Maika'i Maui - Dispatch 3

Lots of great things to report in this dispatch. First, one of my favorite restaurants on Maui, Aloha Mixed Plate has gone full-on biodegradable with all their disposable plates and utensils. This is a pretty big committment for a quick serve restaurant that is always busy. Another great food discovery, Roselani Ice Cream made just around the Island in Wailuku...I'm totally addicted. These are all part of my efforts to join the Kanu Hawaii Eat Kocal Campaign.

Wednesday was a full day of activities. I started early in the morning with a stop in the Pacific Whale Foundation store where I bought my annual t-shirt. I figure its a win-win when you can buy a t-shirt and/or gifts that are cool AND support a great cause. Next, it was off to Maui Nui Botanical Gardens (MNBG) where I've wanted to go for several years now. The gardens were a bit smaller than I expected but they had a really extensive collection of native plants, from Ape to Wiliwili. One could spend a short time at the gardens or the whole day if you really spend the time to get to know the plants with all their beauty and cultural meanings. Best of all, their website features a video with my favorite song in the background, "Maunaleo" by Kealii Reichel.



Next it was off to the Maui Tropical Plantation, another great stop for anyone into plants. Maui Tropical Plantation is certainly more commercial than MNBG, but beautiful nonetheless. The grounds were extensive and the tram tour is a blast. Feeding the pond fish and local ducks shouldn't be missed either. And yes, there is a GIANT - like five story - windmill on the grounds (pictured above). I could sit and watch it spin and respond to the wind all day...very relaxing.

Finally, I discovered in my many conversations that there is a new effort underway to restore Kahoʻolawe, an island in the Hawaiian chain that was used briefly as a penal colony, for sheep and cattle ranching, and as a bombing range for the US Navy. In 2003, the US Navy tranferred control of the island back to the State of Hawaii and now their is a full cultural and environmental restoration taking place. Having just completed the 2009 Tribal Journey in the Puget Sound where several villages were 're' named back to their original Indian names, I can start to understand the importance and meaning of this restoration effort to honor both the people and place of Kaho'olawe. I look forward to following, supporting, and hopefully volunteering with the project going forward.

Photo: from kahoolawe.hawaii.gov)

Maika'i Maui | Modern Mansards

Some of you sslog fans know that I have a crush on modern mansard roofs. I've found a few on Maui that certainly fall into the 'exceptional' category so I thought I'd share them here. You can find more on my full blog Modern Mansard. Enjoy!

Maika'i Maui | Dispatch 2

Today I got to visit some of my favorite places in Maui. For example, I stopped by a great boutique in Wailuku, Maui Thing. Their slogan is "stuck on good" and with all their great local design, organic t-shirts, and calls to action, I'm totally addicted. This year I got a 'Pono Power' T. Afterward, I walked down to Gilbert's Formal Wear to see if they had any more palaka shirts. I did get two shirts (apparently the last shirts the Maui) but also discovered that Gilbert's will be closing after 59 years! That's right, owner Susanne Hotta is closing her doors. Read more in this Maui News article: Wailuku landmark goes out of fashion. We had a great conversation, as always, so its quite sad to know that Gilbert's will soon be gone.

After Gilbert's we stopped in to Cafe O'lei where I had both the best Mahi sandwich AND Mai Tai I've ever had in Maui. Very affordable, very good, lots of local options...yumm!!!

And what would a day in Kahului/Wailuku be without a visit to Savers (aka Value Village to some of us). I purchased some Aloha shirts, Ts, and some Hawaiian textiles for the big Ballard Luau coming up when I get back to Seattle.

I ended the night by watching the Hula show at Whaler's Village next door to where I'm staying. Its one of the best hula shows I've seen (perhaps because it has dancers ranging from children to adults) and its FREE! I'll be stopping by the other shows on Wednesday and Saturday for sure.

Maika'i Maui | Dispatch 1

The annual trip to Maui is on and this year I'll be spending 11 days on the island trying to scout out all the new sustainability things going on. Once again this year, Maui follows on the wake of the annual Tribal Journey for which I paddled over 100 miles so I'm very much looking forward to some rest time.

One of the most important things I learned from my Tribal Journey days is that one should always ask permission to enter another People's lands. So, during our approach I sang the song that I had come up with during this year's Journey and once we landed, I paused for a moment and asked permission to enter. There wasn't anyone to give the permission but as this often happens on early morning launches during the Tribal Journey, I knew that by following the proper Protocol, things would be OK.

The first thing that I was very pleased to see upon landing see was that recycling has finally taken off on much of the island. In the airport, in restaurants, etc. Even in our condo where once there was one small can for recycling there are now seven separate containers for various recyclables. Yay!

The next major sustainability story comes from our first afternoon walking around Old Lahaina....Paul's sunglasses purchase. Turns out the ubiquitous Sunglass Hut stores now are supporting OneSight, a nonprofit that works to improve vision around the world through outreach, research and education. Sunglass Hut supports OneSight, you can make a donation at the store, AND you can even donate your old sunglasses for OneSight recipients.

Next up was a visit to the gallery of Lahaina Arts Society in the Old Lahaina Courthouse. The group supports many local artists and my purchase this year was a small medallion pin made of beautiful feathers by Ellen Levinsky. The pin will look great on the cedar hat I recently bought back in Seattle.

An afternoon snorkel included peeks at an eel and a puffer fish and we ended the day with a grocery visit to Lahaina Farms, the local natural food store.

Lahaina Lani - Dispatch 3

Its been a few days since my last entry so I have many things to report. First is a good, inexpensive lunch place called Da Kitchen. Da Kitchen offers a mix plate lunch that is the rage over here in HI. With locations in Kahului and Kihei on Maui, the food is fantastic, the portions huge, and the chicken...organic! I've been many times now and am sure will go many more.

Last Friday was possibly my most perfect day on Maui. I went with many family and friends to O'o Organic Farm for lunch, followed by the Ali'i Kula Lavendar Farm, and finished the night at the Feast at Lele luau (that features fresh organic produce from O'o Farm).

If Friday was my most perfect Maui Day, Saturday was my second most perfect. I spent the bulk of the day doing restoration work with Maui Cultural Lands (MCL) in the Honokowai valley. My specific tasks included removal of invasive grasses and coffee plants. It certainly wasn't an easy job but it was a great honor doing it as the valley has some of the oldest archaelogical sites in the islands. The taro patches and house sites that are several hundred years old stretch up the entire valley and are truly breathtaking. I found the project through the Pacific Whale Foundation volunteer on vacation page, but now that MCL's website is up you can find out much more on their own site.

Last but not least in this dispatch, Sunday was a great day for good finds too. I made another trip to Savers in Kahului and found some great local Maui retro t-shirts and some even cooler vintage mini vases [above]. And the last sustainable find of the day...a 'soft sculpture' nene by two local Tutus (Hawaiian for "Grandmothers")[above]. Being a conservation biologist and all, I like to support conservation projects whenever possible so the fact that this purchase goes to help out nene conservation Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park is an added plus.

Lahaina Lani - Dispatch 1

This is my third trip to Maui and I'm pleased to say its becoming easier and easier to find sustainable options. My latest find is a new grocery store in Lahaina (on the west side of Maui) called Lahaina Farms. They don't have a website up yet but you can read more about them in this On My Plate article. It's a small store but it scores right up there with Whole Foods when it comes to quality and selection. And they really take the time to source local and organic items. Down to Earth has been a great option for the sustainable grocery shoppers, but there aren't that many on the island and the closest one to Lahaina is about a forty-five minute drive. There are several Lahaina Farms stores throughout the islands so whether you're a local or a vacationer, take the time to track one down.

Of course I also made the requisite trip to Savers right off the plane. There's no better way to increase your Aloha shirt collection than buying them 2nd hand from Savers. Best of all, they have great vintage Aloha shirts that can't be found anywhere else.

Maui Mana - From Wailuku to Whales

Today was a busy day indeed. We started at Maui Community College (MCC) where we had a great conservation with Zoe Norcross who will be teaching a Sustainability 101 class this fall at MCC. Zoe comes from the geology world and is now working a lot on beach erosion which, with global warming and all, is not looking so good these days. She said that thing that really plunged her deep into sustainability is peak oil though, which I totally understand. She's rounding up some great speakers and adventures or the class so I must say I'm a little jealous. I should also say that Chris Taylor, President of the MCC Sustainability Club has been really AWESOME about sending me folks I should meet up with over here. MCC has some great things going and lots more ahead I'm sure.

Next it was off to Wauluku to have lunch with Jennifer Stites at The Dowling Company which is Maui real estate development company that is leading the way in green development, green building, and LEED certified projects on Maui. I ran across an article by Jennifer in a Maui real estate magazine on sustainability so couldn't wait to here more. Having worked for a company myself (Seattle-based fashion retailer Nordstrom for 14 years), I always love meeting up with other sustainability types in companies. As you might imagine, Jennifer has one of the best and - at the same time - most challenging jobs on Maui. She gets to do cool green building projects, but in an industry that is very controversial on Maui, and actually...pretty much everywhere these days: real estate development. No one on Maui wants to see things go the direction of crazy developed Honolulu, but at the same time, development is going to happen. I'm just glad that companies like Dowling have people like Jennifer on staff to help make sure they do things in a way that is as socially and environmentally responsible as possible.

After lunch we walked a few blocks to meet up with Chris Craner, a friend of MCC's Chris Taylor's, at the very green Cafe Marc Aurel, a certified green restaurant with the Green Restaurant Association. Chris was another great resource. He's working on stormwater runoff and drainage issues but has a lot of other great ideas on many of the environmental issues facing Maui too.

Our final stop of the day was at the Maui Ocean Center. They had a great traditional Hawaiian quilt at the entry made up of all sea creatures (see pic at left). I was really impressed with the MOC, both with the collection and education efforts. The many aquarium exhibits were out of this world, particularly the big tank where rays and many other fish swam directly overhead. But impressively, they identified plants along paths, had lots of interactive learning areas for youngsters, and some really great exhibits about traditional Hawaiian relationships with the sea.

Maui Mana - A 'Blue Hawaiian' of a different kind

Lahaina shopping was the theme today. My big catch was a t-shirt from Crazy Shirts. Not only is it there very special Global Warming T-shirt, I discovered that they have a lot of cool environmental efforts in place. Their Global Warming Sucks campaign for example. The fact that they use eco-friendly water based inks from things like ash, coffee, beer, hemp, hibiscus, lavender, and Blue Curacao (what my shirt is died with) is pretty cool too.

Maui mana - A day of flowers and fish

I spent the most of the day updateding my blog and getting my fancy new Seanslist pages up and running. The Seattle and Maui pages are getting there but still need a lot of work. But it's fun and I love, Love, LOVE putting things like Seanslist together. Hope you enjoy and please DO send me any items that you think should be on the lists. I'll get started on other cities soon. After lots of updating, I started out to tour some of the gardens at the hotels and resorts along Ka'anapali beach in preparation for the book and website I'm going to start called Corporate Gardens. Basically, the project entails visiting the gardens of companies and organizations, as well as learning about some of the corporate social responsibility efforts. Today we visited checked out the Whaler (the condos where we're staying), the Westin, the Marriott, and the Hyatt. Although the Whaler and the Mariott gardens were beautiful, I have to say the gardens at the the Westin and especially the Hyatt were really outstanding. Along with the actual gardens, I'll be keeping a close eye on design of pots and other unique elements of their efforts so the pic to the left is a sneak preview. We had lunch at the Westin's 'Tropica' restaurant where I was pleased to find a lavender vinegrette made from lavender from the Kula farm we'll be visiting on Thursday.

All the garden touring lasted most of the day so by the time we got back in it was time to Dinner. I was excited to visit Pacific'O, one of James McDonald's three restaurants in Lahaina that include I'O and Feast at Lele. Chef James' restaurants all feature local fish of course, but also greens from their own organic farm called O'o Farm that we'll be touring on Thursday. I had the KONA WINDS fish preparation: fresh fish (I chose Mahi Mahi) seared with house spices, served over wilted O'o Farm grown arugula and bean sprouts. Topped with warm avocado, Maui onion salsa, goat cheese, macadamia nuts, and soy bacon vinaigrette. Needless to say, the food and service was INCREDIBLE at Pacific'O, I only wish I could try each and everything on the menu.

We were so stuffed after our dinner we had no choice but to go for a walk. Luckily, it was another awesome evening in Lahaina. Even luckier, the Pacific Whale Foundation store was still open. Being a conservation biologist and all, I was psyched to get a little shopping time to support one of my favorite conservation organizations. I got a very cool t-shirt with a PWF whale design and an cap that I may never take off I love it so much.

Maui Mana - Aloha Molokai

I just returned from three days on Molokai. I must say, I LOVE MOLOKAI! The ride over on the Molokai passenger ferry on Thursday was absolutely beautiful. It was amazing seeing more and more detail of the island as we got closer. We docked at the wharf in Kaunakakai and met family friends of Paul and Amy's Dad...Bill, his grandson Ben, and Ben's girlfriend Kelly. We were to meet Bill's wife, Lynn, later that day. First stop on the way back to Bill and Lynn's was an outlook over Kalaupapa National Historical Park. Kaluapapa was a forced isolation area in the early to mid 1900s for people in Hawaii suffering from Hansen's Disease (leprosy). The peninsula is beautiful and the lookout was breathtaking.

Next it was off to Molokai Coffee Company. We could smell the organic beans roasting as we toured the small store and had one of the best shakes I've ever had.

And finally we were off to Bill and Lynn's. They live very near Papohaku Beach Park, just a burm away from the 3 mile long beach. Wow, now I know what relaxing in Hawaii REALLY is. They have a beautiful home that is completely off the grid thanks to solar power. The house consists of a main living area with two bedrooms and then two pods about 20 feet from the main house accessible via the 2nd story boardwalks that completely wrap around all three buildings. The rest of the day was spent working on crosswords and sudoku puzzles with everyone. The evening ritual of taking wine over the burm to watch the sunset was, of course, observed fully. I chased a few sand crabs at sunset and then saw more stars than I've ever seen before clearing the geckos from our pods and going to bed.

Friday we took a walk up the coast to Kawakiunui Bay. Another incredible experience, especially with Lynn's knowledge of indigenous and endemic plants such as 'akia (Thymelaeaceae), pohuehue (Ipomoea pes-caprae), and hinahina kolo (Vitex rotundifolia). A little snorkeling, a little sun bathing and then it was time to head back already for a late lunch. After lunch we headed in to Maunaloa so Lynn could mail some letters and we could check out a couple small shops and the Molokai Ranch Lodge. We perused the Big Wind Kite Factory and Plantation Gallery (where I snapped the picture to the left), checked out the small museum near the lodge, and then took a tour of the lodge and grounds...REALLY beautiful. The lodge has a mix of Hawaiian and Western (as in cowboy) look and feel. Very cool indeed. The Molokai Ranch has also started an eco-retreat called The Beach Village at Kaopoa Beach. Solar powered, composting toilets, canvas tentalos, etc. It's an impressive project and I hope more developers take note. Then it was back to Bill and Lynns for nap, sudoku, sunset, stars, sudoku again, dinner, and sleep. Nice, very nice.

I spent a bit of Saturday morning trying to keep up with Bill on his tennis court. The heat and my poor condition didn't give us much more than an hour. We then had another great lunch, lazied around for a bit and then it was off for the ferry back to Maui.

Maui Mana - "I ka wa mamua ka wa mahope"

It's my second day in Maui and I'm LOVIN it. I came to Maui for the first time last year and crammed as much sustainability stuff as I could in one week. This time around I have two weeks and am doing my best to get even deeper into all the sustainability efforts underway on Maui and other islands. The translation of the phrase above is "the future is in the past" and I think it fits the philosophy behind sustainability efforts here very well.

One of my favorite things to do when first arriving is to visit the Savers store. It is essentially the same store as Value Village back home in Seattle, but the great thing is they have a huge selection of aloha shirts, shorts, flip flops, etc. I have lots of plans starting on Wednesday, so do check back. For now, I'm going to do my best to put together lists of the plant, bird, and fish species I see in my runs, swims, explorations, etc. Keep an eye out on the left column.

Speaking of birds, I've been very entertained by the cattle egrets on the island during my morning runs. I've actually love them since I was a kid running around at the zoo where my Mother worked in Albuquerque. They are of course beautiful, but they also have this very cute "who am I, why am I here...oh, there's a bug [gulp]...wait a second, who am I, why am I here" look about them. It's also funny to watch a sedge of egrets chasing after lawn mowers to nab the new bugs and then have that same "wait a minute...who am I, why am I here" look about them.

Maui Mahalo - Its better down where its wetter

Today I did my first scuba dive...in Maui of all places!!! We went with Lahaina Divers, a local dive company. They did a great job introducing all us newbies to the ABCs of diving and then we were off for our first dive. After passing a few short tests, we started our first of two dives. Not 30 seconds into the dive and a HUGE giant sea tortoise swam right over us. REALLY amazing. From there it was lots of beautiful coral and many, many species of fish. Being a rower with a big set of lungs I was the first one up from the dive. Our 2nd dive was closer to shore over an old pier that had fallen during a hurricane. The town decided to leave the broken pieces of pier in the water to assist coral development and provide habitat for fish species. A great conservation story but also awesome for divers. I was lucky enough to see two more tortoises and many other species of fish.

Maui Mahalo - The road to Hana

We had another early start today as our plan was to drive the whole south Island. The road to Hana is known for its beauty and it is one of Paul’s favorite trips. There were lots of amazing waterfalls along the way, some ranches and can farms, and many incredible plants along the way. Our only diversion before Hana was a stop at Kahanu Garden, home of the Hale O Pi’ilani Heiau, the largest sacred temple ruins in Hawaii. The site was breathtaking and I felt like I was at last connecting with some authentic Maui. You could definitely also see how the ahupua’a system worked. This was by far one of my favorite experiences in Maui. I hope to spend more time here and learn more about the site and ancient systems next time I’m here.

We had a short lunch in Hana and were then off again on our tour of the south island portion of Maui. There were lots more amazing plants and small villages along the way, some more taro farms and a beautiful old church near the seashore along the way. I was quite amazed at the change in biogeography on the route…from lush to complete desert. There were a few more small ruins along the way as well, demonstrating that the local peoples made use of all the island no matter what the conditions.

After a miserable but usual traffic jam from Kahalui (the main city on Maui) to Lahaina (the town just south of where we were staying) we made it back just in time to catch the Feast at Lele…essentially a Luau that featured food and dance from around Polynesia. WOW! Absolutely amazing. Being a conservation biologist that as in to culture as I am biology I was really blown away.

Maui Mahalo - The high way to Haleakala

Today started with a 2:45am alarm. We were off to see the sunrise at Haleakala National Park, the highest point on Maui. Early along the way we saw one the sugarcane fields that was set on fire. Pretty amazing sight for 3:00am in the morning. The road to Haleakala was a long, windy, steep and cold drive up but well worth it. The sunrise was breathtaking but even more exciting for me was getting to see silversword, a species of plant found only high on Haleakela. In addition, there were several conservation programs for migratory birds in the area. All in all, a wonderful morning for a conservation biologist.

On the way back, Paul and I stopped at Kula Lodge for a fantastic breakfast that included pancakes covered in macadamia nuts and coconut syrup. The beautiful botanical gardens that surrounded the lodge were amazing as well. Once back home, it was snorkel time. With the snorkels we were able to go out much further and see a lot more. We saw many fish and were lucky enough to see a sea tortoise and a spotted eagle ray. That night it was back to Leilani’s for an organic Caesar salad with local fish. Of course the lava flow cocktails were pretty tasty as well.

Maui Mahalo - Janet's Bio Beetle to Julias banana bread

Whoa! I think I’ve met at true force of nature in Maui. I came across Janet Six’s name and email when searching for “sustainable” and “maui” on Google. She’s a Ph. D candidate at University of Hawaii and is in charge of special projects at Maui Community College. One of MCC’s special projects is called Sustainable Living Institute of Maui. The project has a lot of great partners that ensure it will be a success including MCC, Steve Case, founder of AOL, the Maui Land & Pineapple Company, and Earth University. I think Janet, an archaeologist by education, knows EVERYTHING sustainable that has gone on and is going on in Maui, in Hawaii, and in many other island nations. She told us about how things used to work in Maui, dividing up resources in the ahupua’a system (a division of land from mountain top to sea shore that allowed groups to hunt, farm and fish) and how Maui is moving away from sugarcane as a primary monoculture and more towards other, more drought tolerant plants…including sunflowers which can be used as a biomass fuel source. Even better, Janet had just bought a new diesel Volkswagen Beetle and was going to be putting the first tank of biodiesel in the tank. Couldn’t pass up the photo op so we raced off with her to Pacific Biodiesel, the first biodiesel station in the US. She gave me many more sustainability contacts in Maui and the rest of Hawaii that I hope to meet up with during my trip. Janet also solved a great mystery for us. We noticed early on in our trip that the wiliwili trees all looked dead across the island. According to Janet, the Ethrina gall wasp, a stowaway from Taiwan, recently invaded the island and is responsible for the tree sickness. The wasps got the non-native Wiliwili's and has now spread to the native wiliwili forests. We’ve seen a few trees that are making a comeback, hopefully more will in the future. No question, Janet’s one of my new favorite people.

After the great morning with Janet it was off to tour the north part of Maui. Lots of beautiful scenery, winding roads, cattle ranching, taro farming and even a great pit stop for Julia’s best banana bread. The bread was great but it was also a chance for me to see taro farming up close. I’m fascinated at how resources were divided in earlier times and plan to spend a lot more time learning about Hawaiian practices past and present. The rest of the trip up north was mostly filled with more beautiful scenery and more resorts as we approached Kaanapali. One interesting story that we had heard and Janet retold us involved the Ritz Carleton Resort. Story goes that they were leveling the area by the shore with sandblaster for the resort foundation; before long bones started dropping out of the hillside. Over 1100 were unearthed before they stopped. Well, no surprise, the site was a sacred burial site. In the end, the bones had to be returned properly per proper ancient Hawaiian protocol, the ground reblessed and the hotel had to be moved up the hill. Thankfully, there is less of this sort of thing happening these days as the tourist industry has come to respect the local culture much more and the state has become much more aggressive about such sites.

Maui Mahalo - Just another day at the beach

After an early morning run where I met several egrets making their way to the local golf course for their breakfast I had a very slow morning. A little breakfast here, a little read there, but finally I made my way down to the beach. I didn’t have a snorkel yet and only my prescription goggles but I did the best I could to explore the closest coral reef. Very quickly I saw some beautiful local fish. Though I could only make quick trips down it was well worth it. Our first night we dined at home on local fish, produce and local organic juice. Yumm-ee! I was also very relieved to discover that the condo we're staying at, The Whaler, has an extensive recycling program. Not so hot on water conservation efforts (they wash down the large pool deck every morning), but at least they have some green efforts underway.

Maui Mahalo - Just another day at the beach

This is the first travel day. I was able to find a lot of magazines with sustainability topics for the plane ride over...the usual suspects such as Dwell and Ready Made magazines. But I was also pleased to see that Fortune Magazine's cover "Walmart Saves the Planet". I know people either love or hate Walmart, but this is a pretty big milestone for sustainability going mainstream. The fact that Lee Scott, Walmart's CEO is starting to get sustainabilityis a pretty big deal. I'm going to try to check out their new organic section while on Maui...yes, there is a Walmart in Maui. There was also a really great article on taro farming in Hawaiian Airlines inflight magazine. We arrived pretty late in the afternoon so sped off to Costco to get some of the best local fish. Then it was back to the condo and off to dinner at Leilani's. I had some organic salad and a great local fish entree. I was surprised at how many non-local items there were on the menu. Guess you do still have to appeal to tourists. Oh, and I am totally blown away by all the flowers and plants here. A conservation biologists dream!

Maui Mahalo - "E `ai i kekahi, e kapi i kekahi"

"Eat some, salt some" is a great Hawaiian philosophy...eat some now and save some for later. I'm off to Maui for the first time ever (or any of the Hawaiian islands for that matter) and absolutely loving it. Of course for the amazing beauty of the scenery, flora and fauna, but also for the many things I'll learn about traditional and modern sustainability efforts under way. I'm traveling with my friend Paul and two other friends. Paul's family has had a time share condo for many years so it will be great to hang with someone who knows the island well. We're staying in Ka'anapali just north of Lahaina, the historic Royal center of Maui.