Green Tip of the Day

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Replacing each regular bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb saves 150 pounds of CO2 a year per bulb.

Saving our environment is everyone’s responsibility. What will your legacy be?

Kepaniwai Park’s Heritage Gardens

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Everyone is always in such a hurry to get to the ‘Iao Valley Park that they usually miss a hidden treasure on the way. Kepaniwai Park’s Heritage Gardens is located in the greenery laden ’Iao Valley on Maui. Established in 1952, Kepaniwai Park’s Heritage Gardens was built as a way to showcase Maui’s diverse cultural heritage with various props such as native gardens and structures representing the Hawaiian, Korean, Portuguese, Japanese, Filipino and Caucasian cultures.

In 1994 a group of volunteers restored the gardens to its original beauty and it is still maintained to this day. There was a lot of damage to the structures that needed to be fixed and a ton of overgrowth but the community pulled together and made a real difference for this park. The business donations and value of donated labor for the project was estimated to be about $600,000. President Clinton even awarded the group with a certificate for people working together. To get a true idea of the restoration that took place from then to now, go to this website.

Whether you’re looking for a spot to get out and stretch your legs, picnic in a peaceful spot or learn a little about the cultures that make up Hawaii’s diverse background, then this is the spot on Maui to do it. The ‘Iao Stream runs beside the park and is the water source for the constructed waterfalls in the park. It makes for a soothing background when you’re BBQing or walking the grounds. Need more incentive? It’s free! How many things are free these days?

Located just before the end of the road on the left on Iao Valley Road (Highway 32)

Aloha Friday Recipe: Aloha Sunrise

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1 oz. vodka
½ oz. Malibu Rum (or any coconut- flavored rum)
Cran-raspberry juice
Pineapple juice or orange juicePour vodka and rum in a glass of ice. Fill glass almost to the top with cran-raspberry juice, then float with pineapple juice or orange juice.

Recipe by Tori Swoish Courtesy Spirit of Aloha

Please drink responsibly!

A sad time at True Aloha…

Filed Under FYI | 2 Comments

It is with a heavy heart that we will be sending our little baby girl Aisha to be in heaven with her sister, Princess. Aisha (pronounced A-sha…don’t let the I throw ya) is a 14 1/2 year old Toy Fox Terrier who has been a part of our lives from post high school until now. But periodontal (tooth) disease has ravaged her wee little head and she is in constant pain. That along with arthritis and becoming aggressive (though she doesn’t mean to be) due to the pain is more than we can allow her to go through. We love her too much.

We are dedicating True Aloha to our courageous little trooper whose endured more than her share of pain to be by our sides. You can see her picture under the dedication page.

Our Aloha Friday Recipe will post as usual.

For those of you with pets, give them a little extra hug or kiss tonight…some of us won’t have that privilege anymore. For those with pets who have passed, say a little hello to them…they miss you.

More Hawaii Superferry issues

Filed Under Current Events | 1 Comment

Surprise, there’s more issues with the Hawaii Superferry…or at least the intent of some passengers. Three O’ahu men decided they’d float on over to Maui, pilfer through the ‘Iao Valley stream and load up their 3 pickup trucks with 900 river rocks and tote them back to O’ahu!!! (Allegedly…mmm hmm) The only reason they got busted is because of the August 27th injunction that stranded them on Maui and the DLNR was notified. Articles keep reiterating that these rocks are the kind used for heating imus (underground ovens). What exactly were they planning on cooking…King Kong??

My local friends on neighbor islands are not happy about the Superferry for reasons exactly like this. You get some lolo coming over thinking they can come over and rummage through your island like a bargain basement sale, pack up and float back over to O’ahu. They’re also afraid that all of these trucks and cars are going to overwhelm the local fishing and camping areas and load up on all kinds of fish in coolers and tote them right back. These worries don’t include the environmental assessments that they are now saying need to be done…you know, after they’ve spent millions to get this thing up and running.

Then you have the protesters on neighbor islands that don’t want it there. Kauai went so far as to have a line of reportedly 60 surfers who all made a chain and wouldn’t let the ferry into the harbor. (Go Kauai!) But where were they when this thing was in the PLANNING stages?? Were there meetings held and people turned out in droves saying they didn’t want the ferry and they were ignored? Or were there only a few select people that showed up to meetings and the rest who now are passionately against it didn’t voice their opinions until they saw it on the horizon about to drift into their harbor?

Regardless of why this thing is becoming such a fiasco, the point is its built now…millions have been spent to build it so they’re obviously not going to have spent that much to do sunset cruises around O’ahu so where do we go from here? Why were environmental concerns not taken into consideration before this money was spent? Why were neighbor islanders seemingly not given a say when it’s their islands that are being directly affected? Most importantly, what kind of resolution is going to be best for all of Hawaii so that everyone doesn’t suffer because of a potentially good idea gone bad?

Lava Rock Cafe in Volcano Village

Filed Under Restaurant Review | 2 Comments

When you stay in Volcano Village, one of the things you notice other than the misty mornings, cool nights, the occasional –okay, more than occasional showers and quaint stores is the lack of restaurant choices. There are probably about 5 decent restaurants in Volcano and if you’re not a lover of thai cuisine, then 4 restaurants. We have a place in Volcano and our favorite restaurant is Lava Rock Cafe. My favorite dish is the teriyaki beef. The teriyaki sauce is almost a teriyaki gravy, it’s thick and flavorful and is great to mix with the sticky rice. The other half gets the shoyu chicken which he absolutely loves. If you want breakfast fare you can get sweetbread french toast or the “a’a three egg omelets” and other delights. You can get good filling food for a decent price. We usually get it to go because it’s such a short commute and honestly, the service can be a little flat. It’s not that they’re not nice, they’re just indifferent and not willing to substitute anything so if you stick to the menu, you’re fine. I think they could really profit from combo platters like teri beef and kalua pork, which I asked for and was told “sorry, no combos.” It would be to their benefit to reconsider. So we got a kalua pork platter on its own and divided it up between us and the lady said “are you making a combo platter anyway?” and he said yes and she almost seemed to resent we bucked the system. Sorry…that’s what foodies do sistah! We want what we want! If you need to check your email, it is an internet cafe so drop your friends or family a quick “aloha!”

Overall the Lava Rock Cafe is a sensible choice for good food and good prices in a town with limited culinary offerings.

Old Volcano Road
(behind Kilauea General Store)
Volcano, HI
96785

Phone: 808 967 8526
7:30a-4p Su, 7:30a-5p M, 7:30a-9p Tu-Sa

Green Tip of the Day

Filed Under Going Green | Leave a Comment

Moving your thermostat down two degrees in the winter and up to degrees in the summer saves 2,000 pounds of CO2.

Saving our environment is everyone’s responsibility. What will your legacy be?

What the hell is wrong with people!?

Filed Under Current Events | 1 Comment

Road rage incidents are reported no matter where you are, Hawaii is no exception. The next time you are tempted to let your temper get the better of you out there, remember this story.

Drive with aloha people, no matter where you are. Try not to cut others off and if you find someone doing it to you, let it go. When someone lets you in traffic or out of a shopping center when they didn’t have to…WAVE!!! (Or give the shaka) Nothing makes a person regret that act of kindness more than letting someone out and not even getting an acknowledgment.

Common courtesy on the road will get us all going where we need to go safe and alive.

*Stepping off soapbox*

Aloha Friday Recipe: Papaya-Avocado-Shrimp Salad

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1 lb. fresh shrimp, shelled and deveined
3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. lime zest
1/3 cup salad oil
3 heads baby romaine lettuce
1 papaya, peeled, seeded and cut into wedges
1 avocado, peeled, seeded and cut into wedges lengthwise

In a saucepan, bring water to boil and add pinch of salt. Add the shrimp and cook for three to four minutes. Drain shrimp and place in a bowl. Whisk together lime juice, Dijon mustard, lime zest and salad oil in a bowl. Pour over shrimp, marinate for two hours in the refrigerator. Arrange lettuce, papaya and avocado on a platter. Top with shrimp and pour remaining dressing over the salad.

Recipe by Pat Higa Courtesy Spirit of Aloha

Open your heart to Hawaii’s homeless animals

Filed Under Hawaii Activities, Hawaii Charities | 1 Comment

When my husband and I went on our honeymoon in 1996, one of the stops we made on Kauai was to the Kauai Humane Society. It was in an old rickety building by Salt Pond Park but it had character and sadly was full of sweet furry faces. We have a dog, Aisha, that we were missing terribly and needed our “fur fix” while we were away from her. We took pictures of many of the dogs in there from excited adult dogs to pooped sleeping pups and they’re some of the best memories from our honeymoon. Of course we always remember the reluctant ones. The ones who were obviously abused and afraid of people…afraid to trust. We made a modest contribution of $25 on our way out since we couldn’t afford much being newlyweds but for our donation we got a keychain and magnet…both of which are in use to this day. We decided then that we would always visit a humane society no matter what island we ended up on.

Since then, we have visited every humane society on every island and have taken pictures and video of a lot of animals. People sometimes ask me why I take pictures of the animals in there because some look so sad and it seems depressing. For me, it’s a way to remember them and remember the hope I had for all of them as I walked from cage to cage. Each dog had a reaction whether it was an excited wag of the tail and feverishly licking your fingers to cowering in the corner and not sure if they wanted to approach you or not. Many would look at the picture of this sweetie and think of how sad she looks. I remember it was right after I said “whose a good girl? Are you a good baby?” and she thumped her tail on the ground and put her ears back for me to scratch behind them as if saying “yes lady…I AM a good girl…and I just want a home.” It breaks my heart because I can’t scoop them all up in my arms and take them to some big farm where they can all run free without the threat of their time running out. A place where they know they are loved even if they don’t have all of the attention. I’d give anything to be able to do that.

There are a lot of Pit bulls, Rotties and oddly enough Airedales in the islands. What always cracks me up is how you’ll get a little dog in and they’ll guess and say it’s a “chihuahua mix.” Many of these dogs look NOTHING like chihuahuas no matter how cross bred they were! *laughing* Hawaii’s pit bulls have some of the most aloha spirit of any dogs I’ve seen there. Take for instance this sweetie, her name is Darlin’. Darlin’ wanted nothing more than attention, to give kisses and scratches behind the ear. Any time I’d try to walk away she’d howl in protest until I came back to give her the love she so desperately wanted. I’d like to think Darlin’ is now getting regular belly rubs and smooches from the owner smart enough to adopt this bundle of fur. We now set aside a few hundred dollars specifically to donate to the humane societies each year to give back for all of the joy their temporary residents have given us over the years.

If you think you need to live in Hawaii to adopt one of these beautiful babies, you don’t. All you need is a love for animals, an adoption fee and a carrier to get them home in and you’ve got the perfect Hawaii souvenir that keeps giving aloha everyday. People do it all the time. Even celebs such as Mike Myers and Lisa Marie Presley have adopted animals from the Humane Societies on vacation. (Lisa Marie actually has Myspace pages for her 2 cats, Splotch and Finious!)

If you’d like to check out the local humane societies, see the links below:

Maui Humane Society

Hawaii Island Humane Society

Kauai Humane Society

Oahu Humane Society