With the 61st annual Merrie Monarch Festival coming up next week (March 31–April 6) in Hilo on the Big Island, I’ve been thinking about hula lately. Not just the graceful dance moves or the beautiful costumes, but the story behind it. Hula is like a living,...
Hawaii has a number of state holidays you won’t find on the mainland. What’s more, Hawaii is the only state in the U.S.A. that has holidays dedicated to royal figures—King Kamehameha and Prince Kuhio. (Given the nature of our origin story, the idea of...
It’s official. This is my 30th anniversary of writing travel guides to Hawai‘i. I held my original Ultimate Kauai Guidebook in my hands in 1994, 30 years ago this week. That book and the rest of the Revealed series have been flying off the shelves ever since....
If you’ve ever gazed into an aquarium and wondered what it was like to see colorful fish in their natural environment, complete with coral and strange ocean creatures, you’ve come to the right place. Hawai‘i features a dazzling variety of fish. Over 600 species are...
In South Kona on the Big Island, there is a very special place named Pu‘uhonua o Honaunau, also called Place of Refuge. (This is a good opportunity to work on Hawaiian pronunciations—POO-OO-HO-NEW-AH O HO-NOW-NOW.) Though it can be difficult to pronounce, it is is a...
