Destination: Hawaii
Obama, McCain and the Politics of a Vacation
by Jim Benning | 08.07.08 | 1:55 PM ET
Barack Obama is headed to Hawaii on vacation. He deserves a break, right? Besides, it’s a summer tradition. Apparently not, at least according to his opponent. A spokesman for John McCain just remarked, “Americans are facing sky-high gas prices, and instead of Barack Obama taking the initiative to call his allies in Congress back from vacation to carve out real energy relief, he’s joining them at the beach.” And to think, on our 2008 U.S. Presidential Candidate Travel Scorecard, we gave McCain a whopping four-and-a-half Air Force Ones out of five. I, for one, now regret that. I know times are tough, but we Americans must stand firm in support of vacations.
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Yahoo! BuzzSpam Conquers the World (Sort of)
by Joanna Kakissis | 07.08.08 | 11:48 AM ET
Spamburgers, Spam tacos and Spambalaya—the canned pork loaf everyone loves to hate is leaving its indelible taste on dishes around the globe. In Spam-loving Hawaii, Japanese-American chef Muriel Miura has a new cookbook, “Hawaii Cooks With Spam,” which offers recipes for Spam sushi, Spam pancit and Korean rice with Spam. Um, yum? If yes, then try Spam in ratatouille pie, curried rice, lasagna and even Heidelberg casserole.
Paddling Among Giants
by Jim Benning | 05.27.08 | 3:28 PM ET
The planet is heating up. The news can be overwhelming. But on a kayaking trip off Maui, Jim Benning found some big antidotes to pessimism.
‘Sleeping Pilots’ Air Traffic Control Tapes Aired
by Michael Yessis | 03.17.08 | 11:58 AM ET
Hawaiian television station KGMP obtained the air traffic control tapes from the Feb. 13 flight where two go! airlines pilots allegedly fell asleep on the job, overshooting Hilo by 15 miles before backtracking and landing safely. On the tapes, neither pilot responds for 32 minutes.
Did Pilots Fall Asleep? FAA Opens Investigation of go! Flight 1002.
by Michael Yessis | 02.21.08 | 12:24 PM ET
The go! flight from Honolulu to Hilo last week overshot the airport by 15 miles, then backtracked and landed safely. The Federal Aviation Administration—and presumably everyone else who flies—wants to know how it could have happened. Anderson Cooper has an interesting theory: It’s all about the exclamation mark in go! airlines.
For a Beach Vacation, Should I Go All the Way to Bali or the Maldives When Hawaii Would Do?
by Rolf Potts | 02.15.08 | 11:13 AM ET
Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel
Is Kauai’s Aloha Spirit in Peril?
by Jim Benning | 02.01.08 | 11:42 AM ET
Tourist visits to Kauai reached record numbers last year: 1.27 million people made the trip to the Garden Island. A slew of construction projects—many around the resorts of Poipu—are in the works. Locals are worrying about the future. Writes Laura Bly in USA Today: “[O]ver the past few years, as tourism kicked into high gear and the island’s 63,000 residents wound down from rebuilding efforts following 1992’s devastating Category 4 Hurricane Iniki, frustration levels have swelled like north shore surf during a winter storm.”
Controversial Hawaii Superferry to Resume Operations
by Jim Benning | 11.15.07 | 12:50 PM ET
The saga of the Hawaii Superferry continues. The controversial 350-foot catamaran will resume operating in about two weeks, its CEO has announced. The ferry began carrying passengers and cars between a few Hawaiian islands last summer, offering an alternative to jet travel between islands, but it hasn’t operated for weeks as attorneys and officials debated its future. Environmentalists believe the ferry will harm whales, among other things.
Hawaii Superferry Suspends All Service
by Jim Benning | 08.30.07 | 12:20 PM ET
The top of its Web site still proclaims, “We’re Ready to Go! All Aboard! It’s Time to Set Sail.” But Hawaii Superferry, the first-of-its-kind ferry service between three Hawaiian islands, isn’t setting sail today. After protesters blocked the ferry from entering a harbor on Kauai Monday and a state court temporarily barred the ferry from operating in Maui, the ferry has ceased all service, at least for the moment.
Hawaii Superferry Hits Troubled Legal Waters
by Jim Benning | 08.28.07 | 12:48 PM ET
We noted that surfers protesting the new Hawaii Superferry blocked the giant catamaran from entering Kauai’s harbor for more than an hour Sunday. That was just the beginning of the ferry’s troubles. On Monday, according to Honolulu Advertiser, more than 50 surfers, swimmers and kayakers forced the ferry to turn back from Kauai’s Nawiliwili Harbor without docking. What’s more, a judge blocked the Superferry from using Maui’s Kahului Harbor, prompting the company to suspend trips to and from Maui.
Environmentalists Protest Launch of Hawaii Superferry
by Jim Benning | 08.27.07 | 4:54 PM ET
Island-hopping Hawaii visitors now have a new way to get from Oahu to Maui or Kauai besides flying: the Hawaii Superferry Alakai, a giant catamaran that can haul 866 people and 282 cars. But not everyone is overjoyed with the new travel option. Hundreds protested the launch of the Superferry yesterday, including surfers who paddled out into the water, blocking the ferry from entering Lihue harbor in Kauai for more than an hour.
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: From Cinque Terre to the Great Barrier Reef
by Michael Yessis | 08.03.07 | 2:05 PM ET
Iconic destinations in Italy, Australia, California and the Pacific Ocean are at the top of travelers’ minds this week, as well as a topic that’s more controversial than Hillary Clinton. Here’s the Zeitgeist.
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
36 Hours in the Cinque Terre, Italy
Most Read Feature
World Hum (posted this week)
The Lost World of Nigeria
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
Through the Roof: A Tour of the Country’s Priciest Hotel Suite
* The cost to stay in the Ty Warner Penthouse at the Four Seasons New York? $30,000 a night.
Most Viewed Travel Story
Telegraph UK (current)
Exploring the Great Barrier Reef
Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (posted this week)
Voluntourism: ‘Overpriced Guilt Trips’ or a ‘Real Chance to Save the World’?
“Hot This Week” Destination
Yahoo! (this week)
Hawaii
Most Viewed Travel Post
BlogHer (current)
The W Hotel: Form over Function?
James Teitelbaum: Escape to the Isle of Tiki
by Jim Benning | 08.03.07 | 10:35 AM ET
"Tiki Road Trip" offers a guide to North America's greatest tiki sights. Jim Benning asks its author about the enduring allure of mai tais, beachcomber flotsam and all things "Polynesian pop."
Makeover Planned for Honolulu’s Diamond Head
by Michael Yessis | 07.19.07 | 12:03 PM ET
The Hawaiian icon—you may have seen it on a T-shirt or a bottle of wine or, perhaps, in your own photo just like the one above—will undergo a multi-million dollar makeover to, among other things, improve safety around the volcanic crater. Diamond Head has apparently been doing what geological formations are known to do: shed rocks. In May, according to the Honolulu Advertiser, a rockfall injured a woman who was picnicking at the base of Diamond Head.
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: On the ‘B’ List
by Michael Yessis | 06.15.07 | 1:23 PM ET
This week we’ve got mountain bikers, the best beaches in the U.S., passport blunders and the return of Bill Bryson. Here’s the Zeitgiest.
Most Popular Travel Story
Netscape (this week)
Top 10 U.S. Beaches
* No. 1 on the list from “Dr. Beach”: Ocracoke Island, North Carolina (pictured)
“Hot This Week” Destination
Yahoo! (this week)
Hilo, Hawaii
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
Where Mountain Bikers Carved Their Dream Terrain
* Not Moab, Utah. Fruita, Colorado.
Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
U.S. Plans Temporary Waiver of Passport Policy*
Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
Diary of a Trip Through U.S. Passport Application Limbo
From the writer, travel editor Catharine Hamm: “A travel editor without a passport is like Paris Hilton without a party.”
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
Hertz, Avis Add Hybrids to Fleets
* Each rental car company says it will have 1,000 Toyota Priuses in its fleet by the end of the month.
Top Travel and Adventure Audiobook
iTunes (current)
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Best Selling Travel Book
Amazon.com (current)
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
* Still unstoppable.