Haleakala Bike tours suspended indefinitely!

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If your upcoming trip to Maui included a 38 mile bike ride from the summit of Haleakala, you may want to call your tour company if your reservation is from October 10 and on. After the 3rd death in a 12 month period last week where an Ohio woman crossed the yellow line and died when she collided with a van, the National Park Service decided to suspend all tours. They are evaluating whether or not it is safe to ever have them operate again. Tour operators are of course not happy and hoping this will be temporary as many would go out of business since its their main or only source of revenue. My father in law did the Maui Downhill when they went to Maui and he LOVED it. Even up until a few days before he passed from multiple myeloma, he talked about how much he loved that bike ride. I also worked with a person whose aunt died in the late 90’s on that downhill trek. You can hear the best of the best and worst of the worst when it comes to activities you’re thinking of doing on your vacation. Remember that when you are booking activities where a waiver may be required saying no legal action may be taken if you are hurt or die that they’re there for a reason. Make sure you’re willing to face the potential consequences for the thrill no matter what the statistics show.

Stay tuned on this situation and our condolences go out to the family of the Ohio woman.

Beautiful Hawaii art at The Little Grass Shack

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When I’m traversing the islands, I am always blown away at the beauty Hawaii has to offer. What amazes me is that people who have never been there think it’s all palm trees and ocean waves. To be honest, some of my favorite parts of Hawaii are places that look nothing like “typical” Hawaii. I love the rural charm of Upcountry on any island. Wide open pastures, horses, cows or sheep grazing, fences made of tree stumps, sweeping views of the coastline and a natural peace that comes with being there. I have captured some of these great scenes in my photography which you can view at The Little Grass Shack. I like to put a slight filter on my pieces so that it appears as photography from far away but as you get close to it, it then looks like its been sketched with colored pencil. Kind of like two works in one.

Of course I have some art that you would expect like palm trees, various flowers, sunsets and the like and they all have special meaning to me. Each picture takes me to a meaningful place where I was inspired to stop and take it all in. I hope they do the same for you. My home is saturated with images of Hawaii, some mine, some other artists because nothing makes me feel like I’m there more than gazing into an art piece and escaping for a few minutes after a stressful day. These lehua blossoms are so unique and it’s those things that people don’t see everyday that I want to share with others. There’s nothing like seeing people’s faces light up and say “ooh, what are those?” and you get to explain the story behind them.

I welcome you to stop by my Hawaii Art Prints section to see all of the art prints available. You can choose from framed prints to other sized unframed prints that you can personalize with your own frame to blend with your decor. Mahalo!

It’s Rambutan season!

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I was introduced to rambutans by a shopkeeper’s husband who was stocking them at their little store outside of Hilo. I had always wondered about them but never knew how to eat them. Spiky and odd looking, they were something I figured I’d never buy. As my husband, friend and I were talking to his wife at the counter, he stood silently with an open switchblade carefully putting a slit from one side to the other of the spikey skin and pushed the whitish translucent fruit up so it peeked out of the top. My husband said “oh we always wondered how you were supposed to eat those, we kind of figured you peeled that off but weren’t sure.” He walked over to us and gave me the one he’d just peeled and peeled two more for my husband and my friend.

“Push ‘em up and don’t eat da seed yeah” he said quietly. We all bit into the firm flesh and gave a collective “Mmm!!”

It’s like eating a peeled grape but more thirst quenching. (Don’t eat the seed inside.) We thanked him for sharing them with us and asked what we owed. He shook his head no and went back to his work. Though a man of little words, what he shared with us was a fruit that we are thrilled to get whenever they’re in season. They make great additions to fruit bowls and especially at Christmas time you can pair them with Granny Smith apples, limes or even white seedless grapes…anything with a green hue for a festive conversation starter.

Rambutan season runs from September to December and again in late Spring to early Summer. If you’re not exactly rolling in rambutans in your neck of the woods, I’ve bought from this online dealer, The Hula Brothers. They’re well packed and last for a good 2 weeks or so. The price and quantity is a little steep but if you and someone you know want to go half on it and split them or if you want to keep some at home and take some to work for people to try could be a good way to get 7 lbs. of fruit gone in a hurry.

Step outside your comfort zone and try all of the wonderful fruits out there that you typically walk by. You never know that funny looking spiky thing or fruit with a funky rind you walk by in the store may just be one of the tastiest jewels you’ve been denying yourself!

Stop by the Carnival of Aloha: Part 2

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We hope you went on the ride for the first Carnival of Aloha of which True Aloha participated. This is a great way to see other Hawaii bloggers do their thing in addition to what we do here at True Aloha.

If you’d like to fly on over to the 2nd edition of the Carnival of Aloha, click here. Where our post regarding the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden is featured!

(If you haven’t subscribed to True Aloha yet, go to the upper left hand corner and choose how you’d like to keep up on all things Hawaii and aloha!)

Green Tip of the Day

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Wash clothes in cold or warm water and save up to 500 pounds of CO2 per year. After washing your dishes in hot water, rinse them in cold water, and wait to run the dishwasher until it is full.

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

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