morning view from the front yard

After the performance, the group joined the cheerleaders in the lounge to try and catch up to the drinking we’d already been doing for an hour.  16 of us pulled together every unused cocktail table in the hotel bar and made a large surface around which we gathered.  There were more drinks and more food, lots of loud laughter and best, of all, a continued performance, just for us, by Leokane and his friend CJ “Boom” Helekahi, a talented singer and ukelele player in his own right (currently recording a forthcoming album).

They sang all night, pausing only long enough to munch on some pu’pus or snag a sip of wine.  At one point, Leokane put down his ukelele and went up to dance a hula in a sort of competition with the leader of the visiting helau, and good friend, Pilialoha.  They each danced their own interpretation of a song performed by Boom, much to the cheering support of a highly entertained, happy crowd of friends.  When the occasion arose, a trio of ladies was inspired to dance a hula to one of the songs and a hotel employee followed suit with a beautiful dance that had us all on our feet with adulation.

What a treat!

The effect of wandering through a field, down slopes, over lava rock with the tide lapping at your toes, around a steep bend and into the cutout carved into the side of the hill to find waves crashing at a lava rock wall with a lovely pool behind it is entrancing.  It’s no wonder I want to come again and again.

It was myself and three scraggly looking stoner types on a log.  Otherwise the beach was empty.  Though, I admit it was a little strange to be sunning and swimming with three pot-smoking beardies in tattered Grateful Dead t-shirts eying me up.  I did bring an orange with me and would have thrown it for defense if necessary…

Luckily, as with everything else in Hana, the losers were harmless and I had a lovely time swimming in the clear waters, floating buyoantly while watching the waves crash against the rock wall and spill into the pool.

Upon leaving, I took my time wandering back the way I came.  There’s a marvelous outcrop of lava rock with an intense view that sits just below the trail level, so you feel like you are tucked away, hidden in your own secret spot near a not-so-secret secret beach.  The hard part is getting a self portrait without falling off the rock.  But I managed.

Before I go any further explaining the purpose of the visit, I have to do a bit of an infomercial for this fabulous place to stay.  The #1 cottages to stay at in Hana are The Guest Houses at Malanai.  The hales (houses) are Manu and Ulu Lulu.  You don’t have to believe me, just check out the rave reviews:

• Vacation Rentals by Owner
• TripAdvisor
• Hale Manu Guestbook
• Hale Ulu Lulu Guestbook

The purpose for our visit was a dinner party put on by friends of Leokāne.  It happens that Leokāne is an incredibly talented musician of the traditional sort.  His ukelele playing, soaring angelic voice and expressive hula dancing is a treat for anyone who has a chance to experience his gifts.  The moment that completely changed his life direction, ultimately bringing him back to Hawaii, the land of his youth and family, and bringing his music to us, was because of a party, a woman named Pilialoha Christiansen and her hula group (or hālau) Ka Hale Hula O Pilialohaokalani ‘O Hilo.  The hālau was visiting Hana as part of an inter-island trip that included attending the Merrie Monarch Festival, an annual festival celebrating the art of the hula (if you think the hula is some chick in a grass skirt and a coconut bra, you are sorely mistaken and missing out).  Also visiting was Leokāne’s nephew and bride (Joey & Sallie) celebrating their honeymoon.

The night consisted of an introduction to a dozen hula dancers from Grass Valley, CA.  I’m fairly certain they were all over 30, most over 40.  A varied group of ladies with great smiles, contagious laughter and kindness exuding from their every pore: This welcome attitude and gentle generosity is known as the Aloha Spirit.  They busied themselves around the kitchen, their every movement of this communal cooking appearing like a choreographed dance.  The rest of us were kept out of the kitchen (too many cooks spoil the pot?), drinking wine on the lanai (porch or deck) and eating delicious Pupus (appetizers).  Dinner was laid out buffet style, but the food was anything but!  Huge coconut shrimp, pork tenderloin, fresh salad with fruit, prawns…delicious!  After dishing ourselves a plate, we all gathered in the living room in front of the TV to watch the best of the Merrie Monarch Festival 2009.

Watching the varied types of hula, the myriad dancers alike, I was in awe!  The hula is divided into the two recognized styles: the ‘Auana and the Kahiko.  The ‘auana is the more modern hula which can be accompanied by a full group of musicians and string instruments are allowed.  The kahiko is the more traditional form and can only be chanted with a percussive instrument accompaniment.  Each hālau performs both an ‘auana and kahiko.  The categories are divided even further by gender – wahine (women) and kane (men) plus the category of best overall.  Additionally, there is a competition for solo wahines for the title of Miss Aloha Hula in which each dancer must perform both an ‘auana and kahiko. Still with me?

The best thing is probably to watch some of the best videos.  KITV airs the Merrie Monarch Festival footage each year and indexes the videos on their website.  Each video is accompanied by commentary that can be very illuminating and educational.  It’s recommended that you watch the videos of the winners in each category, but if you have time it’s enlightening to watch the lower ranked groups as well.  You don’t need to know hula to see who are the most talented and skilled dancers.  Even as I watched the Miss Hula Aloha contestants, once the girl who eventually won stepped out, it was painfully obvious how much she was elevated above all the others in her gift.

If you want an abbreviated version of who to watch, these are my suggestions:

• Miss Hula Aloha ’09 Cherissa Henoheanäpuaikawaokele Käne: Kahiko and Auana

• Kane group winner

The men’s groups are quite powerful to watch. The group that won performed what is essentially a procreation dance. Not that I need to even tell you that because it comes across pretty clear in the dance. You have to see it. The living room at the dinner party sounded like a bachelorette party when these guys came on and I was happy to be a part of it.

• Wahine group winner

This dance was, culturally, an answer to the above men’s group. The refrain they chant while dancing is essentially a sound that means “out of breath”. You can figure out the rest.

• This was  my favorite wahine group, even though they didn’t win

It was a lovely evening and I’m lucky to have been able to be a part of it. The ladies were wonderful and Chris & Leokāne are now two of my favorite people.

curlicues occurring nearly inside a fern, close to the stem

Roots make great natural stairs

The Hana coastline on a dismal day

My first full day in Hana was more about wandering the town and getting oriented than anything else, but it wasn’t without education.

Our first stop was the Hana Cultural Center.  Aunty Ku’ulei was teaching lauhala bracelet weaving alongside Aunty Lorraine who was showing Lei making.  Dad very much wanted me to meet Aunty Ku’ulei.  I sat down at the picnic bench outside where she was stationed with all her supplies.  She proceeded to explain to me about the leaves of the hala tree and how they are stripped into long pieces and dried to create the weaving material.  She then set me up weaving my own lauhala bracelet.  She was so impressed with my ability to pick it up right away that she let me make another one, and sent me off with more supplies to teach others though I insisted it was because I had such a spectacular teacher.  Before leaving, however, I got to string some blossoms together to make a lei bracelet which I promptly used as a ponytail holder.  It looked better in my hair than on my wrist.

After peeking inside the center, we wandered down through the property of the Hotel Hana-Maui which acts as a bit of a shortcut connecting the Hana Town Center (aka downtown Hana) to the areas by the water (Community Center, school, etc.).  My dad’s house is one of only three houses in “downtown” Hana.  The rest are located in an area ironically referred to as “the subdivision” which is pretty much the only other part of Hana that isn’t the town center, waterfront  or hotel grounds.  Hana Town Center is where you find a grocery store, post office, two gift shops, a restaurant and the bank.  If you’re looking to rent a movie, Hana Ranch Store is your destination though if you like foreign films you will want to stop at the post office to get a recommendation from Joey, the postmaster.  The bank is only open from 3 to 4:30 Mon -Thurs, but is open twice as long on Fridays.  If you need cash and the bank is closed, there are two ATMs.  One is at the Hana Ranch Store but the one down the street (literally down a street on a hill) at Hasegawa General Store charges a lesser fee.

Of course, dad had to show me how to get to Kaihalulu, also known as Red Sand Beach.  It’s a tricky little find and although it can be found in guidebooks or online, is still kept mostly a secret by residents.  Which is why I will not divulge any details on how to get to it.  It’s a puzzle you must solve on your own.  Well worth the hunt, Red Sand is one of Hawaii’s few truly hidden beaches and one of only a few red sand beaches in the world.  Trapped behind a low lying reef wall in a deep crescent-bowl carved into a hillside, the water forms a pool that can be great snorkeling, mild swimming or just simply great sunbathing.  The sun shines down on you until the waning hours of the afternoon while waves crash over the seawall.

I’ll head that way when the sun comes out and try to get some nice photos from the trail…it’s really quite picturesque.  Some sunbathing and snorkeling will be on the agenda as soon as the weather improves.

The pleasure, however, ended up coming from two lovely seatmates.  The lady in the middle was a friendly, chatty East Coast mom who visits Maui at least once a year.  On the aisle was our real treat: Lurline Uller aka “Carol Adams.”  Carol Adams was the 3rd greatest tap dancer in the nation in the 1940′s.  She toured with several dance troupes and had supporting roles and dancing spots in a bunch of Hollywood films.  She regaled us with stories from her time working with Roy Rogers in Bad Man of Deadwood , Gene Autry in Ridin’ on a Rainbow, and Susan Hayward in Sis Hopkins.  At 91 years old, Lurline continues to vacation on Maui for a few weeks every year with her daughter and grandkids.  At home in Hollywood, where she was born and raised, she plays golf once or twice a week (instead of 3 or 4 like she used to) and ballroom dances.  She’s an incredible woman and if I’m still going like her at 91, don’t even consider putting me out to pasture.

The plane landed only about 10 minutes behind schedule, which didn’t matter much since it took me a mere 3 additional minutes to walk down the gangway through the terminal and down the stairs to the baggage claim.  As is tradition, I got lei’d upon arrival.  Despite the overcast entrance into Hawaii, the weather outside was fairly mild.  I hadn’t picked a better time to fly into Kahului and drive the famed Road to Hana: it was gray, cloudy and drizzly.  That’s alright, with four weeks to go, I have plenty of time to do the drive on a sunnier day.

Before making the drive, however, we needed to get some lunch, gas and stop at the market for a few provisions.  This means a stop in Paia, a plantation and tourist town just outside of Kahului.  My dad and Angela had already made a Costco run for larger quantities of necessities.  Being that Hana is a couple of hours away from the nearest “metropolitan” area, most residents try to limit how often they drive to “the other side” and nearly all have Costco memberships.  Lunch was fried fresh Ono and a small ceasar salad at Charley’s Restaurant.  Then, a quick walkthrough of the best grocery store in town: Mana Foods.  For those Milwaukeeans, Mana Foods is reminiscent of Sendik’s Market and Outpost Natural Foods in every way: the hardwood floors, food offerings, the deli, the staff and even the customers.

After filling our bellies and the gas tank, we head off towards Hana.  Seated in the backseat of a Honda Element on a rainy highway legendary for it’s drive views, my own view looked a little like this:

Of course, the Hana Highway is known not only for its lush green vegetation, but also it’s careening turns and narrow, single lane bridges, often both occurring simultaneously, like this:

Mainly the highway is a traffic jam of tourists, most in convertibles and open air jeeps, stopping at every waterfall along the way to snap photos.  A lot of rain means gushing waterfalls, but on an overcast day the aesthetics are lost to the dim light and constant drizzle.

It’s probably more important that we arrived safe & sound.  There are often mudslides that take out big chunks of the mountainside, covering the road.  Fallen trees after storms are another problem.  It’s so common to have obstructions along your path, that residents (even elderly “aunties”) keep machetes in their car to clear minor debris off the roadway so they can get home.  If you live in some of the lower lying areas on the ocean side of the highway, it’s also not uncommon to have your main access road flooded out after heavy rains.  So much so that residents along particular roads (Lower Nahiku) will plan short-term stays with friends or relatives on higher ground when major rains are forecast.

I look forward to wandering back across the highway when the weather improves.

]]> http://sixweeksaway.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/rainy-road-to-hana/feed/ 0 staciemichelle Maui from the sky stacie-dad stacie-angela backseat view sharp turn on one lane bridge drive-by waterfall http://sixweeksaway.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/the-rest-of-southern-california/ http://sixweeksaway.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/the-rest-of-southern-california/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:42:35 +0000 staciemichelle http://sixweeksaway.wordpress.com/?p=421 ]]> After a long, hot day at Disneyland having too much fun with friends, I slept a good, hard sleep at the home of my aunt Shelly.

Sunday morning I hopped in my aunt’s car and made my way to another part of the vast L.A. outcroppings to visit with some of my dad’s side of the family.  I had just seen them last April and the April before that, both for sad circumstances, but it was good to see them again.  My cousins had no trouble convincing me to play Rock Band with them as I am a shameless Guitar Hero addict.

The time passed quickly, especially since I don’t often get to see my extended family.  The Johnson side is as goofy and silly as they come, so time tends to disappear when we’re together.  With a satisfied smile I returned to my aunt’s home to prepare for another family dinner.

It was kind of a girls-only night as dinner consisted of my mom’s two sisters, one cousin and a great aunt.  I hadn’t seen this side of the family in about 5 years or so.  As you can imagine, we had lots to share.

My cousin Jamie had wed a few years ago and I had the occasion to meet her then fiancee the last time I saw her.  But this time we got to talk about marriage, making friends as adults and their upcoming move to Atlanta, GA.  It was nice to connect as adults, but with the fun memories of our time together as children forming the base.

My aunts interviewed me about life in general, as they are wont to do. My great aunt Sally was a joy to talk with: Standing outside, talking about furry companions, Sally tells me she got her two cats because she’s alone in her house and “you know, I’m dying every day.”  To which I replied, “Really?!  Guess what Sally?  So am I!”  Much laughter ensued.

We said our farewells a short while after sunset.  Another pleasant night passed too fast.

I had anticipated Monday being a rough day as Aunt Shelly & I were going to spend part of the day with my grandparents.  Afflicted with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, they have gone downhill very fast in the last few years which has been difficult for everyone.  My mom’s mom, my Grandma Pat, was always one of my most favorite family members.  I have always adored her energy & spirit, her kindness & generosity; her intelligence, silliness and forthrightness.  It is also difficult because as much as I am my mother’s daughter, she is awful similar to her mom as well.  I often say that I’m not afraid of getting old because I know how I will look my entire life – I just look at my mom and her mom…it puts me at ease about it and even has me sometimes looking forward to it!

There can be fun and joy in visiting with my grandparents.  Due to their mental state, they waft in and out of the sort of reality that we all know so well.  Often this can mean nonsensical comments and utter ridiculousness.  Like the time my grandma insisted that we had to save our poop so we could put it in the freezer to eat later.  Or when my grandpa told someone to get his checkbook from behind the front wheel of the car.  There are moments of lucidity, often when my grandma and I are alone.  But she startles easily in those brief spans of quiet, clear togetherness and can dip back into her dementia all too easily.  It can be very difficult, but I find myself cherishing every single second I have with her, even if we only sit in silence while I hold her hand.

The best part of my family visits, though, was the time I got to spend with my aunt Shelly.  We haven’t had many opportunities over the years to get to know each other, but sometimes time saves the best for last, as the saying goes.  It turns out that not only do we have a lot in common, our perspectives on much of the world and on people, what we work through on a daily basis is much the same.  We talked non-stop when in each other’s presence over the few days we had together and every moment was wonderful.  We laughed a lot while connecting in honest, profound ways.  For that I am very grateful.