My friend Gill Brooks shared this with me this morning. Whether you’re a fan of Christmas or not, it’s pretty funny… and a great statement about the age we live in.
Photo Workshop At Bryce And Zion
October 11, 2010 By 1 Comment
Virgin River by Bob Evans, Scenic Light Photography
I’m leaving tonight for a photography workshop at Bryce and Zion Canyons with my friend and mentor, Bob Evans.
This has always been on my list and I haven’t had the opportunity until now.
I’ll be flying into Las Vegas (LAS) and driving to Bryce to begin the workshop.
I’ll do my best to blog, tweet and/or Facebook when possible throughout the trip, but ultimately, I’ll be updating my photo blog with the results after I’ve had a chance to finish them in post.
Stay tuned!
‘Ulalena – A Must-See Show On Maui
October 2, 2010 By 2 Comments
'Ulalena at Maui Theatre
Last night, I was part of something very special. The folks at ‘Ulalena hosted what ended up being the largest tweetup in Maui history in honor of Eat Local Hawaii week, co-hosted by Edible Hawaiian Islands and Aloha Mixed Plate. In exchange for bringing a locally sourced pupu (appetizer), we were treated to a free performance of a this amazing show.
‘Ulalena is a gorgeous and unique blending of people, nature, culture and mythology, set to music and dance in a multi-million dollar venue custom built for its presentation, featuring some of Hawaii’s most distinguished musicians and performers, combining live Hawaiian music with 8-channel surround sound. The state of the art, computerized stage was built in Montreal and then transported and assembled in Lahaina piece by piece.
I’ve seen a lot of theater productions in my lifetime, in a number of countries, and even put in a little stage time myself in my younger days, and I can honestly say ‘Ulalena is one of the most beautiful shows I’ve ever experienced. It’s truly one of Maui’s treasures and I’m proud to have a show of this caliber on the island.
I’m a little ashamed to admit that in the five years I’ve lived here, this is the first time I’ve seen it in its home environment. It’s always been on my list, but I should have made it a priority much sooner. Whether you live here or you’re visiting, ‘Ulalena is one of those experiences you won’t get anywhere else, and one you don’t want to miss.
Back To The 50's Highway Fountain
June 17, 2010 By 3 Comments
Back To The 50's Highway Fountain, Laupahoehoe, Big Island, Hawai'i
Back To The 50's Highway Fountain, Laupahoehoe, Big Island, Hawai'i
Kendra Ignacio, co-owner of Back To The 50's Highway Fountain, Laupahoehoe, Big Island, Hawai'i
Back To The 50's Highway Fountain, Laupahoehoe, Big Island, Hawai'i
Chris and Kendra have relationships with local ranchers and growers in the area, and use locally raised, grass-fed beef and local produce whenever possible.
Kendra gave me the grand tour before we ordered our lunch…
Next time you find yourself on the road along the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island, plan on lunch at Chris and Kendra’s diner. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind local dining experience. Meantime, find them on Facebook. Stop by their wall and say hi. Tell them I sent you.
Kona Diving Day 4 – Last Day
June 15, 2010 By 9 Comments
Wire Coral Goby (Bryaninops yongei), Pipe Dreams, Kona, Hawaii
All good things come to an end, and today was our last day of diving with Dive Makai Charters for this trip.
And what a day it was!
We had a crowd of veteran divers on the boat today, so Allison and Tanner pulled out all the stops. Our first site was Pipe Dreams, one that is diveable only when the conditions aren’t too rough, as it is off a point that is very exposed. It’s a very large pipe that starts at around 60 feet or so and goes down to about 120 feet.
No two dives are alike here. On any given day, you can find any combination of nudibranchs to frogfish to eels. It’s the same up in the shallows, where you’ll find an assortment of fish, particularly wrasses and butterflyfish.
Our second and last dive of the day (and the trip for us) was at Manta Ray Bay, where we began our trip four days ago. As we were pulling up to the mooring, we passed another dive boat and were given the “sign of the cross”—a local diver’s hand signal meaning “tiger shark”.
Normally, this would have struck fear into the hearts of scuba divers, but not this bunch. We all lit up and got into our gear as quickly as we could for fear of missing it.
Devil Scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis diabolus), Pipe Dreams, Kona, Hawaii
There was a pod of Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins lolling around, in their resting phase, but we paid little attention to them. We wanted to see the shark. We saw a triplet of spotted eagle rays right as we descended, and the pod of dolphins passed overhead, chirping and whistling as they went. They passed overhead several times during the dive. Magnificent sight, but we had our minds set on shark.
Of course, this was the one day I decided to leave the wide angle lens behind, as I thought for sure I’d exhausted my “big stuff” karma on yesterday’s Adventure Day, so I couldn’t capture any of this. Figures. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do with the shark if we ever saw it, but I thought I’d decide that when the time came.
Yellowmargin Moray Eel (Gymnothorax flavimarginatus), Manta Ray Bay, Kona, Hawaii
As we were ending the dive, Allison spotted the shark’s tail and was sure she saw it, and as I turned in response to her banging her tank, I saw a large gray shape at the edge of my visibility that I knew had to be it. Neither of us saw the stripes, but we were both sure we saw it, and it looked big.
Undulated Moray Eel (Gymnothorax undulatus), Manta Ray Bay, Kona, Hawaii
We waited and waited. Everyone else went back to the boat. At one point, Allison pointed into the blue, but when I swam over to her, it turned out to be a large barracuda (another thing we would have been excited about on any other day).
At around 65 minutes, we reluctantly decided to call it, tempted as we were to burn that last few pounds of air and swim to another spot in hopes of catching another glimpse.
Eagle rays, dolphins, and a bare glimpse of a large, illusive tiger shark on our last day of diving. It doesn’t get better than that.
Kona Diving Day 3 – Adventure Day
June 14, 2010 By 3 Comments
Kathy diving at Au'au Canyon, Big Island, Hawaii.
For those who aren’t aware, Dive Makai Charters does an Adventure Day from time to time, when they go several miles offshore and head southwest toward the the area of the 1950 and 1926 lava flows, about 30 miles south of Kailua-Kona.
It’s usually a three-tank dive day, and if we have the opportunity to do one of these during our trip, we never pass it up.
You never know what you’re going to encounter on an Adventure Day, and that’s the whole idea. Over the years, I’ve seen a vast variety of rare critters, swum with pods of pilot whales and even had a close-up photo opportunity with an oceanic white tip shark. It is truly a must-do for the diving adventurer.
Today’s first dive was at Driftwood, named for a piece of driftwood on the shore that was used to find the mooring at one point. These days, GPS has made that unnecessary, but the site has retained its name. It was a busy dive, with a plethora of nudibranchs, endemic butterflyfish and wrasses, and a very large, handsome frogfish we found underneath the boat at the end of the dive.
Commerson's Frogfish (Antennarius commersoni), Driftwood, Big Island, Hawaii
We trekked southward to Au’au Canyon, Kathy’s favorite spot, where we love the sweeping views and amazing topography. Despite the big scenery, I found myself wishing I had my macro lens on during the dive, as we were finding all kinds of small critters and fish, such as wire coral gobies… that is, until the Bottlenose Dolphin showed up.
Bottlenose Dolphin (Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) with diver, Au'au Canyon, Big Island, Hawaii
Bottlenose Dolphin (Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), Au'au Canyon, Big Island, Hawaii
Like most dolphin encounters, I was expecting it to swim through and move on, but it made its way to the surface to get a breath and proceeded hang around and check us out. It swam slowly around each of us, not close enough to touch, but definitely enough to get a good shot, vocalizing and clicking from time to time. I’ve had very few dolphin encounters while scuba diving, and this one was among the best.
Tiny shrimp on diver's finger, Three Room Cave, Big Island, Hawaii
Our last dive was at Three Room Cave, not far from Au’au. We had a birthday boy onboard, Jim Gordon, husband of our guide Allison, and this is his favorite spot. And deservedly so. I love caverns, and this has to be the best one I’ve been in. Fish, nudibranchs, lobsters, shrimp, crabs, you name it, it’s here. If you ever get the opportunity and you’re comfortable diving in confined overhead environments, defintely do this dive.
Fuchsia Flatworm, (Pseudoceros ferrugineus), Three Room Cave, Big Island, Hawaii
And next time you’re in Kona, look up Dive Makai and ask to go on one of their Adventure Days. You won’t be disappointed.
Kona Diving Day 2
June 13, 2010 By 5 Comments
I knew something was wrong right away when we pulled into the Honokohau Harbor parking lot and didn’t see the familiar Dive Makai truck with the Lio Kai III in tow on its trailer, with the van next to it. Not long after we parked, we saw the truck pull in with Tanner at the wheel.
Longfin Anthias (Pseudanthias hawaiiensis), Garden Eel Cove, Kona, Hawaii
Turned out the trailer had a flat tire en route and Mike was running back to get a spare. We settled in with our friends Greg and Kendall from the Bay Area, who were diving with us, and waited. We got updates once in a while from Allison… the jack wasn’t strong enough to lift the trailer with the boat on it so the had to run and get another one, something ended up being wrong with the wheel and they cannibalized one from the van… Mike and Tanner were operating like a high speed pit crew trying to get the charter going.
Whitemouth Moray Eel (Gymnothorax meleagris), Gardem Eel Cove, Kona, Hawaii
Finally, they got the boat into the water, we brought our gear over, boarded and were under way. The dives were fabulous, and we forgot all about the flat tire. Well, maybe Mike and Tanner didn’t, but we all had a great time at Garden Eel Cove and Kaloko Canyons.
Divided Flatworm (Pseudoceros dimidiatus), Kaloko Canyon, Kona, Hawaii
Today seemed to be the day for fish and critters to come right out and give us a show—the Hawaiian Longfin Anthias, the octopus Kathy found, the Flame Angel, the moray eels… the list goes on. And so went Day 2 of our summer diving vacation in Kona.
Day Octopus (Octopus cyanea), Garden Eel Cove, Kona, Hawaii
Diving In Kona Once Again
June 12, 2010 By 4 Comments
Dwarf Moray Eel (Gymnothorax melatremus), Kona, Hawaii
This is the first day of diving on the first real vacation we’ve had in ages (I actually had to search this blog to find out how long it’s been). The last time we were scuba diving in Kona was two years ago.
Belted Wrasse (Stethojulis balteata), Kona, Hawaii
Before we moved from California, we used to visit Kona every year and dive with Dive Makai Charters. At the time, it was our annual getaway from the stressful corporate jobs we were in. After we moved, we tried to keep up the tradition, but life changed and got in the way.
A few weeks ago, friends from the Bay Area told us they’d be out here diving and asked if we’d like to join them. It came at just the perfect time, when I was beginning to work a lot of hours on my social media consulting practice and sensed I would need a break at around this time. I learned a long time ago in my corporate life, as a manager and an individual contributor, that a tired mind was no good to anybody.
Blackside Hawkfish (Paracirrhites forsteri), Big Arch, Kona, Hawaii
Tanner was our boat captain on the Lio Kai III today, and Allison was our dive guide at the “Manta Ray Bay” and “Big Arch” dive sites. As soon as that regulator is in my mouth and I’m down around 80 feet with my camera in my hands, all is well with the world. I’m sure it’s a feeling all divers understand. Three more days of this. Savoring every one.
Read more about today’s dives in Kathy’s blog…
Maui Tweetups Are Growing
June 6, 2010 By 7 Comments
I’m happy to see how our Maui tweetups have grown and evolved in the last year or so. It used to be just a small group of us meeting at a coffee place or somewhere to catch up on each other IRL (In Real Life). It turned a corner when we did the tweetup at AK’s Cafe on Lower Main Street in Wailuku during our Malama Maui tour with the Maui Visitors Bureau, which ended up being great promotion for the venue, and 12 of the 18 people who attended had never been there before.
That event seems to have sparked a new tradition of holding tweetups partly to promote various venues on the island. Last Thursday, my friend Dania Katz of Edible Hawaiian Islands organized one at Star Noodle in Lahaina. Our tweetup group got free pupus (appetizers) and desserts, and the proceeds from everything we purchased were donated to the Maui Food Bank. By the end of the evening, we raised $345 and the Star Noodle staff threw in another $100 for a total of $445 donated.
Mouthwatering ribeye in a teri-yuzu sauce at Star Noodle, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii
Not bad for a get together with friends old and new… great food, great networking, promoting a great local eatery and raising funds for a good cause. It’s one of the rewards of social media and the real life relationships that result from it.
If you’re on the island, watch our #MauiTweetup hashtag for future tweetup events, like the one coming up at Whole Foods Maui on Tuesday, June 8 and the one at Ono Gelato on Wednesday, June 14. Come meet local tweeters IRL!
See Jen Russo‘s blog post at Maui Dish for the complete scoop on our fabulous Star Noodle evening…
Zinfandel Grand Tasting
June 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment
One of the things we miss about living in Northern California is the ability to just get in the car and drive to the Sonoma or Napa wine country. In fact, we used to stay at the Honor Mansion in Healdsburg and participate in the Winter Wineland events every year.
So it’s no surprise we had a great time at the Zinfandel Grand Tasting a couple of weeks ago, sponsored by ZAP—the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers, held at the Pa’ina building on the UH Maui campus.
We were delighted to be able to visit with the owners of a couple of our favorites from the Healdsburg area. Our favorites of the evening were Mauritson’s Rockpiles—the Ridge and the Cemetary, and Seghesio’s Rockpile as well.
To accompany the wines, the Maui Culinary Academy hosted a cookoff with some exquisite food. My favorite, the Hoisin Shortribs with Sweet Potato Ravioli, was among the winners.
I have to confess, prior to this event, I didn’t even know ZAP existed, but it’s a great idea, forming an organization to promote a particular variety of wine. I hope this becomes a regular thing in Maui.
