What do you think about the continuing controversy of this Waikiki landmark? It appears that the International Marketplace’s days are numbered, as the Queen Emma Foundation (owner’s of the property) continue to review proposals from multiple land developers.

International Market Place, A Waikiki Icon

Do you think Waikiki really needs another “upscale” shopping mall?  Admittedly, the International Marketplace has grown long in the tooth and some of the kiosks and buildings are showing their age.  Maybe I’m just feeling too nostalgic these days, after years of watching so many of my old haunts disappear.

Map of the International Marketplace

Best guess, it will be well into 2011 before anything concrete can be anticipated.  So, at least for now, the International Marketplace will continue on, business as usual.  I, for one, will miss watching my daughters bargain-hunt for that perfect dress to take home.

Target date for some sort of decision has been set as the end of summer by the foundation.

What are your feelings?

Update: The days are numbered for this Waikiki landmark, as the International Marketplace will likely be razed before the end of 2013.  In its place, an upscale mall which will forever change the landscape as one of the oldest parts of this vacation destination disappears.

Update: Well, the wait is over and the International Marketplace is a thing of the past…at least  the original International Marketplace.  Removal of the old Marketplace began the first of 2014 and construction of the upscale mall began a few months later.  Check out a more recent post at http://www.myhawaiifoodfun.com/oahu/aloha-oi-international-marketplace/.

the GoSelect Card!   This discount program is brought to you by Smart Destinations, the same people who offer the Oahu GoCard.   Here’s how it works.   First, pick one of two pre-built packages:

1. the Popular Hawaii Three Pack (incl. Germaine’s Luau, Grand Circle Island Tour, and Pearl Harbor/Honolulu City Tour)  with a savings of 32% over walk-up prices; or
2. the Hawaiian Sand and Surf Package (incl. the Makani Catamaran Sail, Hanauma Bay Snorkel, Beach gear rental, and Canoe Ride by Hawaiian Ocean’s) with a savings of 28% over walk up prices.

Then, you can scroll thru more than two dozen other participating attractions and order a la carte.  The more you pick, the greater your savings. On the right side of the page you’ll see a summary of your choices and your overall Pass price and savings compared to paying walk-in price to these same attractions.

You must start off by picking one of the pre-built packages, then you must add at least two additional attractions to it or you can simply take one of the pre-built packages alone.

They still offer the Go Oahu Card, which offers discounts on 38 participating attractions and is good for 1, 2, 3, 5 or 7-days.  You have up to 2-weeks to use your allocated days.  In other words, if you had a 3-day card and planned on being in Honolulu for a week, you could use the card on any three of the days you choose and as often as you want on those three days.

I have previously said, and continue to believe, that the best buy is their 3 or 5-day cards.  The main reason I prefer those is because the 3, 5, and 7-day cards come with a bonus of your choice of one of the following:

• Dolphin Encounter at Sea Life Park (a $100 value)
• HA Breath of Life Dinner Show at the Polynesian Cultural Center (a $70 value)
• Half-Day Sunset Experience at Kualoa Ranch (Visit the sites of Hollywood blockbusters & TV shows filmed in the famed Kaaawa Valley,once the home of Kings and a place reserved for Hawaiian Royalty. This tour was named one of America’s top 10 Movie Site Tours and is Kualoa’s most popular way to see the Ranch. OR, the second included Tour is a visit to an ancient Hawaiian Fishpond & tropical gardens in beautiful Molii) (a $89 value)
• 18-holes of golf, a shared cart w/transportation from Waikiki (a $125 value)
• 1-day car rental from Dollar Rent-a-Car (a $49 value)
• Hawaiian Ocean Surf Lesson of at least an hour (a $35 value)
• Germaine’s Luau (a $72 value).

As you can see, worse case scenario, you are getting an additional $35 discount for getting the 3 or 5-day GoCard.  (Of course, in my case, I would be getting an additional $70-72 because I’d be eating my bonus at either the Polynesian Cultural Center luau or Germaine’s!)

So, why do I not include the 7-day card in my recommendation?  Well, I think that you can easily take advantage of just about every thing you want to do in 5-days and save the $36 difference.  Of course, if you plan on being on Oahu for a couple of weeks, you may want to get the 7-day Oahu GoCard and revisit some of your favorite attractions.

Prices were accurate as of  May 17, 2011.

I don’t know if you’re aware or not, but regular unleaded gas has reached the $4.00/gallon mark in the Kailua-Kona area and Kahului, Maui!  Not that its a bargain in Honolulu @$3.45/gal. or Hilo @$3.65/gal., but its just a psychological barrier when it hits $4.00.

Of course, even on the mainland, gas prices have pushed pass the $3.00/gallon mark in many places.  With Washington continuing to spend their way out of this economic slowdown and printing money to cover it all, inflation will be a big issue in 2011.

Fortunately, with the exception of the Big Island, you really don’t have far to drive to get around in Hawaii.  While the typical driver on the mainland may drive three-to-five- hundred miles a week, the typical driver in Hawaii may only cover half that.

On the Big Island, things are a little more spread out, so they may average 300 miles or more a week.

At any rate, you should be prepared for these higher prices at the gas pump!

First planting of Cacao beans in 1850

Chocolate from Hawaii began with the introduction of cacao beans to Hawaii happened in 1850, when German physician William Hillebrand brought the first plant to Foster Botanical Garden in Honolulu.   The first commercial crop of cacao beans was planted in Hilo in the early 1890’s.  World War I brought a shortage of chocolate and with higher prices, efforts were undertaken to expand the growing efforts.  The end of World War I, also brought back normal chocolate supplies and with it, declining prices for chocolate, and the end of chocolate from Hawaii.

No further attempt was made to commercially grow this crop until 1986, when once again, interest in growing cacao in Hawaii resurfaced.  By 1992, the first crop was planted at Hodge Farm in Keauhou.  In 1997, Hodge Farm bought by Bob and Pam Cooper and a processing plant was added to the orchard and Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory was born.

The University of Hawaii’s College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources is deeply involved in the researching of identifying the ideal cacao plants that will do well in Hawaii.  So far, they have identified 11 varieties of cacao trees that possess traits favorable for growing in Hawaii.  The University of Hawaii rarely receives enough credit for the role it plays in helping to assess and cultivate produce that will do well for Hawaiian growers.

They have been instrumental in developing pineapples that are both appealing and hardy enough to thrive and survive shipping.  The same can be said of the papaya’s that are commonly found in Hawaii’s grocers and farmers’ markets.  What people don’t always fully appreciate is that the end product found in their grocer’s produce section may not be the best available, but rather a compromise between taste, color, and hardiness!

Chocolate from Hawaii Still In Its Infancy

Still in its infancy, there are currently just a handful of growers with a total of 50-to-100 acres growing the cacao trees.  A familiar name holds the lead role with 13,000 plants on 20 acres in Waialua, Oahu, is Dole Company.  Based on the University of Hawaii’s reports, the Agricultural Department estimates that there is potential of between 315 and 3000 acres that could be put into cacao production.

The problem facing Hawaii cacao farmers is the same that faced Hawaii coffee growers…low-cost competition from overseas.  The chocolate farmers may have the same solution as the coffee growers and that is to position themselves as a premium product which demands a premium price.  And, while they are a long way from establishing that market position, they are making strides towards it.

Chocolate from Hawaii…A Premium Product

Another step that would increase the money they can receive for their efforts is processing the cacao beans into “chocolate from Hawaii”.  Dried cacao seeds sell in the neighborhood of $2.47/lb.  Processed chocolate, on the other hand, retails for upwards of $40/lb.  Kaua’i farmer Koa Kahili began planting cacao seven years ago and harvesting his trees four years ago. Kahili’s Garden Island Chocolate sells for $8 to $9 per 2-ounce bar, that’s $64-72/lb!   “They sell out faster than I can make them,” he said.

The only major chocolate processing factory in Hawaii is the Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory.  Since purchasing Hodge Farm , the Cooper’s have invested $1 million in the Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory and have the capability to process up to 100,000 pounds of seeds annually.

A unique feature of chocolate from Hawaii is that just about every other chocolate in the world is made up of a blending of cacao from multiple regions.  Chocolate from Hawaii is made of 100% Hawaii grown cacao beans!

And, while the state Agricultural Department believes that opening another processing factory in Honolulu would help to foster the growth of this industry, Dole Company does not believe it would be economically feasible unless there is at least 300 acres of cacao.  This is not the first time that an attempt has been made to foster chocolate from Hawaii.

One earlier effort was made by former Chicago advertising executive Jim Walsh, who obtained backing from Hershey Chocolate Co. and moved to Hawaii in 1986 with a goal to establish the first commercial cacao farm in America.  But after years of work with varieties of cacao and initial success producing chocolate from Hawaii in 1994, crop losses led Walsh’s Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate Co. to substitute foreign-grown cocoa beans for Hawaii-grown beans in the late 1990s, and passed off the product as being chocolate from Hawaii.

A state Agriculture Department investigation led to the disclosure, which somewhat tarnished the image of chocolate from Hawaii, similar to what Kona coffee had to contend with.  Initial crop failures are a common occurrence in the history of Hawaii, from pineapple, to sugar cane, to tobacco, and coffee, so it should be no surprise that cacao faces the same initial setbacks.

Ultimately, finding suitable land to grow the cacao trees and willing people to invest the effort to grow them will determine the success or failure of the chocolate from Hawaii industry to thrive.  Whether it remains a cottage industry or becomes a major crop in Hawaii remains to be seen.  For the present, Hawaii will have to settle for being the only state in the United States to grow cacao beans commercially.  At any rate, chocolate from Hawaii is probably here to stay.

Hilo…lots of rain also means waterfalls

As promised in an earlier post, this post will discuss the Big Island town of Hilo, which retains the look and feel of downtown from 100 years ago, including many of the original buildings.

Hilo is known for being rainy all the time…it does get over 70″ of rain annually, which makes it the wettest city in the US.  What all this rain also brings is the lushness and greenery that people come to expect of a tropical paradise and in stark contrast to the much drier Kona side of the island, which is where all the resorts are.

Another benefit from all that rain are the waterfalls located on this side of the island.  Rainbow Falls is located about 5 minutes outside of downtown Hilo, along the Wailuku River.   Its easy to get to and the viewing area is a short 100 yards from the parking lot.

Rainbow Falls, 5 minutes away from downtown Hilo

If you head back to town and get on Bayfront Highway (aka Hwy 19), head north, and in about 10 miles, you will come to the turn off to 420′ Akaka Falls.

420′ Akaka Falls, Big Island

Back in Hilo, you may want to stop at Waialoa River State Park and see the 3rd statue of King Kamehameha the Great.  This statue was originally commissioned by the Princeville Corporation for placement at the Princeville Resort on Kauai.  Due to Kauai resident resistance, they ultimately gifted the statue to Hilo, which was his political center.

It seems that the residents of Kauai were upset because Kauai was the only island that was not conquered by King Kamehameha.   The king of Kauai, King Kaumualii, wanting to avoid all that comes from fighting what he could see would be a losing cause, came to terms with King Kamehameha and avoided all the unnecessary bloodshed.

(The most renown statue of King Kamehameha stands in Honolulu, across from Iolani Palace and the remaining statue stands in the town of Kapaa in the Kohala District of the Big Island.)

Any visitor to Hilo cannot help but notice the large park area located just south of the downtown area, fronting Hilo Bay.  At first, this seems like a waste of valuable land.  What visitors must understand is the reason this green area exists is because on April Fool’s day, 1946, a large tsunami hit Hilo and killed 146 people and destroyed 1300 homes!

And, if that wasn’t bad enough, 14 years later on May 19, 1960, another tsunami struck Hilo at 1:04 a.m. killing an additional 61 people.  It was agreed that they would not rebuild in that area and the green area was turned into a park dedicated to those who lost their lives.   There is an old style, city square type clock which stands in the park, forever stuck at 1:04 in memorial to them.

Cafe 100, located on Kilauea Ave, is considered to be the home of the popular “loco-moco”.  The original dish consisted of a bowl of rice, topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg, and a generous heaping of brown gravy…a nutritionist’s nightmare meal.  The current menu offers a lot of variations, replacing the hamburger patty with Portuguese sausage, Spam, etc.

Speaking of food, stop at the Big Island Candies factory.  Along with a line of mouth-watering chocolate-dipped scotch-bread cookies and brownies, they also offer some uniquely Hawaiian snacks, found nowhere else.  Care to try some chocolate-covered ika (dried squid)?  (I have to admit, the chocolate-covered ika was not one of my personal favorites.)

Retailer Hilo Hattie had its humble beginnings here in Hilo.  Today, they have outlets in Honolulu, Maui, Kauai, and Kailua-Kona, but there flagship store in Hilo has closed.  It may come as a surprise to you, but they also have stores in Orange County, California; Tempe, Arizona; Miami, Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada and Orlando, Florida!  The store got its name from an entertainer who went by that moniker and who sold the marketing rights to this fledgling attire manufacturer before passing away.  Other than that, she never had any financial ties to the store itself.

The Merrie Monarch Festival

Hilo is host to the annual Merrie Monarch (Hula) Festival, held in late April.  This competition sells out quickly every year, so if you’re planning a trip to the Big Island around that time of the year, make your reservations early.  And, even if you don’t plan on attending, but will be on the Big Island at that time, you should know that rooms and car rentals are hard to come by.  Tickets go on sale the day after Christmas.

Add the fact that the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park lies just 30 minutes away versus the almost 2-hour drive from Kailua-Kona, and you can start to appreciate that maybe Hilo deserves consideration as a destination point, rather than just another pit-stop on your around-the-island run.

Newest Airline Fee

You’ve got to hand it to the airlines, they are the kings of creating new fees to  bolster their bottom lines and frustrate the traveling public.  Lets recap the airlines’ progression on assessing us with new fees:

• Baggage fee
• Europe’s budget carrier, Ryan Air, experimented with charging a “restroom fee”
• Do you remember when they wanted to charge us a convenience fee for buying tickets online?
• Premiere seating upgrade fee, paying for a few more inches of leg room
• Still a carrier or two charging a “carry-on luggage” fee
• Where you once tipped a skycap for assistance at curbside, baggage drop-offs, there is now a fee to do so!

And, now, three major carriers will be implementing an extra charge to NOT be in the center seat!   Delta Airlines, American Airlines, and United Airlines will be putting this new charge into affect in the coming days.  The fee?  About $50 more to get a window or aisle seat.

Why?  Because they can!

Government Regulations?

Its not enough that the airlines want to shrink the space per seat even further than they already have.  Attempts to stop this latest move in Congress have failed.  The airlines crying foul and charging Congress with a move back towards regulating the air travel industry.  I, for one, would not mind having some government oversight on an otherwise out of hand industry.

I do believe in free enterprise and letting the buying public have the final say in what it considers to be “too far”, but at some point, where common-sense is replaced by the bottom-line, I think something must be done.  It took an act of Congress, literally, to simply get the airlines to post the total cost of a ticket, rather than the deceptive piece meal way they were doing it.

It wasn’t that long ago that what-you-saw-was-not-what-you-paid.  Airlines would post a low, misleading price to purchase a ticket and when you clicked to select that ticket, the price would miraculously increase significantly as all the various fees were added in…landing fees, airport security fees, etc.   And, that brought us back to “what you see is what you pay” ticket pricing.  That is, it is until you start to add in all the “optional” fees.

You know, the optional checked baggage fee, the upgrade fees for such things as “economy-plus”, where they let you opt out of the space saver seats into what used to be regular seats for an additional charge.  This latest fee falls into the same category of fees, where you will pay NOT to be stuck in the middle seat.  (Didn’t USAirways experiment with the same thing several years ago, where they charged extra to get an aisle seat?)

What’s different this time?  This time, it isn’t just one airline’s experiment.  This time, it involves three of the largest carriers in the country.  This time, you may have to just plan on spending that extra $40-50 per leg fee…unless you don’t mind the center seat.

Unintended Side-Affect

Here’s one side affect that has not been mentioned anywhere that I’ve seen.  I believe that there will be families that will take the center seats to save money (multiply that $40 by 4 or more seats and it adds up, quickly).  Then, once on the plane, they will start asking passengers in the aisle or window seats, if they wouldn’t mind swapping so that they can sit together.

This can be a hard for the all but cold-hearted person to refuse, especially if it involves young children.

In the past, I have accommodated such families, but it usually meant swapping an aisle for an aisle seat or a window for a window seat.  In the future, I’m less likely to be amenable to such requests to swap my extra-cost window or aisle for a discounted center seat, just so a family who chose to split themselves up to save money, can sit together.  Likewise, when the flight attendants ask for volunteers to swap seats to help  families out that the airlines split up, I don’t think they’ll find too many volunteers who will downgrade to a center seat.

Just my thoughts.  Feel free to share your thoughts on the matter.

Mauna Kea Onizuka Visitor Center

Located at the 9200′ point on the slopes of 13,803′ Mauna Kea, the Onizuka Visitor Information Station makes for a great spot to acclimate to the altitude.  Altitude sickness is a real possibility for those who continue on to the summit and it is suggested that anyone planning on doing so, spend at least a half hour at the visitor center.

Caution: It is recommended that anyone who has gone scuba diving in the previous 24-hrs do not visit the Onizuka Visitor Center or go to the summit, as the bends is a real, potential hazard.  For a list of additional health hazards and precautions to take, visit www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/visiting-mauna-kea/health-and-safety-advisories.html.

On our recent visit to the Big Island, this was one of the few things on our “to-do list” that we haven’t done before.  The much maligned, but much improved Saddle-Road that runs between Hilo and Waimea (Kamuela) makes the drive from Hilo a pleasant one, even though your vehicle may do a lot of down-shifting as you go from near sea-level to over 9000′ in just over an hour.  [The drive takes about twice as long if you’re driving from the Kailua-Kona area.]  Once placed on the “do not go” list of car rental companies, it is no longer an obstacle.

The view alone would make taking this drive along the Saddle Road worthwhile, as you get a unique perspective of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea from the valley (the “Saddle”) that is formed between them.  I would suggest leaving early enough to allow for at least a two-hour drive, if you’re leaving out of the Kailua-Kona area, to get to the Onizuka Visitor Center.  If you plan to go to the summit, allow a half hour acclimation period there, then another 15-20 minutes for the drive to the summit.

Then, on your way back down, stopping for the star-gazing program.  You’ll easily spend half an hour to a full hour gazing through the various telescopes that they have set up on the patio.

View of Mauna Kea from the Saddle Road

Looking back at the Onizuka Visitor Center

We got a late start and a longer stop at the Akatsuka Orchid Gardens than anticipated, so we did not get to do the summit on this visit…gives us something to look forward to on a future visit.  We got to the visitor center with 15 minutes till sunset and we did manage to climb a small hill nearby, which many do to get a beautiful view of the sun going down.  [Note: It gets dark and cold fairly quickly once the sun goes down, so a flashlight would be a good idea.]

Sunset from hill near the Onizuka Visitor Center

Love this shot of my kids and me on Mauna Kea

Me, at sunset on Mauna Kea

Nightly Star-Gazing Program

Temperatures dropped from the 50’sF to the mid- 40’sF and the breeze picked up after dark, as well.  There is a nightly star-gazing program hosted by volunteers who man telescopes on the patio of the Onizuka Visitor Center.  We got great looks at the moon and a crash course in constellation location and identification.  It is a very informative and entertaining presentation, although it is helpful if you are somewhat familiar with constellations to begin with.

It should be noted that the breeze naturally accelerates after sunset, so dress accordingly as you will definitely feel the wind-chill affect!  There isn’t a lot of refreshments available to keep you warm…i.e. no coffee!  They do have a pot of hot water and will sell you some instant hot cocoa mix for a dollar inside.  It helps raise funds to keep this operation going, not to mention give you something warm in your belly!

If you plan on visiting and seeing Mauna Kea up-close, allow for a stop at the Onizuka Visitors Center and it is always a good idea to get the latest weather update and check on road conditions.  Simply call, (808) 935-6268 for a recorded message on current conditions.

For more information on Mauna Kea, here are a few books to consider:

Ulalena

If you’re spending time on Maui and still have some energy left in you after a day full of sight-seeing, snorkeling, and shopping, you may want to plan an evening attending Maui’s premiere theatrical performance held at the Maui Theatre in Lahaina, called Ulalena.  For over 10-years, this first-class stage production has received rave reviews from everyone who has seen it.  This is not your typical luau dinner show, but a full blown, professional theatrical show that would hold its own in Vegas or Broadway!  But, this uniquely Hawaiian live performance can only be seen at the 680-seat Maui Theatre.

___________

Reviews

• “Voted ‘Best Way to Learn About Maui’” –Maui Magazine
• “It truly represents our oral history, which totally will entrance the viewer with
  the beauty of our past.” –Maui News Opinion, submitted by Hawaiian Cultural
  Advisor Charles Kauluwehi Maxwell Sr.
• “‘Ulalena, a show about Hawaiian mythology and history, proves there’s a life
  beyond the luau.” –Travel+Leisure Magazine
• “I go out of my way to not call ‘Ulalena (at Maui Theatre) a show. It’s theater.
  It’s art. It’s wonderful. ‘Ulalena is one of the most brilliant pieces of theater
  I’ve seen in Hawai‘i in more than 40 years.”
  –Honolulu Star Bulletin Columnist Dave Donnelly
• “There’s nothing like it in Hawai‘i.”- Frommer’s, Maui Edition
• “…we recommend seeing the ‘Ulalena show, a total departure from the often mindless
  “Hawaiian” productions aimed at tourists.” –The Boston Globe
• “…the buzz of the millennium and a yardstick by which future productions are
  measured.” –Honolulu Advertiser Entertainment Columnist Wayne Harada
• “…an evocative experience that often leaves the audience speechless. It is
  interactive, with dancers coming down the aisles, drummers and musicians in
  surprising corners, and mind-boggling stage and lighting effects that draw
  the audience in.” –Frommer’s
• “…’Ulalena has been bringing down the house.”
  –Conde Nast Traveler
• “Awarded ‘Best Show’ & ‘Best Attraction’”
  –Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau

Tickets for Ulalena are $59.99, $69.99 and $79.99.  The $79.99 VIP is for seating in the first 7-rows center or first 5-rows side wings and includes a 20-minute behind the scenes session with the cast.  Children 6-12 are $30 less per ticket.  https://www.mauitheatre.com/_

Given the theatre’s 8-channel, 20-speaker, state-of-the-art surround sound system, you may want to pass on the standard seats and spend the extra $10-20.  Speaking of sound systems, the Maui Theatre was designed specifically with this show in mind.  Special lighting and stage hydraulics add to the special efforts that went into giving audiences a great experience.

Performances of Ulalena are held Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and  Friday, starting at 5:00 pm.