcane field behind our house in the next few weeks– then we’ll really notice the fallout. Stay tuned for photos of the burn. It’s really quite something to see.

A hui hou! If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button to the right, or on the Homepage.

Aloha, Jamaica

You Know You Live in Hawaii When….

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Aloha!

You know you live in Hawaii when….

The wedding reception you attend for your coworker likely takes place in a backyard, and involves a goat on a spit and a karaoke machine. Saying no to singing is not an option.

No matter how old the workers in your office are, they call their supervisors Auntie or Uncle.

You never leave home without a cooler in your trunk in case you decide to stop at the store. It’s so hot, the food is history otherwise.

You know they burn sugarcane February through December and that’s been the schedule for well over 130 years.

You hear word of a dock strike and immediately head to Costco to stock up on toilet paper and rice.

You give directions by saying “mauka” (mountain) or “makai” (water).

You serve both potatoes and rice at a dinner party because someone might get offended if there’s no rice.

When you’re invited to someone’s home you take food, and lots of it, even if they tell you not to.

You wouldn’t dream of entering someone’s home with your shoes on.

You know what an opihi picker does, and why it’s dangerous.

You’ve seen a Moonbow and can explain what it is.

A hui hou! If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button to the right, or on the Homepage.

Aloha, Jamaica

Family is so Important

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Aloha!

If you think you might like to live in Hawaii, consider this: will extended family follow suit? Will they even visit? And then there are the aging parents and grandparents.

I got to California from the Midwest because almost the whole fam-damnly moved there, as my mother would say. (She loved her cliches and malapropisms).

I kind of hoped/assumed the same thing would happen when I moved to Hawaii, but it never did. Heck, I could barely get anyone to visit… not at all what I pictured… but airfare isn’t cheap. (Either direction.)

Also, my father and stepfather both hated Hawaii. “What’s the big deal. I don’t get it!” (Dad).
“It’s hot and humid, full of creepy bugs, you can’t get anything… you can’t go anywhere. And it’s horribly overpriced! What’s the point?” (Stepdad…he was much more verbose.) Over the years, the few times he would come here the trip would end with him saying, “You’re off your nut.”

Then the VOG (volcanic organic gas) set in when a new vent opened in the volcano in 2008, and I started going to stay with my parents every winter because I couldn’t breathe here. Then my parents both got sick and I was HERE and they were THERE, which required me leaving home for almost 2 years to go care for them. I was Trustee of the estate when they died, so then I needed to be there to sell the house, etc. (Much more time-consuming and stressful than anyone realizes who hasn’t done it.)

Two weeks after my mom died, I was in line at the post office and the girl behind the counter said, “Well, hold onto your hat. My parents died two years ago and things still aren’t settled. You’re in for a long haul.” I remember thinking, “Well, you don’t know how efficient I can be,” and boy-howdy did I look back on that and laugh at myself. I thought because I wanted to get done in California and get home to Maui that my “drive” would magically make everything go smoothly. Not even close!

Since my parents were healthy and quite active when I moved to Maui, I saw none of it coming.

On the other hand, if you are one of those who would gladly live at least 3,000 miles away from your dysfunctional family, Hawaii might be just the place….

A hui hou! If you’d like tomstay in the loop. please click the “Follow” button on the Homepage, or to the right.

Aloha, Jamaica

The Sea

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Aloha!

“What I want to write about today is the sea. It contains so many colors. Silver at dawn, green at noon, dark blue in the evening. Sometimes it looks almost red. Or it will turn the color of old coins. Right now the shadows of clouds are dragging across it, and patches of sunlight are touching down everywhere…

It is my favorite thing, I think, that I have ever seen. Sometimes I catch myself staring at it and forget my duties.

It seems big enough to contain everything anyone could ever feel.”

(From the wonderful novel by Anthony Doerr, “All the Light We cannot See.”) Check it out.

All the Light We Cannot See
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Winner (2015)
“I must blame Anthony Doerr for lost sleep, because once I started reading his new novel, “All the Light We Cannot See,” there was no putting it down. Told mostly in the present tense, in short and usually pointed chapters, the story moves briskly and efficiently toward its climactic encounter during the Allied bombing of St.-Malo, France, a couple of months after D-Day. Although the narrative consists largely of flashbacks, it’s easy to follow because it focuses most sharply on only two characters, the blind child ­Marie-Laure LeBlanc, who takes part in the French Resistance, and the very Aryan-looking Werner Pfennig, a technocratic private in the service of the Thousand-Year Reich.”
William T. Vollman, Sunday Book Review, NY. Times, May 8, 2014

A hui hou! If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the Follow button to the right, or on the Homepage.

Aloha, Jamaica

Monday, Monday

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Aloha!

It seems Monday is the day people most often dream of running off to an island where the living will be easy.

Every day when Mike goes to work as the Captain of The Scotch Mist (www.scotchmistsailingcharters.com/) out of Lahaina Harbor, some tourist will say, “Wow, you must have the best job in the world!”

So here is a look at Mike’s day. First up, the Hawaiian monk seal on the beach in front of his friend Barry’s house, where he often stops off before work:

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Being a monk seal must be hard work, because he needed a nap

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Then, onto the boat. They are still seeing whales this late in the year on the whale watches
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And then there are the champagne sunset sails (well, everyone but Mike and the crew gets champagne…)

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From the outside looking in, yes, Mike’s job looks perfect to many. He’s basically getting paid to live a Jimmy Buffett song, right?

But scratch the surface and you will find long, long days in the hot, hot sun. And the skin cancer that required 30 stitches in his left cheek. During the busy whale season (January-April) he might leave the house at 7 am and not get home till 9 pm. And although his commute isn’t bad, it does take 50 minutes.

Sometimes boat trips get canceled due to not enough passengers. So he might have a snorkel trip that’s over at 1 pm but the evening sail doesn’t start till 5 pm, with no sail in between. He’s sitting in Lahaina with no work–a “split shift”, and not paid for those extra hours.

If there are no trips scheduled yet for a workday, he is home but on call. Like a doctor, but without the fabulous wages…yet still responsible for twenty-five lives. He can’t really go anywhere or do anything, because he might “get a trip.”

But in all, when he’s actually on the water behind the wheel he’s loving life. So, all in a days’ work, eh?

image

Hope wherever you are, and whatever you do, you’re having a good Monday.

A hui hou! If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button to the right, or on the Homepage.
Aloha, Jamaica

Beach Dog

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Aloha!

Finally, a trip to the beach. Ahhhh. It happens less frequently than you would think. A crowded Sunday.

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And here was this handsome German fellow waiting his turn at the showers…Actually, there was a lineup going, kind of like the surf lineup when they wait for waves.

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Here, he finally gets his turn:

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And check out this little guy, wondering if it’s okay to share a shower with a dog…

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Beach Dog

There is an undefined… something… about living in Hawaii. People find themselves at home in their own skins, loose, and yes, more laid-back. Dogs too, apparently.

This beach-dog guy could take all comers (and there were many, many dogs there that Sunday. All breeds, shapes and sizes.)

Shouting to be heard. Strutting their stuff.

But Beach Dog was too cool for that. Basically ignored all the others.

He couldn’t see anything but the beach. He was the beach.

Zen – dog.

And can I just say? Surfers are not the mellow dudes people think they are. It’s a zoo out there and they are all fighting for the same wave.

When you live on an island, you come to understand. The insularity. The restlessness. The need to have a fluid sense of identity.

When you live on an island you can ignore the mainland, shrug your shoulders as if to say I’m not having that, thank you.

Until.

Until there’s a hurricane. A war. A gas crisis.

But until then. Bliss…

A hui hou! If you like to stay in the loop. please click the “Follow” button to the right, or on the Homepage.

Aloha, Jamaica

The Home Fires Burning

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Aloha!

Ladies and gentlemen, start your air purifiers. It’s the 143rd year of sugarcane burning on Maui.

We had just barely, barely pulled out of VOG season (cough, cough) and they began burning. I am on the email list from the HC&S sugarcane company, and they send these lovely notices the night before they burn:

image

This is so we will know to sleep with our windows closed. My sister was here visiting us from Indiana, and she could hardly believe that we live in HAWAII and have to keep our windows closed, either from VOG (volcanic organic gas) or cane smoke. And we will wake up in the morning to “Maui snow”, the sticky, black ash that covers our cars, porches, and sidewalks.

Then there is this notice. Guess they can’t make up their minds:image

Last week, someone purposely set one of the cane fields near our house on fire. It was touch and go for a while as to whether they would have to evacuate the houses, but luckily the wind stayed in the right direction.

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As I always say….never a dull moment when you live on Maui!

A hui hou. if you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow button to the right, or on the Homepage.

Aloha, Jamaica

That Feeling of “Well – Being”

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Aloha!

Are you someone who feels that Hawaii would have to be the ultimate place to live? The perfect weather, the year-round outdoor activities, the pristine beach a short ride away?

Are you one of those people who wonder why anybody bothers to live in Hawaii, what with the cost of living–gas, groceries, housing, utilities? I know my dad was one of them. He would just shake his head and say, “I don’t get it.”

Now come the results of the Gallup – Healthways “Well – Being Index” report, released early this year. Hawaii is one of the top 10 states for well-being for the seventh straight year. Number one? Alaska. (And I, like my dad, would say “I don’t get it.” Perhaps you Alaskans can set me straight.)

The only other state besides Hawaii to finish in the top 10 every year since Gallup and Healthways began their studies in 2008, is Colorado.

What did it take to reach the top? 176,000 residents of 50 states were polled in 2014, according to a press release. They were asked to assess their lives in these five categories:

1) Purpose: liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals.
2) Social: having supportive relationships and love in your life.
3) Financial: managing your economic life to reduce stress and increase security.
4) Community: liking where you live, feeling safe, and having pride in your community.
5) Physical: having good health and enough energy to get things done daily.

As I say each time one of these polls is released, you just can’t beat megadoses of vitamin D from the sun….and Hawaii lead in two categories – physical and financial. South Dakota was the only other state to lead in two categories – social and community.

The three states with the lowest well – being level in 2014 were: West Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana. (And this was before Indiana’s recent landmark legislation that had lawmakers from other states threatening to boycott the state.)

Five of the bottom 10 – West Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Ohio and Kentucky – have finished there every year since the poll has been conducted.

I will say upfront that I grew up in Indiana and you could almost see the vapor trail behind me, I was in such a hurry to leave those winters behind. There’s a price paid for leaving your home state and becoming a vagabond though–I’ve lived in four states–and that price is never truly feeling at home. My sister has never left Indiana, and in fact teaches at the same Junior High that we attended, and the payoff is that she is still in touch with many of the people we went to school with….while I have forgotten many of their names. She feels at home, because she is at home.

Any thoughts on this poll? When we saw our tax accountant this year, she told us that she is only out in the sun about twice a year here. She simply works that much. Bet she has her financial life together, though.

A hui hou! If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button on the Homepage, or to the right.

Aloha, Jamaica

You Can Check Out Any Time You Like

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Aloha!

Remember the line from the Eagle’s song “Hotel California” that says, “You can check out anytime you like… But you can never leave”?

Seems like someone could’ve written the same about Maui. There are tourists who come here, fall in love with Maui and Hawaii, and really don’t want to go home. I was one of them.

This can have a flipside. I’ve talked to many people who move here and then can’t leave, even if they want to. They’ve quit their jobs. They’ve paid a lot of money to shut down their lives on the mainland, ship their cars, all their paperwork, and all their worldly possessions, and here they are. Stuck. Can’t afford to do it in reverse.

One man had a business here where he placed banks of computers in hotel lobbies, including the hotel where I worked. When we chatted he said, “(Expletive) Maui. I moved here with my wife, found out we can’t stand it, and now we’re stuck here.” And his business was quickly obsolete – the hotels installed Wi-Fi for guest’s laptops and iPads instead.

This is why I encourage anyone to give Maui a trial–run before pulling up stakes, selling their homes and businesses, and paying shipping fees to get their lives here. A recent blog post had a letter from a reader on Kauai who moved there five years ago. She gave a wonderful overview, but also said, “Would I do it again, knowing what I know? I don’t know. ”

Recently a friend who came to Maui twenty years ago said, “When I moved here, everyone told me, ‘Maui is healing place.’ Well, they neglected to mention that you’re supposed to get healed…and then leave!”

Could be why so many people stay only two years. They’ve gotten what Maui could offer them, from the sun, the ocean, a major change… and they’re done. Yes, my friend is one of those who feels stuck….bought a home and is self-employed. Now what? (“We are all just prisoners here, of our own device.”)

Realize, too, that each Hawaiian island is different. Each has its own culture; on Oahu it can be a bit easier to assimilate because the military is there, and they are used to outsiders. There are that many more tourists, that many more more people. It’s different on Maui where people who grew up here often have a very negative view of people who move here and “spoil” their island. Caucasians are suspect, because in their history it was the Caucasians who stole their islands from the monarchy. The same person who posted the long comment recently beginning with “You seem to have left a lot out” also said, “Once you submerge yourself into the culture, ‘Welcome to Hawaii…now leave,’ has quite a bit of meaning and truth to it.”

There are those who come here, love it, and would never dream of leaving. And then there are the others, whose dreams go up in (cane) smoke. Food for thought, in case you’re considering checking into The Hotel Maui. (“Last thing I remember, I was running for the door… I had to find the passage back to the place I was before.”)

A hui hou! If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the Follow button on the Homepage.

Aloha, Jamaica

The Logisitics of Living on an Island

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Aloha!

Friends recented visited us from Oahu’s North Shore, and shared a story about trying to buy a car on the mainland. “But why would someone go all the way to the mainland to buy a car?” you might ask.

Well, there’s the fact that it costs around $8,009-$10,000 less on the mainland. And there’s so much less to choose from in Hawaii. (We won’t cover what it’s like trying to buy a car on Maui…. if the Oahu folks feel less than excited with their prices and selections, you can imagine our dilemma. Here, cars are first shipped from the mainland to Oahu, unloaded, put on a boat with Young Brothers and they ship them to Maui–with the attendant mark up. The last time we bought a used car we flew to Oahu, bought it, and had it shipped back to Maui.)

Sound crazy? Such are the logistics of living on an island.

So our friends called around on the mainland, located the exact car (Jeep) they wanted right down to the color, and put down a deposit on their credit card over the phone. Then they bought plane tickets and flew to California with the intention of driving their brand-new car around for 10 days rather than having to spend the money on a Rent-A-Car.

Except, that’s not what happened. They got to the car dealership and were told that their car has been sold. Seems the salesman was not allowed to take a deposit over the phone, as in, “We don’t TAKE deposits!” Our friends fired back, “Well someone here sure did!” But they apparently had put that salesman in the Jeep Witness Protection Program and wouldn’t let them talk to (yell at) him.

Lots of negotiating ensued as our friends worked their way up the management food chain. They demanded their airfare be covered. They demanded money for a rental car, since they now had nothing to drive and hadn’t budgeted for a rental. On and on it went.

But management wouldn’t budge. Our friends had to get on the phone and start all over trying to find the Jeep of their dreams. As luck would have it, they found one for less money, and it all came out okay in the end. But it was very tense there for a while–they probably got a few grey hairs. They still had all the time and paperwork of registering, licensing and then shipping the new car to Hawaii–and every person they talked to from the DMV to the dealership to the shippers gave them a different story. Quite the run-around.

Just thought I would share this as one of the essential logistics of living in Hawaii: do we REALLY want to go try to find a car on the mainland, then have to ship it, to save about ten grand?

And just in case you are wondering: we recently shipped a car from the mainland that was already registered in California. It was significantly higher to register it in Hawaii, as was the insurance. California charges for registration according to how old the car is (so the fee drops over time) and Hawai charges according to weight. I’m pretty sure my car weighs the same from one year to the next! So this explains why every year when I would say to Mike, “Doesn’t it seem like our registration should’ve gone down by now?” that I was pipe – dreaming. It’s not going to go down.

Logistics are those things that people who have never lived in Maui
1) don’t think about, and
2) probably don’t believe, even after we explain it to them.

One of those joys of living on a rock in the middle of the ocean!

A hui hou. Mahalo for reading along. If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button to the right, or on the Homepage.

Aloha, Jamaica

Kauai Reader Weighs In

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Aloha!

You, dear readers, have given wonderful feedback on the last blog entry. I appreciate all of you! The following letter puts one reader’s move to Kauai in perspective. (Mahalo for sharing, Laura.)

Submitted on 2015/03/08:
“I’m going on my fifth year living in Kauai. Prior to living here, my husband and I visited the island either 1x or 2x/year for about five years. We decided one year to look at real estate and ended up buying a home and renting it for close to 3 years with our goal moving part time to Kauai. To make a long story short, we got tired of the cold weather and decided to move here. So here’s my take on it:

First know what you’re getting into. Living on an island isn’t for everyone. It takes planning. You don’t need a lot. If you are considering moving here, don’t bring much. It will be a waste. People are always moving and you can find anything you need on craig’s list or garage sales. The pros living here : amazing scenery, the ocean, perfect weather, being able to be outdoors 365 days a year, rainbows, monk seals, turtles, whales, snorkeling. If you like outdoor activities, this is the place for you. The cons: night life is boring, not enough restaurants/cafes and the restaurants that do exist are too expensive and not worth what you get for it, limited shopping except for art galleries/gift shops, and my biggest complaint no matter where you live or how expensive your home is, there’s still that neighbor who never throws anything out and makes his yard into the car dump. What’s up with that???? Would I do it again knowing what I know, I don’t know. It’s different working and living here than visiting on vacation. It’s funny that my vacation time is going back east. Don’t get me wrong, I do like living here. I don’t miss snow or bitter cold weather but I do miss going out to restaurants, good food, shopping malls and seeing well kept properties.”

Very well put, Laura. You have summed it up nicely, especially the things you miss (Maui has more than Kauai, and I still wish there were more decent cafe-type places),the exorbitant restaurant prices, and we DO have that neighbor four houses down who has fifteen cars buried in his yard (yes, I counted.) I really miss neighborhoods where people take pride in their properties.

As for why? Mike grew up in Hawaii, and all the guys he knows are hoarders of misc. junk. The reason they give is growing up in the islands, you never knew when the boat might not come in, and every single thing they bought was so expensive that they refused to throw anything away. They all have barns, sheds, warehouses full! It’s our big struggle as a couple. He hangs on to everything!

Laura, you didn’t share where you moved from, or what type of jobs you and you husband found. Please share if you would like. I’m sure readers would like to have the full picture. Again, thanks so much for writing!

A hui hou. If you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button to the right, or on the Homepage.

Aloha, Jamaica

An Entirely Different Point of View

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Aloha!

A reader sent the following letter in regard to this blog. Could be they didn’t read past the Homepage, because in many of my posts I do talk about the hardships on Maui, and the downsides. This reader feels I make it sound like all rainbows to live here…and yet another reader wrote to say I talk too much about the negatives. I do work hard to present a balanced opinion. Here’s the letter:

“You seem to have left a lot out. I lived there for 4 years. It was great, but you sound like a concierge selling the island as usual. You didn’t mention hardly any of the hardships that most everyday people and locals experience… almost everyday. …Yes, Maui is amazing, but you have illustrated an almost whimsical reality. I’ve traveled quite a bit, especially in the states, and everywhere has it’s ups and downs. What you speak of sounds like the ultimate paradise, as if all dreams, goals, and aspirations will occur simply because you moved there. I’m a realist. I have lived there. I love it. I have some great friends, but the reality is, that not everyone’s experience has been so great. Many a local are not simply comforted by having sunshine everyday, or the ocean. In fact, many feel plagued by it at times, as if there was no escape. Many people can’t find the time in between work and family to start the business of their dreams. Many people don’t have union jobs that, let’s face it, are very hard to get released from. Many people look for love on Maui all day long and never find it. Many people work 2-3 jobs, can’t find descent (sic) housing, and get ripped off by the slumlords. Overworked, underpayed, overwhelmed, and overpopulated is just a little something that my local friends want to add into your blog, especially for the newbies. Aloha:)

So, let me know what you think…particularly if you have lived on the island and left. (Some people move here, then leave…then move back again. Sometimes multiple times.) I spoke with my niece’s teacher on the mainland who said, “I used to live in Hawaii. I was so over it by the time I left. Six years was plenty!”

Looking forward to your letters.

A hui hou! if you’d like to stay in the loop, please click the “Follow” button on the Homepage, or to the right.

Aloha, Jamaica

Goldilocks and the Three Towns on Maui

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Aloha!

A recent letter from a reader who wants to move to Maui asked, “What’s the prettiest town?” I think that’s a very subjective thing, and I can’t choose pretty for you any more than you could choose it for me. A better question might be about the weather of the town you choose to live in. For instance, I was at a party up in Kula, and everyone there was freezing. It was an outdoor party, and the windchill felt about 30°. I was wearing the same leather coat I wear in San Francisco and was still cold. After you live in Hawaii a while, your blood thins out and you can’t take the cold anymore, particularly if you live at an elevation that is always warm.

At the party I visited with a lady who had moved from Oahu (very warm there) and needed to choose a place to live on Maui. Her husband asked, “What about Haiku?” and the lady responded, “Too rainy.” Her husband said, “What about Hana?” The wife responded, “Too remote.” (At least she’d done her homework, lots of people don’t). So they ended up in Kula, where there is less rain, but it’s too cold for her. I almost asked her, “So what about Kihei, or Lahaina? But I know what her response would’ve been: “Too crowded. Too hot!”

So it really is like Goldilocks, you have to pick what’s “just right” for you, and you alone.

I also spoke with another couple who recently purchased a home in Maui Meadows (a residential area up the hill from Kihei) after living in a condo for years. I asked why they moved, and he said, “It gets old living in a resort. Tourists coming and going all the time.” So that’s another thing to think about when moving here: condo life might sound wonderful and low – maintenance, but there are very few condo complexes on Maui that are long-term rental only. What that means is at least half (or usually a higher percentage) of the people on the property where you will be living are transient or tourists. There is no getting to know them better, and the worst of them really feel no obligation to behave. (“We’re on vacation…par-tay!!”)

Then there are the maintenance fees at condos…ask lots of questions. I was tempted to buy a lovely condo when I first loved here, till I found out the maintenance fees were $1,200. per month– and this was fifteen years ago!

If you’re thinking of a move to Maui, like Goldilocks, I hope you do your homework and find the area that is “just right.”

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Aloha, Jamaica