Hawaii Vacation Gifts by Double Brush-Hawaiian Gifts & Blog

Big Island of Hawaii Beach Sand Color Quiz

Take our Big Island of Hawaii beach sand color quiz. Can you choose the correct color of sand located at these 5 popular beaches on the Big Island of Hawaii?

Choose: A - White sand, B - Black sand, C - Green sand, or D - Grey sand

1. Kahalu'u Beach Park
2. Hapuna Beach State Park
3. ____ Sand Beach at South Point
4. Anaeho'omalu Beach
5. Punalu'u Beach Park

ANSWER:

Hawaii's beaches are magnificent and different from many other beaches around the world. Beach sand is created by the erosion of coral reefs, producing a "white" beach. In Hawaii, lava and volcanic sediment also add black, grey and green colors to our beach sand.

1. Kahalu'u Beach Park has a white sand beach.
2. Hapuna Beach State Park has a white sand beach.
3. Green Sand Beach at South Point has a green (of course) sand beach.
4. Anaeho'omalu Beach has a grey sand beach.
5. Punalu'u Beach Park has a black sand beach.

How did you score on our Hawaii Beach Sand Color Quiz?

When you visit any beach in Hawaii, enjoy the beach but remember that it is illegal to purposefully remove sand from any Hawaii beach.

Also, do not purchase sand online from companies promising to send you the actual sand from your favorite Hawaii beach. These companies are taking sand illegally and contributing to erosion and depletion of the natural habitat for Hawaii's ocean life, and destroying the beach for future generations of people.

See our related post Directions to a secret Hawaii beach with RED sand.

Spend Your Hawaii Vacation in a Green Hotel

Consider staying at a "Green" hotel on your next vacation to Hawaii or anywhere else in the world.

Whether it's a weekend getaway or a week-long stay, make sure your hotel has the same green habits as you do at home. Since hotels are such large consumers of resources--the hospitality industry spends $3.7 billion a year on energy and typical hotels use 218 gallons of water per day per occupied room--it is especially important to support environmentally conscious businesses whenever possible.

The Green Guide to Finding a Green Hotel list several sites which offer searchable eco international directories based on different certification programs for the travel and tourism industry.

If the Hawaii hotel or any hotel you want to stay at is not listed in any of these directories, you can ask them directly about how they handle different environmental issues such as how do they handle their trash and recyclables.

If more hotel guests let their hotels know that being green was important to them, I am sure that more hotels would make a greater effort to be environmentally friendly in their practices.

New Feature: Testimonial Tuesday

We have a new feature on our Hawaii blog. From now on every Tuesday will be known as Testimonial Tuesday! We receive so many wonderful thank you emails and notes, that I figured our blog would be the perfect place to share them with everyone -- I do not know why I did not think of this earlier!!

Testimonial Tuesday will be an additional post to our regular Tuesday post. These testimonials were received by our company Big Island Hawaiian Gifts, Candles, and Soap by Double Brush, and are unsolicited and used with permission from the authors.

**********

Everything just arrived! And how exciting we were to
open your lovely box of "extra gifts"!! Thank you, thank you. And,
all our merchandise came in beautiful condition--you did a great wrapping
job.

Thanks again for your thoughtful gifts, and we are
excited that our guests at the wedding rehearsal dinner will be simply in awe
at your Hawaiian touches. You made us very happy!

Mahalo,

Dave & Judy

**********

I wanted to send you a thank you for the wonderful gifts you sent me. I
love the smell of the candle, I have already started using the lip balm
and the earrings are great. It has been an awesome pleasure working
with you and I would recommend anybody your way.

Thanks again.

Tess

**********

I found your site last year after returning from my
honeymoon in Maui. I purchased the solid perfume at
Hotel Hana Maui. I loved it so much that I ordered more
from your site. I just recently returned from our
first anniversary trip to Maui and purchased a different
fragrance of the solid perfume from Hotel Hana Maui. So
now I just ordered several of the Mango fragrance to
give as gifts... and I'll save one for myself. I
love your soy candles too!

By the way, I love that you add a personal touch to orders. Your notes and little gifts are so sweet and so much appreciated in this busy, impersonal world we live in.

Please take care of yourself and keep smiling!
Tanya Bach

**********

I got the order today and when I opened the box, I could smell something wonderful and it was the candle . . . thank you so much for sharing that with me . . . and, I am not a lip balm person, but I already tried it and it is wonderful . . . it's light, but it does the job and feels really good on . . . thank you for sharing that with me too . . . the soaps looks great and individually wrapped is really, really nice . . . so glad I found your website, and hope to shop with you again . . . Blessings, Gary

**********

Read more testimonies from our customer-friends.

Spectacular Lunar Eclipse seen from the Big Island

People in Hawaii were treated to a spectacular lunar eclipse last night. It was an impressive evening show that started about 10:51 p.m. and lasted for a few hours.

From our Puna front yard on the Big Island, Hawaii, we had prime seats to this natural phenomenon of the full moon disappearing into the shadow of the earth. The weather was perfect with a clear cloudless night sky, cool night air, no rain, and tons of bright stars (we saw several shooting stars).

We turned off all the lights in the house and went outside. We wanted to experience the full natural effect of the Hawaiian lunar eclipse with no light radiating from the house. We also live in a rural area so there is no light pollution from any town or city.

It was really really dark, but it made the moon look that much more beautiful. As the shadow of the earth slowly passed over the luminous moon, it turned a shimmery copper color. The photo is not from last night, it is a photo off the web from NASA, but this is pretty much what we saw.

Don't feel left out if you missed this truly marvelous lunar eclipse seen from Hawaii. The next one is scheduled to make an appearance in Hawaii in December 2010, so make plans to be here!

Read more about Hawaii has front row seats to lunar eclipse.

Want to be More Green but Need Help?

For those of us looking for more tips and ways to be green and save our environment, check out the Green Guide recently acquired by the National Geographic. The Green Guide is a comprehensive website for consumers packed with tips on how to live a healthier life while treading lightly on Earth's resources.

The Green Guide features a Green Home Makeover with a step by step plan for each room in your whole house. The articles are informative and also point out greener name brand environmentally friendly products, and what to watch out for in conventional products and appliances. You can also find comprehensive product reports that cover the environmental, personal health and social problems and solutions of each product listed.

From safe plastics for storing food to insulating your house with soy, there are numerous helpful articles to help you live better, and help our planet at the same time.

I confess that I spent hours at this site, and I bet that you will too!

Hawaii Blog Carnival Fun

Have some fun in the sunny blogosphere by visiting the 1st Best Hawaii Vacation Blog Carnival Hot Picks. Pua was kind enough to include us in their first ever Hawaii Blog carnival.

What is a blog carnival? (Up until a couple of weeks ago I had never heard of a blog carnival!) A blog carnival usually starts with a theme, and then has a collection of posts from different blogs that relate to the theme. A blog carnival is hosted on one blog and links to all of the other blog posts. This is a great way to find out about different blogs in the theme or category you are interested in.

Please go visit the Hawaii blog carnival and tell us how you liked it!

Buy the Best Sunscreen Protection BEFORE You Visit Hawaii

Buy the best sunscreen protection before you visit Hawaii on your Hawaii vacation. What is the BEST sunscreen protection? Today that is a difficult question to answer.

Yesterday the Food and Drug Administration proposed to implement sweeping new standards for sunscreen, including a new labeling system for UVA rays.

Now, for the first time, the US health agency is proposing sunscreen standards to include the level of protection they provide from the Ultraviolet A (UVA) rays which are linked to skin cancer (melanoma), wrinkles and skin aging.

"For more than 30 years, consumers have been able to identify the level of UVB protection provided by sunscreens using only sunburn protection factor or SPF values," said FDA Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach.

"Under today's proposal, consumers will also now know the level of UVA protection in sunscreens, which will help them make informed decisions about protecting themselves and their children against the harmful effects of the sun."

The FDA proposals won't take effect until 2009, so for now consumers will be responsible for protecting themselves from sunburns and worst.

To do this, make sure your sunscreen contains these protective ingredients, known to protect in the UVA range.

oxybenzone, abobenzone, zinc and titanium dioxide

For more infomation see FDA Proposes New Guidelines for Sunscreens.

"Go Visit Hawaii" published an excellent post on 7 tips to avoid getting a sunburn.

If you find a great sunscreen brand, please share it with the rest of us by posting a comment!

Made in China Candles Recall Next?

With the recent and continuing toy recalls from Mattel for toys tainted with lead paint, and Walmart recalling dog treats, you can't help but wonder what product made in China will be recalled -- in a large way -- next.

Though not as publicized, there has already been many recalls for candles made in China because China has been manufacturing candles with wicks that contain lead. (Metal cored wicks have a piece of thin metal in the middle of the wick to help it stand up in melting candle wax.) We also do not know if many of the novelty type candles with paint on them may contain lead, especially the cheap candles.

It is illegal for manufacturers of candles in the United States to use lead core wicks, but other countries still allow lead wicked candles to be made. Sadly, many of these foreign candles are imported to the United States and end up on American store shelves and online stores.

Protect yourself by knowing exactly what you are buying, and purchasing candles made in the United States. Be careful about buying US brand candles that are manufactured in a different country. For example the majority of Hawaii gift and souvenir companies sell made in China candles.

Our company "Double Brush", has been producing handmade in Hawaii candles since 1996. We have never used lead core wicks and our company's direction is towards more natural products. A few years ago we switched from paraffin wax which is a by-product of the petroleum industry, to all natural soy wax. We also changed to hemp fiber wicks with no metal core.

We have received rave response from our customers for our cleaner burning and environmentally friendly candles. We invite you to try some the next time you are in the mood to buy some candles.

Take Your Pet to Hawaii Like Paris and Oprah Do

Paris Hilton and Oprah Winfrey are known to love their pet dogs and travel everywhere with them -- even to Hawaii.

It is not as easy as buying a ticket for you and your pet and showing up at the airport. First you need to know the rules and regulations for pet travel on your chosen airline carrier; second, you need to follow the Hawaii Animal Quarantine Laws or Hawaii Pet Quarantine Laws which happen to be VERY strict.

The reason the Hawaii Animal Quarantine Laws are so strict is that Hawaii is rabies-free, and the state wants to keep it that way. There are serious health problems for people and animals associated with the introduction and spread of rabies.

For decades all animals coming to Hawaii had to be quarantined for months regardless of how healthy they were. Today, pets can still be quarantined for up to 120 days, but now there is also a speedy "5 Day Or Less Program" for animals that meet a very strict criteria of having their rabies vaccinations, microchip, blood test, and other required documents.

Chapter 4-29 Hawaii Administrative Rules, governs the importation of dogs, cats and other carnivores into Hawaii. This law states that dogs and cats meeting specific pre- and post-arrival requirements may qualify for 5-day–or-less quarantine program, which has a provision for direct release at Honolulu International Airport after inspection. (See “Checklist For 5-Day-Or-Less Program” for details.)

Furthermore, the law requires dogs and cats not meeting all of the specific 5-Day-Or-Less program requirements to be quarantined for up to 120 days upon arrival In Hawaii. (See “Hawaii Rabies Quarantine Information Brochure” for details on 120-day quarantine.)

A few years ago after the 5 Day or Less Program became law, I remembered seeing our Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle on the local television news. She said she had just received a call from Oprah Winfrey congratulating her on passing the law, and that Oprah told her she would be visiting Hawaii more often.

Oprah Winfrey really meant it and now has a reason to visit Hawaii more often. Oprah has built a beautiful home retreat in Maui.

You may be interested in reading our related posts:
Take Your Whole Family on Vacation -- Pets Included

The Most Popular Dog Names in Hawaii

Take Your Whole Family on Vacation -- Pets Included

If you are planning to go on a family vacation, you no longer have to leave your beloved pets at home or in a boarding kennel. Times have changed and many hotels and bed and breakfast places now welcome you and your pets.

At the Pets Welcome site, you can find more than 25,000 hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, campgrounds, cabins & cottages and other places that can accommodate pets.

You can make reservations directly through their site for discounted pet friendly accommodations, but they recommend that you call the hotel to double-check on their pets policy as things sometimes change before information gets updated to the site.

At Pets Welcome there is even a list of pet friendly hotel chains such as Comfort Inn, Holiday Inn, La Quinta, Marriott Hotels and Resorts, Motel 6, Quality Inn and more.

Pets Welcome also has a travel tips section -- the category on traveling by air with your pet has the rules and guidelines from several different popular airlines posted.

If you are planning to bring your pet to Hawaii with you on vacation, you have to read our post on the STRICT Hawaii Animal Quarantine Laws.

Have you ever travelled with your pet, and where did you stay? Can you offer any tips on travelling with a pet?

Whole Foods Market Giant Trying to Take Over Hawaii

Whole Foods is the largest retail chain store of "natural and organic foods" in the United States. They have demonstrated aggresive tactics in going after as much market share as possible in an increasingly competitive industry.

In the last fiscal year ended September 2006, publicly traded Whole Foods reported sales of $5.6 billion. The company is seeking to become dramatically larger by acquiring No. 1 rival Wild Oats for $565 million, though the Federal Trade Commission is attempting to block the proposed acquisition in court, arguing that the combined company would control too much of the natural foods market.

In the next few years, Whole Foods is opening 4 new stores in Hawaii -- on Oahu and Maui. Besides being a giant retailer of natural foods, they are also a giant when it comes to the square footage of their stores.

WHOLE FOODS MARKETS VS. NATURAL FOODS STORES IN HAWAI'I

Here's their size in square feet compared with the nearest existing natural foods market.

Kahala

26,000

(opening '08)

'Umeke Market

4,500

Ward Centers

67,000

(opening '08)

Down to Earth MO'ili'ili

6,000

Kahului, Maui

26,300

('08 or '09)

Mana foods PA'ia, Maui

6,500

Kailua

40,000

(opening '10)

The source

1,400

The local Hawaii health food stores and supermarkets will be affected by Whole Foods, and some may even close. The ones that survive however, will do so by adjusting and becoming better businesses.

Do you have a Whole Foods Market in your area and do you shop there? What do you like and don't like about them?

Read more information about Whole Foods Markets Opening in Hawaii.

Hawaiian Papaya Seeds Make a Wonderful Meat Tenderizer and Spice

The benefits of the Hawaiian Papaya fruit are known for effectively aiding in digestion, and can soothe an upset stomach when the fruit is eaten or when taken as a juice. However, did you also know that the papaya seeds are very useful as a meat tenderizer and as a spice?

After you are through eating your delicious and healthy Hawaiian papayas full of Vitamin A, don't throw away the papaya seeds! The papaya fruit and papaya seeds are a prime source of an enzyme called papain that breaks down protein. This active tenderizing ingredient is a protein-digesting enzyme which is very similar to human stomach pepsin. Papain powder made from papayas and other fruits are sold as brand name meat tenderizers.

To make your own natural meat tenderizer, you can use fresh papaya seeds or dry papaya seeds -- just wash the seeds and spread them on a paper towel in a plate, then set the plate on a sunny window sill to dry for a few days. This is how we did it in our family when I was growing up, but I suppose a food dehydrator would also work.

My father -- the cook in the family -- would use papaya seeds to tenderize tough cuts of meat. This is how he did it. First, use a mortar and pestle or spice grinder to grind the papaya seeds. Rub the ground papaya seeds on your cheap tough piece of steak or other cut of meat on both sides, and then put it in the fridge for an hour or two until you are ready to cook it. You can also add the ground up papaya seeds to your meat's marinade sauce. The longer it is on your meat or in your marinade sauce, the more tender your meat will become; but you may want to test the timing, if you leave the papaya seeds on too long your meat will turn to mush.

As a spice, you can add your dry papaya seeds to your pepper grinder, they have a peppery taste but as a bonus can also aid in your digestion at the same time.

Don't forget, we can ship fresh Hawaiian Papayas to the mainland to you or your loved ones for a special and healthy gift treat.

The Most Popular Dog Names in Hawaii

What's in a name? If it is the name for man's (and woman's) most loyal companion, lots of people in Hawaii seem to like the same name.

The top 8 most popular pet dog names are as follows:

1. Buddy
2. Koa
3. Max
4. Lucky
5. Jake
6. Molly
7. Honey Girl
8. Maggie

This list is according to the Hawaiian Humane Society's Microchip Database, which includes information for more than 230,000 dogs, cats, birds, horses, and other pets.

The photograph of "Diva" is courtesy of Mauigirl's Meanderings.

What is your dog or other pet's name?

Our Big Island Hawaii Blog is a "Mover and Shaker"

Our Big Island Hawaii blog is a mover and a shaker -- and I am not talking about the earthquake kind!

My blogging friend Opal of Vegan Momma, chose to highlight our blog in her "Bloggers: Movers and Shakers" post this week. I feel really honored that she finds value in reading our newish blog.

Please visit her blog. She writes on a variety of interesting topics, and if you leave a comment, don't be surprised to receive a personal thank you email from her!

Gabrielle Reece's Beauty Secret and Diet Foods

Gabrielle Reece, or Gabby as she is also known, is a world famous former pro volleyball champ, model, wife of surfer Laird Hamilton, a mother to daughter Reece who turns 4 in October, and is also 5 months pregnant with their second child.

People Magazine just wrote an article last week, Laird Hamilton: Pregnant Gabby Reece 'Feeling Good'.

Gabby Reece said that to make your skin look amazing, what she does is use applications of cold-pressed coconut oil over her whole body. To nourish her skin from the inside out, she said she eats tons of enzyme rich papaya and pineapples. (Conde Nast Traveler Magazine, June 2007)

Lucky for Gabby and Laird that they make their home on Maui, Hawaii, where there are literally "tons of papayas and pineapples."

If you are hungering for some fresh Hawaiian papayas or fresh Hawaiian pineapples and you can't get them in your area, we can ship them directly to your doorstep in a matter of days!

Kona Coffee Flan Dessert Recipe

This kona coffee dessert looked so good I had to share it with everyone.

Kona Coffee Flan

1/2 gallon whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 sticks cinnamon
2 whole eggs
4 each egg yolk
1/3 cup brewed Kona coffee
1 Tablespoon coffee liqueur

Makes 10 servings

In saucepan, heat the milk, cinnamon and sugar over low heat. Simmer and reduce by 1/2. Discard cinnamon stick. Place the reduced milk mixture, eggs, yolks, coffee, and Kona coffee liqueur in a food processor and blend
thoroughly. Strain.
Preheat oven to 300. Lightly grease ramekins. Place 2 tbsp. caramel into bottom of each ramekin (to make caramel, place 1lb sugar and 1 cup of water in heavy saucepan. Cook til mixture is a deep golden brown). Fill with 4 oz.
of milk mixture. Place ramekins in hotel pan. Pour enough water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake at 300 until set (about 20 minutes), but still slightly soft in the center.

By Maria 'ZeZe' Gonzalves
2003 1st Place Professional Dessert
Kona Coffee Cultural Festival

For great tasting 100% Kona Coffee shipped directly from the Big Island to your doorstep, come visit us at Double Brush - Hawaii Gifts, Candles and Soap.

Read more about Kona Coffee in our Kona Coffee Category.

Go on a Big Island Hawaii Kona Coffee Adventure

Are you a coffee lover or are you with someone who is? On your next vacation trip to the Big Island, plan on spending some time getting to know the Kona region and tasting the coffee it is famous for. There are over 4,000 acres of prime Kona land in coffee production, owned by about 750 coffee farms!

To narrow down your kona coffee search and begin your adventure, you need a treasure map that shows you where all of the valuable cups of Kona coffee are located. Lucky for all of us, the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival produces such a map. You can probably pick one up at your Big Island hotel's concierge's desk, or download the PDF version directly from the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival.

These Kona coffee farm locations are not as generic looking and convenient as a Starbuck's drive thru window, but I did say it was an adventure:) If you can, rent a 4 wheel drive vehicle for the day instead of driving your nice clean rental car. Some of these farms are located on true country roads, meaning unpaved dusty or muddy (depending on the weather) pot holed roads. Also not all of these rural area roads may be marked, so be patient and allow for plenty of time, and bring your cell phone in case you get lost.

It really does make sense to call ahead because things can change from the time of printing, such as hours and days of operation. You can also ask about road conditions and some places may take, and even prefer if you made an appointment.

If you take your Kona coffee country driving tour during the spring, you will see millions of tiny white fragrant coffee blossoms laden on the coffee tree branches. The Big Islanders call this beautiful sight "Kona snow."

If you come during the months of August to March, you will see red ripe "cherries" growing from the coffee trees -- within each cherry fruit hides a prized coffee bean. This harvest period depends on rainfall but this is the general picking time. The green coffee fruits do not ripen at the same time, and only the red cherries are picked by hand -- a process which takes several months.

Almost all of the coffee farms are run by families or small business owners, so you can get a real feel for the coffee farmer's way of life and pride that goes into their product. Taste free samples of coffee grown from the farm you are visiting, and learn what makes Kona coffee taste so good. Most importantly, don't forget to buy a couple bags of Kona coffee to take back home!

For more kona coffee related posts visit our kona coffee blog category.

Hurricane Flossie Bids "Aloha O'e" to the Big Island

After spending all day and all night yesterday in anticipation of Hurricane Flossie coming to the Big Island, she thankfully decided not to pay us a visit!

We spent yesterday bracing for the worst as we kept up with Hurricane Flossie weather updates on the television local news. The stations were breaking into scheduled programing on the hour to give updates to the public. From an expected path getting closer to the South Point of the Big Island, the worst was to arrive at 12:00 noon yesterday, then it was pushed back to 3:00 then 7-8 p.m. It was stalled off the Big Island and trying to reform its "eye" but eventually it was downgraded from a category 3, to a 2 than a 1, and finally a tropical storm.

My husband joked that the updates were as bad a waiting for the results of election returns to come in. Yesterday it was the suspenseful waiting and anticipation that exhausted us.

The National Weather Service cancelled the tropical storm warning and a flood watch for the Big Island at 5 a.m. today.

We want to send out a sincere heartfelt "mahalo" to everyone who was concerned and sent good thoughts and prayers for everyone here in Hawaii -- the combined forces of good was enough to dissolve Flossie away. Thank you.

You can read more about Hurricane Flossie Fades Away.

While Preparing for Hurricane Flossie Earthquake Hits the Big Island

As if spending a "wild monday" preparing for Hurricane Flossie (category 3 storm) bearing down on the Big Island wasn't enough, Mother Nature made it even crazier by shaking up east Hawaii with a earthquake trembler this evening!

Yesterday my husband went to Pahoa Town to fill up extra 5 gallon containers of drinking water, fill up the car with gas, fill our other propane tank (for hot showers and baths!), and dumped the garbage at the dump. There were already lines and crowds everywhere but people weren't in a frenzy. He did have a delay on the highway though because a car was on fire on the side of the road, and the police, ambulance (although he didn't see anyone in the car), and fire engine came to put it out.

What a difference a day makes! Woke up early today to take our dog to the vet in the morning, and while he was there having a biopsy done, I had to do all the errands that every other frenzied person in Hilo also had to do today. Namely grocery shopping at KTA ( a total mad house but I heard that Walmart was worst), going to the bank (long lines), returning books to the library, picking up take out dinner at the mall (I know I would be too tired to cook dinner), stopping at the post office to mail out orders, picking up our pet to take home -- and all of this meant two round trips to town in one day. (1 hour each round trip) Even though today was hectic, tomorrow all the public, private, and charter schools will be closed, along with the beaches, libraries, and probably other businesses -- so things needed to be done today.

A strange thing happened after I visited the bank and was backing out of the parking stall. A fire engine blared its horn at me to move so he could come into the bank's parking lot. At the back of the lot was a vehicle on fire! What does it mean when my husband and I both see the same bizarre sight within a day of each other, and never having ever seen something like that in our lives before?

After I get home, I start doing more chores then sit down at the computer to check my email. I am tired, stressed, sweaty from the humidity, hungry for dinner and then a unseen force hits me, I mean literally hits me. The house is shaking and the patio door is rattling, my bird is freaking out and I stand up and freeze. It is an earthquake and it is a big one, at least a 5.0 My husband was upstairs and he said the floor felt like it was swaying. The quake lasted at least 10 seconds long.

It was a 5.4 magnitude at 7:38 p.m. and centered somewhere 6 miles below sea level near Kalapana, about 25 miles south of Hilo. Luckily there has been no initial reports of serious damage.

It is 3:00 a.m. tuesday morning right now, and I am blogging! It has been raining heavily and steadily outside for hours. I want to post my blog post now because who knows what Flossie will do to us later in the day. The Big Island is expecting heavy rain, strong winds, high surf, flash floods -- hopefully we will not lose electrical power, phone service, or our DSL service so I can't get online, aughhhh! Please send good thoughts our way or pray for us and the safety of our Hawaiian Islands. Mahalo for your care.

You can keep track of the storm with the National weather Service Forecast Office.

Our Hawaii Blog Celebrates Its 4 Month Blogoversary!

Four months ago I had no idea where blogging would lead me, and if I had the discipline to write something almost everyday. Now four months later, I can tell you where it has taken me.

Blogging has made me pay more attention to my life and what is going on around me. Everything I read, from local newspapers to magazines at the dentist office -- I read with one extra thought in my mind, would this make a good blog post? Would my blog readers be interested in this information?

Same thing goes for watching the local television news, going places, doing things, or having a conversation with someone. I ask myself, is this useful or interesting information to people that read my blog?

Choosing to blog about Hawaii travel, Hawaii activities, living on the Big Island of Hawaii, and unique Hawaiian gifts, I thought would be wide enough of a subject to have lots to write about, but also narrow enough so people would know what to expect. I was also interested in these subjects and thought I could share and learn at the same time.

My Hawaii blog actually started as a way to gain more attention for our websites, Hawaiian Gifts, Candles, and Soap by Double Brush, and Hawaii Vacation Gifts. but it has turned out to be more than just a business blog, it is also a personal blog and blog about what I find interesting about Hawaii and travel.

Honestly, right now I only have a handful of readers, but they are regular readers and have all become my friends. That was a happy and pleasant surprise for me. I have met the nicest, most caring people, and they all blog! You can see who they are under my blog roll called, "My Blog Friends." I would love to add you to that list!

I also would like to thank my friends and customers who have come by to check out what I am up to and have left comments. It is interesting for me to see which posts garner comments and attention.

So far so good but, please leave comments as to how I can improve my blog. What kind of posts are you most interested in reading?

Cheryl

Keep up with the Latest Passport Requirements

If you are confused or frustrated with the changing passport requirements, help is a click away.

The Travel Industry Association and the Travel Business Roundtable are the sponsors of an informative site called Get A Passport Now.

In an effort to enhance security and efficiency at U.S. borders, the U.S. government is now enforcing new passport requirements for all travelers entering or re-entering the United States from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. Travel between the U.S. and U.S. territories (including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) will not be affected.

There are links for U.S., Canadian, and Mexican citizens on how and where to obtain a passport. For U.S. citizens only, there are links for "How to get a passport quickly" and "For additional assistance expediting a passport."

If you are an American reading this blog post, just come to Hawaii! You do not need a passport to visit the 50th state of the United States!!

Will It Rain on Your Wedding Day or Special Event?

Most people just hope for the best that it won't rain on their wedding day or special event, but did you know that you can plan ahead so that the odds are more in your favor?

Visit Weather.com to get average temperatures, rainfall and more weather facts about the area for your event before you set the date. Weather.com also has lots of other free helpful features such as "my Wedding Weather" where you can track the weather as it draws near to your big day, and planning tools and tips such as how to weather-proof your outdoor wedding to timing a sunset ceremony (hopefully in Hawaii).

Don't forget, if you are looking for "China Free" quality handmade in Hawaii wedding favors or Hawaii party favors for that special touch, check out our site for Hawaiian Gifts, Candles, Soap, Tropical Flowers and Leis from the Big Island.

Hawaiians Moving to the Big Island and Ninth Island

Lucky Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders moved to the Big Island last year, the others took a gamble and moved to the "ninth island" -- the local nickname for Las Vegas.

According to the Census Bureau data released the other day, both the Big Island of Hawaii and Clark County in Las Vegas, Nevada both had about 900 people move there from July 2005 to July 2006.

Las Vegas is a popular place for people from Hawaii to settle, with the big draw being cheaper home prices and the cost of living. You can buy a 3 bedroom home in Vegas for $140,000 compared to the median single-family home price on O'ahu of $640,000, or on the Big Island at $363,000.

Do you have friends of family living in Las Vegas?

Read more details Vegas Seeing More Hawaiian Transplants.

Don't Let Your Stuff Get Confiscated at the Airport

Have you had to give up your favorite body lotion or shampoo or make up or deodorant or... at the airport check in terminal? Who can keep up with the changes for what is and is not allowed anymore?

And just for your information, it is not only at large mainland airports that they are really strict about following the rules, my sister-in-law got in trouble at our little local Hilo, Hawaii airport! She had some really expensive lotion that airport security told her she could not bring with her because it was not in a zip lock bag. (Her luggage had already been checked.) Then she remembered that I gave her some of our handmade Hawaiian soy candles in a quart size zip lock bag, so she was able to save her lotion by replacing it in the bag with the candles. She was really happy because it happened to be the correct bag -- the only size and kind of zip lock bag currently allowed.

To save yourself some grief, check out the Transportation Security Administration site for the official and complete list of permitted and prohibited items.

Easily Do Good Right Now

You can easily do some good right now without even moving from your seat! Next time you need to look up something using a search engine, don't go to your regular search engine to look up a search term -- use the "Good Search" first.

The Good Search is a search engine that rewards your favorite charity or cause every time you use it. You earn about a penny for each search term, but multiplied by many users, it can amount to some serious cash for an organization you care about.

You can choose to have the money go to one of over 40,000 charities listed by category and state, or get together with your school or organization and register for all of your members to use the good search to earn money for your group.

The Good Search is powered by Yahoo and has been featured in many established publications such as the New York Times, O Magazine, and USA Today.

What are you waiting for? Give the Good Search a try.

Free Hawaiian Reef Fish ID Chart

Snorkeling and scuba diving in the clean refreshing waters off of Maui, the Big Island, Kauai, and Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands opens up a wonderland of unique life and color. Snorkeling is safe enough for children to seniors to engage in, scuba diving on the other hand is not suitable for everyone.

It is important that you don't touch or walk on the reef -- coral is a living organism and can be damaged when it gets lots of foot traffic on it. The Hawaiian coral reefs are the home to all of the beautiful fish you will see. View this award winning 7 minute video about Hawaiian Ocean Life and Coral Reef Etiquette.

Click here to download a Free Hawaiian Reef Fish ID Chart from Snorkel Maui. Study it before your next Hawaii vacation. You could even have it laminated and bring it along with you.

Save yourself some time by making your reservations for snorkeling excursions and diving tours in Hawaii for the islands of Maui, Hawaii, Kauai, and Oahu. Compare tour descriptions, prices, and read customer ratings and comments for each snorkeling excursion.

Go Visit Hawaii posted a great interview with Mike Jones, the Head Dive Master for Trilogy out of Maui. In it he answers many of your questions about snorkeling in Hawaii.

Hawaiian Macadamia Nuts Can Help You With Your Diet

It sounds too good to be true but Hawaiian Macadamia nuts can actually help with your diet. Macadamia nuts are an all natural low carb snack, and adhere strictly to the Atkins diet. It is cholesterol free and high in monounsaturated "good fat" at 80%, higher than olive oil at 74%, and canola oil at 58%. Research now suggests that monounsaturated fat helps reduce the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure, by lowering harmful LDL cholesterol levels.

Dr. Oz from the Oprah Show said that nuts are his special favorite food because they are rich in healthy oils, have some fiber and lots of energy. "A half-hour before dinner, I'll throw some nuts in my mouth to drive my ghrelin levels down. Ghrelin is the body chemical that makes your stomach turn, and by toning that down you can avoid being famished at dinner and overeating." (Healthy Living Magazine volume 11 number 3)

The hardest part about eating delicious and fresh tasting macadamia nuts from Hawaii while on a diet is portion control. Our handy macadamia nut snack packs are already pre-measured at .5 ounces, so you will not have an excuse to over indulge. They are small and light so pack a couple in your purse, briefcase, desk drawer or somewhere convenient for you. By doing this you will always have a quality snack on hand and not be tempted to grab the nearest junk food.

When I feel hungry in the afternoon, I open a snack pack of our macadamia nuts and eat the nuts slowly savoring each bite -- I find it takes the edge off of my hunger. In the picture above, the amount of nuts on the plate is what came out of one bag. (Click on the photo to enlarge.)

Save on Hawaiian Macadamia nut snack packs when you buy it by the case from our Hawaiian gifts catalog. These all natural macadamia nuts are grown, hand picked, and processed on the Big Island of Hawaii. Our premium mac nuts are dry roasted to perfection and lightly salted. We also carry chocolate covered macadamia nut snack packs--for after you reach your diet goals:)

What's the Big Deal with Interracial Marriage and Dating?

In Hawaii interracial marriage and interracial dating is not such a big deal to the majority of people who live here. Maybe it is because so many ethnicities shared a common work heritage stemming from the sugar and pineapple plantations, and also living on an island forces you to get along!

Judge people for who they are and fall in love with you like. Take my husband's and my immediate family. His family is Okinawan and Japanese. My family is Chinese with a little bit of Hawaiian. We have a haole (Caucasian) brother-in-law from Michigan, and a haole ex brother-in-law from New York. We have a Chinese brother-in-law and Chinese sister-in-law, a Korean sister-in-law, and a Puerto Rican and Hawaiian ex brother-in-law. ( Our sisters are now dating another haole guy and the other a Filipino guy.)

Many of my nieces and nephews are getting married now and they are not even choosing people of different races from Hawaii anymore, they are marrying people from different countries! My niece married an Australian, another a Hungarian (who she divorced) and is now dating a Brazilian, my nephew married a girl from Tahiti and another nephew married a girl from China.

Another niece is dating a hapa haole Japanese (meaning half Caucasian and half Japanese) guy, and another nephew is dating a local girl of mixed heritage. We have more nieces and nephews that are still children and who knows who they will date when they grow up.

As you can see, we don't care what people's ethnicity is, we just want them to be nice and good people.

What is it like in your family?

My Hawaiian Pineapple Coleslaw or Cole Slaw Recipe

It's summer and coleslaw or cole slaw (I have seen it spelled both ways!) is the perfect cool accompaniment to burgers and grilled foods -- meat or vegetarian.

Tonight I grilled fresh wild caught salmon steaks and made my Hawaiian Pineapple coleslaw to go along with it. It was a delicious pairing of flavors.

Hawaiian Pineapple Coleslaw Recipe

1 1/2 cup shredded cabbage
1/4 cup shredded purple cabbage
1/4 cup grated carrots
1 cup shredded or chopped fresh Hawaiian pineapple
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Chill before serving.

Be creative in your cooking and use what you like. For example if you don't like cabbage, substitute with all carrots or carrot and jicama. Use more or less of your favorite mayonnaise and add vinegar and pepper to your taste. If you have to use canned pineapple go ahead, but remember you can always buy fresh Hawaii pineapples online.

Largest Mango in the World Found In Hawaii

The world's largest mango in the world was grown on the Big Island of Hawaii according to the Guiness Book of World Records. Collen Porter of Kailua-Kona grew the world's heaviest mango weighing in at a whopping 5 pounds 7 ounces. As for the size, it is about the size of a human head. (Click on photo to enlarge.) I am sure there are bigger mangoes growing in some remote tropical jungle out there, but unless you can find it and then get the Guiness people to verify it...the Big Island holds the world record! Read more details about the World's Largest Mango. To celebrate the mango fruit, try our Island Mango Natural Solid Perfume. The fragrance is exotic, uplifting, fruity, and will put you in a happy tropical summer mood every time you wear it!