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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Recent Pahoa Volcanic Activity
The news/media seem to be overstating the impact of recent Hawaii volcanic activity.  I thought I would write this post to un-dramatize the recent volcanic activity and its impending impact.  While it is true the current lava flow is moving towards the village of Pahoa, located to the southeast of Hilo, and […]

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, […]

If you’re looking for some evening activity on Maui, you may want to plan an evening attending the highly acclaimed theatrical performance in Lahaina, called Ulalena.

While Mauna Kea tends to get all the headlines and notoriety as the tallest and most observatory riddled mountain in Hawaii (and the world), its sister peak across the valley should not be overlooked.  Mauna Loa is a scant 117′ shorter, but because of its long, gently sloping sides, is deceptive in its appearance.

And, while […]

Effective December 9, 2013, the new American Airlines becomes the largest airline in the United States.
Even after challenges from the government and consumer groups fearing reduced competition will lead to higher prices, American Airlines Group emerged from bankruptcy today, months after announcing the intention of merging American Airlines and US Airways.  Why the concern?  With […]