The Loving Hut

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Surf Breaks from Kahala to Hawaii Kai

Photo courtesy of ground*floor (Flickr)

The winds were dead from Sunday afternoon through today and I caught some epic waves along Aina Haina’s shores yesterday and this morning.  Very rarely do the waves along the southeast coast of Oahu get good, but this morning in particular I felt like I was in a bathtub rather than the ocean.  It was a beautiful thing.

So as not to give too much away, there are a few launching pads if you’re interested in surfing the breaks between Kahala and Hawaii Kai.

• The first parking lot is in the beach park before Wailupe Circle.  If you paddle straight out from there you’ll be close to the breaks called Kim’s, Wailupe, and Boneyards.
• The second lot is a dirt patch right before the Aina Haina Shopping Center.  Walk behind the houses along a grassy/dirt path and paddle out to Aina Hainas break.
• Drive a little farther toward Hawaii Kai and park at the foot of Pu’u Ikena Drive.  Straight in front of the beach park are Secrets and Toes.
• If you go even farther toward Hawaii Kai and Portlock you’ll find Paiko’s, Turtles, and China Walls.

Kona winds are sometimes perfect for surfing this side of the island, but it’s kind of hit or miss.  Sometimes, you’re best off just driving up one of the hills (like Waialae Iki) to scope out the conditions.

Hope you all enjoy the fine surf this week!

Celebrating St. Patty's Day in Honolulu

It may be as far as you can get from Ireland, but Honolulu is not short on Irish spirit.  This Wednesday, downtown Honolulu will get down in green garb, chug green beer and party on Nu’uanu Street as part of its St. Patrick’s Day Chinatown Block Party.  Here’s a little breakdown of the festivities going on March 17.

DOWNTOWN HONOLULU:

• St. Patrick’s Day Chinatown Block Party: Thousands of people show up for this huge block party, hosted by Murphy’s Bar & Grill.  This has been the premiere St. Patty’s Day event in Honolulu for two decades.
• Irish music at O’Toole’s: Across the street from Murphy’s, Kieran Murphy, Celtic Waves, Doolin’ Rakes, MacFiddles, Kaimana Ceili and Warsaw will be playing at O’Toole’s throughout the week.
• Ravenchase St. Patrick’s Race: Treasure seekers search for a pot of gold at the annual Ravenchase St. Patrick’s event in Chinatown (already SOLD OUT!).
• St. Patrick’s Day on the Harbor: Aloha Tower Marketplace rolls out the green for St. Patrick’s Day with Irish music, food and dance.
• Acid Wash: St. Patrick’s Day Edition: SoHo hosts a special St. Patrick’s Day edition of Acid Wash.  I’m not really sure what that means — 80′s acid wash music + green garb and beer??

WAIKIKI:

• Waikiki St. Patrick’s Day Parade: The annual parade, organized by the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick of Hawaii, marches down Kalakaua at noon.
• RumFire St. Patrick’s Day special: Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with custom drinks and a special menu at RumFire.

I celebrated St. Patty’s Day at an Irish pub in Nicaragua last year.  I have a feeling this year’s festivities will easily top that — not that I have anything against Nica.

Celebrating St. Patty’s Day in Honolulu

It may be as far as you can get from Ireland, but Honolulu is not short on Irish spirit.  This Wednesday, downtown Honolulu will get down in green garb, chug green beer and party on Nu’uanu Street as part of its St. Patrick’s Day Chinatown Block Party.  Here’s a little breakdown of the festivities going on March 17.

DOWNTOWN HONOLULU:

• St. Patrick’s Day Chinatown Block Party: Thousands of people show up for this huge block party, hosted by Murphy’s Bar & Grill.  This has been the premiere St. Patty’s Day event in Honolulu for two decades.
• Irish music at O’Toole’s: Across the street from Murphy’s, Kieran Murphy, Celtic Waves, Doolin’ Rakes, MacFiddles, Kaimana Ceili and Warsaw will be playing at O’Toole’s throughout the week.
• Ravenchase St. Patrick’s Race: Treasure seekers search for a pot of gold at the annual Ravenchase St. Patrick’s event in Chinatown (already SOLD OUT!).
• St. Patrick’s Day on the Harbor: Aloha Tower Marketplace rolls out the green for St. Patrick’s Day with Irish music, food and dance.
• Acid Wash: St. Patrick’s Day Edition: SoHo hosts a special St. Patrick’s Day edition of Acid Wash.  I’m not really sure what that means — 80′s acid wash music + green garb and beer??

WAIKIKI:

• Waikiki St. Patrick’s Day Parade: The annual parade, organized by the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick of Hawaii, marches down Kalakaua at noon.
• RumFire St. Patrick’s Day special: Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with custom drinks and a special menu at RumFire.

I celebrated St. Patty’s Day at an Irish pub in Nicaragua last year.  I have a feeling this year’s festivities will easily top that — not that I have anything against Nica.

Bank of Hawaii’s Online Marketplace

I’d like to consider myself pretty in the loop when it comes to local deals and discounts, but it appears my friend Chelsea has got me on this one.  Earlier this month, I told you about Half Price Deals and back in January I wrote about a few other cool online discounts, but there’s yet another great place to get cheap stuff now.

Bank of Hawaii’s Online Marketplace is a great little coupon depot with all kinds of discounts at local shops around the islands.  The great thing about BOH’s site is that it’s organized by island, and coupons can be printed at home.

Here on Oahu there are some great deals offered at Teddy’s Bigger Burgers, The Wedding Cafe, Wahoo’s Fish Taco, and Jamba Juice — among many others!

There’s no catch!  Just head to BOH’s Online Marketplace and start saving!

Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa, Ko Olina, Hawaii

March 2010, Contruction of Aulani

Disney recently released the name of the new resort and spa in Ko Olina, “Aulani.”  The resort is currently in full construction mode and the first phase of Aulani is scheduled to open in fall 2011.  Located on 21 acres of oceanfront property in Ko Olina Resort Aulani will offer 360 hotel rooms and 481 timeshare villas. 

Walt Disney Imagineering team has worked with local architects and cultural experts to come up with this family vacation destination that takes its inspiration from Hawaiian culture.  Highlights will include for children a wonderland of water including a river, large pools, water slides, and lagoons.  For adults, Aulani will offer extraordinary spa services and world-class amenities. 

Disney never disappoints its followers and by looking at Aulani’s website and the renderings of the future resort Oahu residents won’t have to travel far to get the full Walt Disney family experience.  For more information on the new resort visit:  http://resorts.disney.go.com/aulani-hawaii-resort  .

Dirt biking in Kahuku

Chris getting some air at the Kahuku Motocross Track

While I’m not a dirt biker myself, my friend Chris is a dirt bike-o-holic.  My ex Brian’s dad would head to the track on the weekends, and whenever Chris has a weekend free, he heads to the hills too. I still have a lot to learn about this “sport,” but what they both tell me about dirt biking actually makes me want to don my own suit, helmet, and gloves and hit the Kahuku Motocross Track soon.

On the weekends Kahuku Motocross Track is crowded with high flying daredevils racing the natural terrain.  With over 400 acres of hilly red dirt, over 50 trails, and tons of man-made tabletops, slopes and jumps, the track seems fit for all skill levels.  There’s even a a Peewee track for bike-tikes.

The Kahuku Track is only open on weekends and federal holidays.  Race days bring spectators and good friendly fun.  I hope to make it up there some day — maybe see it for myself or race around.

For more info on the Kahuku Motocross Track, check out this website.

Photo courtesy of Tony Strollo (Facebook)

Homeless in Hawaii

Man sleeping at a bus stop in Kaneohe, March 2010

 

Oahu has a alarming population of homeless.  Hawaii’s high home and rental costs make it difficult for some low income residents to have any other option then living paycheck to paycheck.  With the recession and many job losses many have been forced to become homeless calling public beaches and parks home.   

The statistics show that there are upwards of 10,000 homeless on the island of Oahu alone.  These were the only accurate statistics that I found and they were collected from 2006, so that number today is probably higher.  Currently, on Oahu there are 22 homeless state agencies, 13 emergency homeless shelters, and 36 transitional shelters on the island (see Hawaii Public Housing Authority for more info).  The government is currently in a fiscal crisis and has been cutting many of these types of agencies’ budgets.  That can only mean that the solution to the homeless epidemic is not in the near future.  

A visit to the Leeward coast and Waimanalo Beach Park reminds the rest of us that there is a serious problem among us.  People seem to ignore the homeless tents in Ala Moana Beach Park, which are directly across the street from multi-million dollar real estate.  I don’t have the answers to this never-ending issue, but all I ask is for Oahu residents to be aware, sympathetic, and give to others when you can.

swellinfo.com = My new favorite surf forecaster

I’m still in recovery mode from a wretched cold and have now been out of the water for a week.  A full seven days of no salt water can make a surfer girl go stir crazy, but the gusty winds have made the waves that much less appealing.

These past few days I’ve resorted to wave cams and surf reports to keep me going.  While I love our local surf forecaster, Surf News Network, which provides daily reports for all islands and all four shores as well as a surf hotline that is updated three times a day, my friend Lillian brought a new site to my attention that I like to use when I’m looking for up-to-the-minute/hourly surf updates.

swellinfo.com is my new go-to surf forecaster simply because its reports take swell and wind into account and formulate an easy-to-read simulation of the surf conditions.  I like how the site breaks down different shores by color (green being clean and red being no good) and wave height, and I’ve noticed that the site is updated frequently (at least every 4 hours) to provide visitors with the most accurate information.

While I still head to SNN for surf cams, I’m now a huge fan of Swell Info!  Give it a try!

Dog First Aid & CPR Classes on Oahu

 

Brenda and I are dog owners and dog lovers, so when Brenda invited me to take an American Red Cross dog first aid and CPR class I quickly agreed.  Between my family and I we are owners of five dogs.  I have owned dogs throughout my life and have undergone various canine disasters from my dog jumping out of the back of a truck to dog seizures.  I don’t always know what to do in case of a canine emergency, so when the opportunity came up to further educate myself on how to properly administer first aid and CPR to dogs I was all for it.

Brenda and I arrived at Oahu’s American Red Cross Headquarters at 4155 Diamond Head Road early one Saturday morning.  In the class we learned how to recognize an emergency or potentially life threatening condition in dogs such as broken limbs, choking, and cardiac arrest.  We learned how to perform rescue breathing, CPR, administer first aid, and much much more.  We practiced first hand on dummy stuffed dogs and went over each chapter in our Red Cross manual with the help of a friendly video.  Each participant received the American Red Cross Dog First Aid manual and DVD to take home with them.    

This class was very informative and will be a great tool to help me care for my dogs or help others in case a situation occurs before veterinarian care is available.  For those who have dogs I would highly recommend taking this class.  The Oahu American Red Cross currently offers a class on first aid and CPR for dogs and cats for the price of $60.  For information on classes and times visit: www.hawaiiredcross.org .