Category Archives: Culture

Culture, maui, Travel

Orchid Show at the Maui County Fair

This year’s Maui County Fair, to be held October 2 to October 5, 2008, promises an all new orchid show put on by the Maui Orchid Society. If the idea of change frightens some, the Fair also promises to offer most of its other popular attractions, including the local favorite, deep fried twinkies.

With travel to the islands slumping, now is a good time to start planning a getaway to the Maui that includes a trip to its unique County Fair. Room rates and interisland fares are starting to dip and availability is good, making a trip to Maui more affordable than its been in a while.

For example, a room at the no-frills Maui Beach Hotel, which is walking distance to fair grounds, offers a nightly rate during the fair of $117 for a standard room. The Hawaii Superferry offers interisland transport for $59 each way from Honolulu.

For more details about the new orchid show at this year’s fair, see my article in the current issue of Hana Hou!.

Culture, Holidays, Lifestyle, Random, Travel

One Day in St. Andrews, Scotland

In addition to being the birthplace of golf and the sport’s equivalent of Mecca, St. Andrews, Scotland, is an entirely charming town that begs to be photographed.

My first stop was St. Andrews Links, where both the lawns of the Old and New courses pop in vibrant green against the wind-swept beach, called the West Sands.

A very short stroll from the Links, the beach was my next stop. The West Sands are familiar from the film “Chariots of Fire”. With summer twilight lasting for hours, this two-plus mile long beach captured my imagination.

Looking back toward town from the beach, the rows of charming Victorian, neo-gothic and Norman houses built of ancient stone beckon.

As I toured around the delightful neighborhoods in St. Andrews, I met a group of men wearing traditional kilts. They had just come from a Scottish country dancing festival and were heading to a nearby pub for a well-earned pint.

Culture, humor, National Parks

Volcano Viewing Etiquette

There is an etiquette to watching the spectacle of molten lava flowing into the ocean (as described in the post “New Vents in Kilauea Volcano Spout Fountains of Lava”). Here are my top five tips for good volcano viewing manners:

  1. Come prepared. Walking out to a recently hardened field of lava to watch another, active field of lava is about as rugged as terrain gets. No one is waiting there with a tray of cool towels and cocktails. Bring your own water, snacks, sunscreen, hat, jacket, tushie cushion, and wear sturdy shoes.
  2. Down in front. Crowding up to the front of barrier erected by the park service seems like a good idea, but it actually just blocks everyone’s view. A lava field isn’t stadium seating. Plus, all those flash pictures of your partner in the dark with the lava flow a mile in the distance will still be dark, even if you take one more.
  3. Aim your flashlight at your feet. Pointing your flashlight up into other people’s eyes does help you to see them, but then they are blinded. If you really want don’t want to trip and fall into a deep crevice of sharp lava, aim your flashlight on the ground just in front of your feet.
  4. Don’t throw rocks. This may seem obvious, but just in case it’s not, lava stones are sharp, jagged and could easily take someone’s eye out. That could put a real damper on watching Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire, in action.
  5. Pack out what you pack in. Leaving trash, empty bottles and soiled toilet paper on newly formed land is pretty insulting, as is taking home pieces of it for souvenirs. According to local lore Pele will find you, and in case you hadn’t noticed, she’s pretty powerful.