Hawaii Vacation Gifts by Double Brush-Hawaiian Gifts & Blog

It Only Takes One--Hawaii Sweepstakes from Dawn

Aloha faithful readers! It is taking me a longer and longer time finding Hawaii sweepstakes for you to enter that are still valid and not "all pau" or finished. For my new readers, why not sign up for our Hawaii blog by RSS feed or by email? That way, every Sunday you will be made aware of a new Hawaii sweepstakes that you can enter. Let my "fingers do the walking" for you to save you time and frustration.

Today's great Hawaiian sweepstakes find is for a chance to win a trip to the Hawaiian Islands in the "It Only Takes One! Sweepstakes by Dawn dishwashing products. The grand prize is $5,000 towards a Hawaii Vacation getaway.

All you have to do is fill out a short 7 question survey with questions such as, "which brand of hand dishwashing products do you use most often?" and "How important is being 'mild on your hands' when you buy hand dishwashing products?" (Just choose one of the answers that they provide for you, it won't take more that one minute to finish the survey.)

This Hawaii contest sweepstakes ends on March 30, 2008. Enter the Dawn "It Only Takes One" sweepstakes here.

See all of our past Hawaii Contests and Sweepstakes that you can enter.

Target Takes Aim at Hawaii

A little more than a year from now, Target Corporation will have its first stores in Hawaii open for business. A couple days ago (January 24, 2008), Target Corp. broke ground at the new Kapolei Commons Mall, and yesterday broke ground in Salt Lake for a second Target store on Oahu. Both stores are expected to open in March 2009. A third store in Kona on the Big Island will open a few months later in July.

The Kapolei Commons Mall is expected to draw visitors as well as residential traffic. The Ko Olina Resort is nearby, in addition to a planned Hawaii Disney hotel. Read more about the planned Target stores in Hawaii here.

Target Corporation's main retailing subsidiary, Target Stores, is a United States discount retail chain consisting of 1,591 stores (as of October 10, 2007). It has units in all states except for Alaska, Hawaii, and Vermont, operating under the mastheads of Target, Target Greatland, and SuperTarget.

Target Corp. is the 5th largest retailer by sales revenue in the United States behind Wal-Mart, The Home Depot, Kroger, and Costco. Target is a rival and competitor of Walmart. You can read everything good and bad about Target Stores at Wikipedia.

Tape this Fruit to Your Navel to Prevent Motion Sickness

My husband and I were watching Jimmy Kimmel Live and Marilu Henner was on. She was the actress from the old tv series "Taxi" and is also an author of several health related books. (We rarely if ever watch this show but my husband was waiting to see the man with the longest leg hair--which was 6 inches by the way!)

Marilu was talking to Jimmy about the best thing for motion sickness. She said to tape a umeboshi plum directly to your navel. I couldn't find a video or transcript of the show but did find this interview with Harris Online where Marilu Henner talked about it.

Henner: ...But do you know what the best remedy is for seasickness? I know you're going to laugh, but this really, really works. Do you know what an umeboshi plum is?

Harris: No, I have no idea.

Henner: An umeboshi plum is a little Japanese salt plum. You get it at a health food store. The best thing for motion sickness is to take one of these plums -- which is great for anything, for balancing, for hangovers, for any time you're feeling out of sorts, you take one of these plums and eat it -- but for seasickness, you actually tape it to your belly button.

Harris: [laughs]

Henner: I'm not kidding you! This really, really works.

Harris: And the idea being, if they see you with the plum taped to your belly button, they don't let you on the boat, and that way you can't get seasick?

Henner: No, it really works. If you're going to have motion sickness on an airplane or anything, just tape that old plum to your belly button.

A word of advice I would like to add is to buy the natural colored (kinda brownish green) pickled ume or umeboshi plum and not the traditional dyed red colored umeboshi plum--you usually see them on musubi or onigiri (Japanese rice balls) like our original handmade beeswax musubi candle pictured above. I love Japanese rice "balls" which are never round (unless it is for a funeral service), and usually hand shaped into a triangle shape that fits into the cook's palm of her hand.

Anyway, the red dye used on the ume plum stains rice red, so you would look strange if you developed a radiating red ring of color around your navel.

If you are intrigued enough to try this natural remedy for motion sickness, please come back and share your results!

I posted earlier about another fruit that you can eat to prevent jet lag, and it is not recommended that you put it in your belly button. Click here to find out what fruit it is.

How Hawaii Celebrates Martin Luther King Day

In Hawaii, the Martin Luther King holiday is celebrated like many other holidays in Hawaii--with an outdoor parade!

The annual Martin Luther King parade in Waikiki attracted a diverse group of people who participated in the parade, and spectators who enjoyed the parade. Today's parade started off with a Hawaiian rights organization, followed by the Royal Hawaiian Band and then many different organizations ranging from environmentalists, anti-war activists, human rights advocates, groups supporting political leaders, and more.

The common theme that brought everyone together was to pay tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.--a man who believed and fought for equality and justice among people of all different races. We have a long way to go, but seeing people of all ages, nationalities, backgrounds, and beliefs come together to actively honor "the dream"--is what keeps the dream alive.

See the 5 minute local tv news telecast of the Martin Luther King Day Parade in Waikiki, 2008.

Enter the Country Living Hawaii Getaway Sweepstakes

Today is Sunday, and at the Hawaii Vacations Gifts Blog that means it is "Hawaii Sweepstakes Sunday"--which means you find out about another sweepstakes you can enter to win a trip to Hawaii!

Today's sweepstakes is sponsored by Country Living Magazine and ends on on February 29, 2008. The winner (by random drawing) will receive a free trip to the Big Island of Hawaii with beautiful accommodations. This Hawaii Winter Getaway includes a five-night stay for two at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort and Spa, plus round-trip airfare. This free Hawaii vacation has a retail value of almost $5,000! (Value: $4975.00)

Click here to enter the Country Living Hawaii Winter Getaway Sweepstakes.

Click here to read the official rules for the Country Living Hawaii Getaway Sweepstakes 2008.

Don't get left out in the cold when you could be dreaming instead of warm Hawaiian sunshine as you enter new Hawaiian sweepstakes every week! Sign up for our Hawaii blog's RSS feed or receive our blog posts by email. Click here to see all of our past Hawaii Sweepstakes Sunday posts.

Give a Valentine's Day Gift--Hawaiian Breakfast in Bed

If you can't make it to a bed and breakfast place in Hawaii for Valentine's Day, why not get the next best thing for a Valentine's Day gift? Serve breakfast in bed to your valentine with our "Bed and Breakfast Hawaii Gift Tray."

Everything you need to create a gourmet Hawaiian breakfast in bed is included. We don't mess around with little single serving sizes of mixes, instead we include a one pound (16 ounces) size of authentic Tex's Drive In Malasada Mix (see our blog post about the famous Tex Drive In located in Honoka'a), a one pound mix of Hawaiian pancake & waffle mix, a large 10 ounce bottle of tropical coconut syrup, and a large 8 ounce bag of pure 100% Kona coffee. As a bonus we also include some Hawaiian macadamia nuts and a passion fruit butter spread.

All of these delicious treats are made in Hawaii on the Big Island (except for the Coconut syrup which is from Honolulu). These are a lot of goodies and weigh in at over 5 pounds once laden on the beautiful tropical wooden serving tray it is packaged on.

Our bed & breakfast Hawaii gift tray is wrapped in a Hawaiian print cello bag with a large Hibiscus silk flower, and tied with a raffia bow so it is ready for Valentine's Day gift giving, all for only $75.95 You can check around at other online Hawaii gift sites, but you will be hard pressed to find something as unique, original, and impressive that is made and shipped direct from the Big Island.

We also promise you will be 100 percent pleased with our products and service, read what our customers say about us.

Would You Enjoy Staying in a Hobbit House?

The world fell in love with Hobbits after J.R.R. Tolkien wrote the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and the prequel "The Hobbit." The fame of Hobbits or Halflings was also greatly enhanced after the Lord of the Rings movies came out a few years ago.

For people who love all things Hobbit and have a fantasy of staying in a Hobbit dwelling or Hobbit House, well now they can. And to top it all off, it is located on the Big Island of Hawaii on a secluded hill top overlooking the ocean with unobstructed views--a fantasy house in a fantasy location!

The Hobbit house in Hawaii has been a very famous house for many years because of its distinctive features and visible location. Darlene and Bill Whaling started building their dream home in 1981. Through the years they have lovingly custom built their home with lots of wood for a warm old fashioned feeling, and added surprising touches of whimsy such as stained glass artwork and carved wooden relief details.

I always wanted to do a blog post about the Hobbit House, and was happy to find out that it is now a famous Hawaii Bed and Breakfast that was featured on HGTV Offbeat America as Hawaii's fairytale home. This handcrafted unique home doesn't seem to have a straight line in sight. From the rounded edges of its roof line, to the round window frames and crooked natural tree trunk supports--this is what a hobbit house to fit humans should look like!

Also like the Hobbits of middle earth who live in the shire, the Hobbit house is a green earth friendly house. They generate all of their own electricity through solar and wind power, use energy efficient lighting, low flow toilets, recyle, grow a Hobbit garden, compost and more.

Nearby is a enchanted forest of tall Eucalyptus and Norfolk Pine trees--I wonder if Elves live there?

Rates are for 2-3 nights and $150 -$200 per night depending. Visit their site Hawaii Honeymoon Bed and Breakfast, Hawaii Hobbit House, Big Island, Hawaii for more information and to make reservations.

Win a One Week Hawaiian Cruise Sweepstakes

It is Hawaii Sweepstakes Sunday time again, and this time we found a Hawaii Cruise sweepstakes contest.

Wow! How would you like to win a week long Hawaii Cruise to visit all of the Hawaiian islands in leisurely style? Are you worried that you cannot afford to fly to Hawaii even if you do win this Hawaii cruise? No worries, the prize includes $2,500 which you can use for airfare!

This Hawaiian cruise sweepstakes is being offered by Bed Bath & Beyond. There are two ways to enter to win this fabulous prize. One is to create a bridal registry-- it is free to create a wedding or commitment ceremony registry at Bed Bath & Beyond. The other way is to mail a 3" X 5" piece of paper with your contact information on it to them.

All entries must be received by April 20, 2008, but enter now because there will be THREE grand prize Hawaii cruise drawings at the end of February, March, and April. The sooner you enter gives you that many more chances of winning.

Hawaii Cruise Grand Prize on Norwegian Cruise Line

2 Guest Cruise Tickets redeemable for travel for a Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) Hawaiian Freestyle (R) Cruise for seven days and six nights, departing from and returning to Honolulu, Hawaii.

In addition to standard amenities offered with the Cruise, including select meals, the Grand Prize will include the following: a special Romantic Package, which may include: canapés delivered to winner's stateroom for one (1) evening; complimentary cake party; one (1) keepsake photograph; one (1) romantic dinner for two (2) in Le Bistro; breakfast in bed on one (1) day of winner's choice; and two (2) twenty five (25) minute Mandara Spa® half-body Seven Seas Massages.

Grand Prize also includes $2,500 in the form of a MasterCard pre-paid gift card for use by winner.

(Approximate Grand Prize Retail Value "ARV": $6,829 each).

Enter here to win a Hawaiian Cruise from Bed Bath & Beyond.

Don't miss out on new Hawaii contest sweepstakes that you can enter for free, posted every Sunday. Sign up for our Hawaii blog by RSS feed or email before you forget.

Kilauea Lava Flow May Engulf Big Island Homes Soon

From yesterday's television newscasts in Hawaii, with headlines such as "Lava Inches Towards Big Island Homes", you would think that many people were in danger. However, the Kilauea lava flow is once again heading towards the Royal Gardens subdivision in Puna, a place Pele (Hawaiian Fire Goddess) destroyed starting with lava flows in 1983. Now all that remains are mostly a handful of dilapidated houses.

Only two bachelors live in Royal Gardens, one of them is Jack Thompson who runs a bed and breakfast from his Royal Gardens home called the Lava House. Most visitors come by helicopter for a visit, but rarely does anyone stay overnight.

Jack planned on staying there even with a mandatory evacuation planned for today, but I saw on the tv news that he peacefully left on his own accord. The Hawaii Civil Defense will be monitoring the situation as the lava flow has slowed to about a quarter mile outside of the subdivision.

Last week was the 25th Year Anniversary of the Kilauea Lava Flow. Read about how one native Hawaiian man named Uncle Robert, saved his Kalapana home that stood in the path of a moving lava flow.

***JULY 8, 2008 UPDATE***

HILO » Lava fountains up to 30 feet high burst out about four miles above a self-described hermit's homestead in Royal Gardens on Sunday night and continued through yesterday.

A brush fire started by a long, thin finger of lava set the wet, rotting wood of Dean Schneider's house smoldering.

Jack Thompson, Schneider's only neighbor in the otherwise deserted 3-square-mile subdivision, put out the fire.

Read the complete article "Spurting lava stirs drama for hermit" from the Star Bulletin.

Own Hawaii Real Estate For Only A Few Dollars

What would you do if you could own the city of Honolulu, Hawaii for $19.00, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park for $7.00, or on the high end, the JW Marriot Ihilani Resort and Spa on Oahu for $300.00?

So what is the catch? The catch is you will only own it in the virtual world, not the physical one, where all of the above places are worth millions of real dollars.

This virtual world in not at Second Life, but exists at Weblo.com This Canadian company claims that they have sold over 25,000 pieces of real estate, including about 10,000 "cities" around the world. It is like the game of Monopoly with a social networking aspect.

At Weblo you can also buy your way into politics. The Mayor of Honolulu bought his position for $19.00 and the Governor of Hawaii paid $1,301 for the honor.

Weblo.com Inc. was established in September 2006 by Rocky Mirza, an Internet entrepreneur who obtained backing from former MySpace chairman Richard Rosenblatt and $5.6 million in venture capital financing.

The company claims 72,000 members and initially sold cities for as little as $5, though the minimum price today is $25. Real estate smaller than a city or town — anything with a street address qualifies — can be bought for $2 from the company. Other property on Weblo includes copies of Internet domain names and celebrity fan sites.

For each asset, owners are given a stock Web page on Weblo to develop with everything from photos and descriptions of the property to personal blogs and video. In some ways, the Web pages are similar to those on MySpace and Facebook, allowing members to form social networking groups.

The Honolulu Advertiser

What area, landmark, or building would you like to own in Hawaii, and please tell us why.

Win a Trip to Hawaii 2009 to Watch Pro Football

We have found another cool Hawaiian sweepstakes for you to enter. This is a great Hawaii contest because it is not just for the usual two people, you can win a trip for FOUR to watch the pros play football in Hawaii!

Pringles, you know the shaped potato chip snack, is sponsoring this new sweepstakes to win a trip to Hawaii.

Hawaii Grand Prize (Approx. Value $15,500.00) Includes:

Trip for you and three friends to see the pros play football in Hawaii.
7 days and 6 nights on Oahu
VIP package includes airfare, hotel, game tickets, and $1,000 in spending money.

First prize is a Pringles football autographed by Football Hall of Famer Steve Young, as shown in picture.

Enter Pringles Hawaii Football Sweepstakes here. No purchase necessary. Hawaiian Sweepstakes ends on May 30, 2008.

See our Hawaii Sweepstakes blog category to enter more Hawaii contests and giveaways!

Kilauea Lava Flows 25 Years--Uncle Robert at Kalapana Remembered

If you live on the Big Island, you have a relationship with Madame Pele (the Hawaiian Fire goddess who lives in Kilauea Crater) whether you like it or not. Some people have made peace with it, others are terrified, and the majority seem to be ambivalent about it. We live next door to Madame Pele and so try not to do anything to offend her.

This past Thursday, January 3rd marked the 25th Anniversary of the eruption of Kilauea Volcano. Scientists on Hawaii Island (Big Island) say that it is the longest Kilauea rift zone eruption in at least the last 800 years.

50,000 gallons of molten lava gush from cracks on the volcano's flank every minute--enough to fill Diamond Head crater to a depth of one foot every day. All of this lava has created 212 acres of new coastline making the Big Island that much bigger!

Besides Pele creating land, she can also be a destructive presence burning native forests and destroying whole subdivisions of homes. That is what happened in 1990 to the area known as Kalapana and a subdivision named Royal Gardens. My Hawaiian friends told me that Pele took back her aina (land) because she didn't like what the people were doing there on her land. There was lots of drug activity, lawlessness, and the people who lived there were selfish with natural resources that were supposed to be for everyone.

I don't know if that it true because I did not know anyone personally that lived there during that time. All except for Uncle Robert. Uncle Robert as he is known to local people around here, is an indigenous Hawaiian man of great faith--the Catholic faith. (In Hawaii it is not unusual to believe in Hawaiian beliefs and have a other religious faith also.)

Uncle Robert's house was spared from a lava flow headed directly towards his house and property in Kalapana near the beach. As the lava flow was approaching, he prayed and left everything in the hands of God as he placed his rosary onto his property's rock wall--then drove away with his family. When he came back later, the lava flow had diverted just enough to spare his property as it flowed past towards the ocean. I have been to his home and met him years ago. You can see a 10 foot? wall of lava that runs along one side of his property line!

The bible talks about having enough faith to move mountains, but to move a lava flow?! Now that is what I call faith.

Back then at Uncle Robert's house, people were laughing at my husband and I because our mouths were open as we walked besides this towering wall of lava rock, puzzled by what we were looking at. It was then that Uncle Robert told us the story about his home and faith.

Happy New Year 2008 from Hawaii

Happy New Year! In Hawaii where there are so many different races of people living together, Happy New Year is said in many different languages. Can you correctly guess which language "Happy New Year" is written in?
1. Hau'oli Makahiki Hou

2. Ake-mashite-omedetou-gozaimasu

3. Kung Hee Fat Choy

4. Maligayang Bagong Taon

5. Boas Festas e um feliz Ano Novo

6. La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou

7. Chuc Mung Giang Sinh - Chuc Mung Tan Nien

8. Sehe Bokmanee Bateuseyo

9. Felice Anno Nuovo or Buon anno

10. Sawatdee pi mai

Please feel free to add to the list!