If you can’t attend, but would like to enter yourself into the bone marrow registry, please contact Hawaii Bone Marrow Registry at the Hawaii Medical Center at 808-547-6154.

For more information about the registry please contact Chrystin at 808-741-1521, or  Marichris at 808-630-7686 or e-mail uhprssa@gmail.com.

Post from: The Hawaii Traveler

Although Hawai’i is not a world destination for diving, as are other ocean destinations, such as Cozumel and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, there is still great diving to be had.  Although I’ve only personally experienced a few dive expeditions in Hawai’i, they’ve been  memorable ones.You might be able to spot all kinds of sea life at Mexico’s Palancar Reef, from giant parrot fish to lobsters, but you aren’t as likely to see the number of monk seals and other rare and endangered creatures that you will off the coast of Kaua’i and Ni’ihau.

Bubbles Below is one of Hawaii’s best dive operators, and with them you can see the best of what the Kaua’i seas have to offer, in the safest possible way, and with a consciousness for the coral and environment. The staff is friendly and exceptionally knowledgable, and the owner and operator, Linda Marsh, is a real hoot. “This is a woman’s boat,” she said, offering me a bottle of conditioner for my hair, “I keep women’s stuff on it.”

You can reach Bubbles Below at (808)332-REEF.

Photo by Flickr–Creative Commons, by Lazlo-photo

Post from: The Hawaii Traveler

If you’ve heard anything about Maui, you’ve heard of “the road to Hana.” While I wouldn’t say it’s treacherous, it is wind-y, it’s twist-y, and it’s long; at the end of it is, in my opinion, the greatest place in the world. Here’s why: There’s nothing to do there.I realize that, to some, this is the description of Hell.  But I think it’s sometimes good to unplug, decompress, and smell the rainforest. This is what Hana is for.  And Hamoa Beach is one of the best beaches in the state.  But here’s the deal with Hana: You may not want to spend your whole visit there, but you might not want to spend a whole day in the car taking a day trip.

If you want to stay for one night or two, however, you’ll have trouble finding accommodations. Most of the homes and hotel rooms are available for reservations of three nights or more. That’s why we were delighted to discover Tom and his little cluster of plantation homes called Hana Accommodations.

Hana Accommodations are located just across the street from Venus Pool (aka Waioka), Coastal Trail and other spectacular scenery.  The homes are not far from town, the Seven Sacred Pools (aka O’heo Gulch) and hikes to more waterfalls than you can shake a stick at.

Tom’s got a few different properties to choose from, with lots of space between homes to kick around and grill up some of the fish you buy from roadside stands. (The fish there was usually caught a few hours earlier. Fresh enough for you?) Hana Accommodations are private, quiet, fully furnished, beautifully landscaped, and feature amenities such as outdoor showers and a hot tub on the grounds. Yes.

Call Tom at 800-228-4262 or email him at info@hana-maui.com. He’s totally friendly, and is a longtime Hana business owner and resident.

Photo by Flickr–Creative Commons, by D’ArcyNorman

Post from: The Hawaii Traveler

It’s the perfect prelude to the 26th Annual Hawaiian Slack Key Festival on August
17: The fourth annual Ledward Ka’apana Aloha Acoustic Workshop, hosted by the
Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach. The workshops, held August 13 to 16, 2008, are a rare opportunity to learn from four Grammy nominees and Japan’s #1 female
slack key artist, Agnes Kimura.The registration fee for the Aloha Acoustic Workshop is $700 and includes four
full days of educational workshops and music sessions. To sign up, call the
Kihoalu Foundation at 08-226-2697 or send an e-mail to kihoalufoundationinc@yahoo.com. The workshop is limited to 20 participants. Slack Key participants who stay at Outrigger Waikiki or Outrigger Reef receive $100 off the Aloha Acoustic Workshop fee.

Post from: The Hawaii Traveler

Here’s a b5 media wrap-up tribute to walking everywhere. Get your proverbial passport and let’s go.

• Filipina Soul tells you how to Walk Old Manila At Your Leisure
• Walk Bondi to Bronte over at the Sydney Traveler
• Getting places on foot is one of the reasons why The Europe String names Amsterdam one of the top 5 budget traveler’s havens.
  
• A Hearty Life journal entry includes walking as a part of Kendra’s overall health plan.

Post from: The Hawaii Traveler

Working from coffee shops and kitchen tables, it looks like the PFF will launch The Gathering June 27th and 28th, 2008, a celebration of ohana and diversity in the community.
Photo by Flicr–Creative Commons, by D’Arcy Norman

Post from: The Hawaii Traveler

When we went to the outfitter in Hanalei to rent kayaks, the store owner was chatting up a young couple at the window–about nothing in particular. Certainly not about kayaks. We waited our turn, and fifteen minutes later, my husband was shuffling his feet and loudly clearing his throat. We were burning daylight; the water was getting choppy. Who knew what was happening out on the bay? We were stuck at the window of the kayak operator, who had no obvious plans to help us instead of the the young couple. The young couple, by the way, had no plans of renting a kayak or any other equipment that day.

Was the store owner being rude to us? No, actually, he was just engaging in a practice called “talk story,” an informal conversation in which two or more participants  listen, collaborate, and cooperate in a discussion that may or may not have a purpose, direction, or time constraint.  It’s just what it sounds like: a personal story told with the simple intention of enjoying the pastime of storytelling.

Can it be maddening to the person who’s got a schedule, a duty to perform, or is disinterested in such distractions?  You betcha.

But to talk story–or at least to tolerate it–is to participate in an important part of Hawaiian culture, and gives us an opportunity to reflect on how we feel about time, and how we use it.  Who you are, and how you use your time are the kinds of meditations and considerations we make whenever we travel–whether we know it or not.

In fact, the talk story tradition is so important that there’s even a Talk Story Festival,  wherein storytellers from Talk Story Radio feature their own stories, and where you can get ideas for starting some of your own.

And had we been willing to jump in and try our hand at it, we may have been able to talk our story into the shop owner’s, and gotten our kayak the old fashioned way: By blending in a little.

Post from: The Hawaii Traveler