aqua waikiki wave

on our last trip home, we considered staying in waikiki for a night until hotel sticker shock nudged us back to hale ohana. my inner circle knows that the w hotel is more my style (if not always in my budget) but even after attempting to find more reasonably priced accomodations that wouldn't creep me out via priceline, i abandoned my search and opted to take a day trip to kaua'i instead.

we may have carried on with our waikiki plans had i known that the aqua waikiki wave (formerly the aston coral reef) was undergoing renovations to transform itself into a modern boutique hotel. the updated rooms feature a flat screen television, dvd player, stainless steel mini-fridge & microwave making the rate (as low as $109 a night) a downright bargain considering the hotel's central location on kuhio behind the international marketplace.

recent tripadvisor reviews have been positive although do keep in mind that a few amenities like free wi-fi (sweet!) are not available yet and the spa & fitness center won't be ready until the end of december.

makana rocks the hawaiian vote

when you consider how long previous generations struggled to secure the right to vote for everyone who could not be categorized as a white land owning man, it is pretty shameful that voter turnout is so low (fact: only 50% of hawaii voters turned out in the 2004 election). know someone who can be counted amongst the other 50% who were "too busy" to vote? let them in on the little secret of the absentee ballot aka the handy dandy voting tool for time crunched citizens.

there is a long overdue effort underway to rock the hawaiian vote so if you want to support the movement then hit the convention center on friday night for a concert featuring makana, barefoot natives & willie k. tickets are $15 and can be purchased at jelly's - aiea, hungry ear records - kailua & the uh campus center. all proceeds will benefit the hawaiian way fund & 2006 native votes count campaign.

p.s. if you're not familiar with slack key virtuoso makana then check out his latest album ki ho'alu over on itunes.

ocean vodka

one of the things on my "to do" list while i was home was to check out first friday in chinatown. we didn't get far when my mom spotted the hasr wine co. and drifted into their courtyard to check out the wine tasting going on inside.

while my mom was off investigating the wines, i spotted bottles of maui-based ocean vodka (which was launched earlier this summer) being poured. since a strong cup of tea is as hard as i go, i nudged my other half who was game to sample the first vodka made in hawaii (his review: smooth!).

unfortunately, the faa ban on liquids prohibited us from picking up anything larger than a trial size bottle to stash in our suitcase so hopefully ocean vodka will be stocked on the mainland soon.

here are a few cool things about the company for those of you thinking of adding a bottle of ocean vodka to your home bar:

1. the vodka is organic
2. it's made from actual ocean water (courtesy of the folks behind mahalo deep water)
3. they have pledged to donate a portion of profits to environmental groups working to save the ocean

as for me, i managed to score a few bottles of pineapple & mango soda from waialua soda works before the night was over (review: refreshing!).

sponger's paradise

no trip home is complete without a stop at turbo surf. yep, i married a sponger and since all his bodyboarding gear was stolen on our last trip to the islands it's safe to say that we will be stocking up on everything he needs to hit the surf.

the guys at turbo are super nice and you just may bump into mike stewart when you're there. for those of you who may be just as clueless as i was once upon a time, mike stewart (as my other half described in a hushed & reverent voice), is the michael jordan of bodyboarding. he is also a nice guy and actually spent time helping my fella pick out his fins, etc. so i guess he has a future in retail if this bodyboarding thing doesn't work out.

anyhoo, turbo's new and improved online store was recently launched so now you surf the internet and get geared up without leaving your home.

{update | jan 2010: alas, it appears that turbo has closed its shop on kapahulu and relocated to australia}

one more reason to love your computer

. . . especially if you have wi-fi. why brave the crowds or circle around kapiolani park trying to find a parking stall when you can enjoy the 24th annual hawaiian slack key guitar festival via lava.net's live video webcast?

the event kicks off on sunday, aug 20th at 11am hst with peter apo and continues on into the evening when melveen leed takes the stage.