Hawaii
Best Tropical Islands
Go off the the grid, feast on fresh-caught seafood and sink your toes into soft sand at my picks of the best island escapes, including the Caribbean, Hawaii, Bali, Easter Island, and Fiji. Bali Bali is my idea of heaven. On my fourth trip to Bali I was introduced to the Amanresorts’ award-winning, secluded properties. (….Read more)
Big Island Big Adventure
As the jet makes its arching descent across Hilo Bay on the Big Island of Hawai’i, we’re mesmerized by the tropical tableau below – translucent blue water fringed with green rolling hills. The couple across the aisle compares the scenery to Ireland. But when my husband and I step off the plane the floral fragrances (….Read more)
Hawai’i Island-Kīlauea volcano’s new eruption, spews lava
Kīlauea volcano’s new eruption site, which suddenly cracked open on Sat., Mar., 5, continues to spew lava through fissures on its east rift zone, following the dramatic collapse of Pu’u ō’ō crater’s floor. Fiery curtains of orange lava – some as high as 80 feet – have been captured on video and in photographs the (….Read more)
The Insanity of Learning to Surf at my Age – On the North Shore of Oahu
I can remember exactly the first time I felt I had to surf….against all expectations, as I am uncomfortable in the ocean when my feet don’t touch a sandy bottom. Surf movies were projected onto the walls of the hip restaurant where we celebrated my daughter’s birthday. Watching surf movies is like seeing poetry come (….Read more)
Hawaii Adventures – Night Snorkel with the Manta Rays
Night Snorkel with the Manta Rays Travel Channel says it’s one of the Top 10 things to do in your lifetime Snorkeling at night to look for Manta Rays is advertised as one of Kona’s most unique adventures, so we signed up. Just before sunset we were outfitted with “shortie” wetsuits and snorkel gear and (….Read more)
Hawaii Lomi Lomi Chocolate Wrap
Blissed-Out with a Chocolate Body Wrap Lomi Lomi is Hawaiian massage. Practioners of this ancient Polynesian healing technique use not only palms, but also the forearm, fingers, knuckles and elbows. The Hawaiian phrase, Lomi Lomi, means, literally, to rub, knead, massage. The Sheraton Ho’ola Spa offers open-air massage on private patios where your mind and (….Read more)
Hawaii Five Adventures – Fins and Paddles on the Kona Coast
Leaving the rainforest and volcanoes behind, we traded our backpacks for fins, goggles and paddles on the Kona Coast. There is a world of difference between the east and the west coasts of the Big Island. One side is wet and verdant; the other side is dry and volcanic. We moved our base to the (….Read more)
Hawaii five Adventures – Bike the Rim of the Volcano
Bike the Rim of the Volcano The forty-five minute drive from Hilo to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park leads you to one of the twenty World Heritage sites in North America and the only one in Hawaii. The Visitors Center was a good place to get our bearings and hear the ranger’s talk before we joined (….Read more)
Hawaii Five Adventures – Hilo’s Open-Air Market
Among the Best Open-Air Markets in the West www.bigisland.org Hilo blossomed from a village centered around the mission church to a boom town when sugar production flourished. Businesses came and went – whaling, coffee farms, sugar plantations, the occasional cruise ship and a budding tourist industry. Modern Hilo has a current population of forty-thousand-plus but (….Read more)
Hawaii Five Adventures – Waterfalls on the Big Island
After we’ve wandered around the gardens at the Palm Cliff House outside Hilo, we lace up our walking shoes and head ¼ mile up the road, past an unhurried farmer on his tractor and pull into the parking lot at Akaka Falls State Park. We slow our pace on a paved circular trail to scrutinize (….Read more)


