Coming to Maui during Christmas and New Years 2010-2011

Aloha Kakahiaka! (Good Morning! in Hawaiian)
Gosh, I can't believe we're already coming to the final stretch of 2010!! Here at Ohana Fun! Hawaii we've been getting pretty busy preparing for the busiest time of the year in Hawaii. We receive an even greater percentage of our visitors as returning guests, coming for more of Hawaii!! I guess, once you come once, you can't help it but to come back for more!!!
If you're planning on coming over during the last 2 weeks in December, for a Hawaii holiday, you must be getting very excited by now, especially if you're already dealing with some of the freezing weather in the Mainland and Canada!
So far, we've been able to find some special events going on on Christmas Day, here on Maui:
The Kea'Lani Resort in Wailea will be hosting Santa Claus, who will be arriving by outrigger canoe at 12 noon. For more information call the Kea'Lani at 808-875-4100. Admission is FREE!!
Also on Christmas day the Pacific Whale Foundation will have Christmas brunch cruises leaving from Lahaina; a great way to view Maui's beautiful coastlines, spot whales as an alternative to a brunch where you'll be in one spot the whole time... For more information call 1-800-350-3849 and an Ohana Fun! Hawaii concierge will check on all available cruises for you. One call does it all!
Also, for a New Year's Eve celebration on Maui, the Hyatt Luau is now offering a New Years Eve luau starting at 9:30 PM, which includes a champagne toast at midnight, not to mention all the awesome dishes already available at the luau! The seats are going very fast, as this is the only luau offering the late night show, and here, at Ohana Fun we're offering discounts too, so if you'd like to know more about it, just give us a ring.

Things to do for Free in Maui

Last post I said that I would publish some great things to do for free here in Maui. Of course there are great Maui activities that you can pay for, and I will cover some of them, but not everything great will cost you a lot of money in life. One qualifier... public transportation is not great here, so you will still need to rent a car while in Hawaii, unless you really don't want to see more than your hotel room and pool - which should be a punishable crime. And of course, gas prices here are not cheap. You're looking at between $3.50-$4.00 per gallon, depending on grade and island you're going to.

I'll start with with both my wife's and my favorite drive. It is the drive around the North/East side of the West Maui Mountains. This drive is exceptionally beautiful. I know many will say that you should start from the Lahaina or Kapalua side and drive East. However, I am partial to starting in Wailuku and making our way around to the North from there on State Hwy 340. On this drive you will have vast ocean views over rocky cliffs, green bouldery hillside that will remind you of Scotland or Ireland, lush tropical vegetation, and an old Hawaiian village. Despite some of the narrow, bumpy & winding roads, this area of Maui is so peaceful. Be sure to stop along the way to get out of the car and take it all in. Also, some rental car companies here have restrictions on where you can drive on the island, please be forewarned.

Free Maui Activities?

My mother-in-law has been visiting us here in Maui for the past several weeks. She came over for the birth of our second child, but how can you come to Maui and not be a tourist? This also gives us a great opportunity to be tourists ourselves. No matter how much one tries to take advantage of living in paradise, life seems to crowd in and prevent the enjoyment that living here can bring. So really now we have an excuse to take in the island beauty.

Over the next few days I will write and share about some of our tourist excursions. Believe it or not, there are some great things to do for Free while in Hawaii - not all Maui activities will cost you an arm and a leg. So we'll talk about that some too. Tonight we're going to a Luau in Wailea... which is not one of the "free" activities, but I'll report on that as well.

Winter's Back!

We are coming into my favorite time here in Hawaii. The winter season is so refreshing an enjoyable, particularly in Maui. The trade winds are blowing, the humidity is subsided and some small rain showers to round everything out. Overall a very enjoyable climate. I also heard that the Whales have started to make an appearance in our wonderful waters. This also means that the whale watching tours will soon be taking off. My wife and I went out on a boat last year to see the whales. I will say that we were both pleasantly surprised with the adventure. We definitely are looking forward to this upcoming season to get back out there to enjoy the sun and the brilliant blue seas, and of course the massive beautiful beasts!

Overwhelmed

Today is a good day. It's clear, sunny and beautiful here in Maui. It's warm, though not too hot. I try not to take for granted that this is my home. I step out of my front door and look straight into the splendor of the West Maui Mountains. I take a walk down my street and am in awe of Haleakela rising out of the mighty Pacific. I am grateful that this is my home. You know though, after living here for years there is still so much to see and do. I anticipate checking off the list.. the hikes, the tours, the snorkel spots.. Maybe one day I'll have seen all of Hawaii from the air. One day. Until then I will enjoy today and thank God for the air I get to breathe here in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Being September 11th we want to take a moment and honor all those that fought for the safety and preservation of life just eight years ago. May we not forget the threat that we were under then and still remains today. The worst thing we could do is to ignorantly move forward thinking that things have been resolved or the problem of terrorism is behind us. Never forget. They haven't.

Hello all... sorry for the lack of correspondence over the past few months. My wife and I have been traveling plenty and maintaining a blog fell to the bottom of the list. But we should be back! Of course things at Ohana Fun have been going great and moving forward! I look forward sharing this and more with you soon, including some of the fun activities we have been able to participate in both in Honolulu and Maui recently.