Totes

With an estimated 2 million feral cats wandering the Hawaiian Islands, you are bound to meet a furry friend during your time in Hawaii. The Big Island is home to about half the feral cats, while Maui houses about 500,000, Oahu 300,000, and Kaua’i 15,000. Cats first arrived to the Hawaiian Islands around 1840 when European colonists landed with cats aboard their ships being used as natural rodent-control. Upon arriving at the Hawaiian Islands, the cats’ population flourished as they had no natural predators to regulate their population. Just like you are likely to see some free-range chickens clucking around, you will see some feral kitties purring and prowling the beaches of Hawaii.

As with many early air carriers, Western Airlines began in 1925 as a mail carrier service. Based in California, Western went through many stages over its sixty plus year existence. When it began serving as a commercial airline it initially focused on the Western United States. In 1969 it began offering service to Honolulu and Hilo with high end service which they called The Islander routes. During its prime in the 1970's and 1980's Western increased it's service to Hawaii and also offered flights to Kahului and Kona. In 1986 Western entered into a merger with Delta Airlines, and the Western Airlines name was retired.

In the Hawaiian language, Lahaina means “merciless sun” characterizing the arid climate. Legend has it, a bald ali’i (chief) was walking without a hat feeling the relentless sun beating down on his head, looking upwards he cursed the sun. During the 19th century, Lahaina became the center of the global whaling industry. Although Lahaina was the capital of Hawaii in the early 1800s, the capital was moved back to Honolulu in 1845 because it offered a deeper harbor for the growing number of whaling ships. Eventually, Lahaina became a favorite tourist destination, immersing visitors in its incredible natural beauty and educating them on native Hawaiian culture. Sadly, in August 2023, a wildfire decimated most of Lahaina. More than 11,000 people had to evacuate. The Pacific Disaster Center estimates the damage around $5.52 billion. Our thoughts and prayers are with Lahaina during recovery.

Today, the three-hour drive to Hana is a popular tourist attraction, famous for its rich cultural history and exquisite natural landscapes. In 1962, the Hana Highway formed when 52 miles of land were paved to connect Kahului in east Maui to Hana. Although 56 one-lane bridges and 617 curves in the road make the highway a famed tourist attraction, the historical sites along the drive are a window into Maui’s cultural past. Popular sites include the cave where the wife of Hawaii’s King Kamehameha I, Queen Ka’ahumanu, was birthed, and the grave and home of Charles Lindbergh, the first American aviator to fly the world’s first transatlantic flight. Beautiful waterfalls, tropical gardens, unique Hawaiian shops, and intriguing historical sites reveal the renowned beauty of Maui along the road to Hana.

In the Hawaiian language, Lahaina means “merciless sun” characterizing the arid climate. Legend has it, a bald ali’i (chief) was walking without a hat feeling the relentless sun beating down on his head, looking upwards he cursed the sun. During the 19th century, Lahaina became the center of the global whaling industry. Although Lahaina was the capital of Hawaii in the early 1800s, the capital was moved back to Honolulu in 1845 because it offered a deeper harbor for the growing number of whaling ships. Eventually, Lahaina became a favorite tourist destination, immersing visitors in its incredible natural beauty and educating them on native Hawaiian culture. Sadly, in August 2023, a wildfire decimated most of Lahaina. More than 11,000 people had to evacuate. The Pacific Disaster Center estimates the damage around $5.52 billion. Our thoughts and prayers are with Lahaina during recovery.

Elvis, the King of Rock and Roll is perhaps the best known name in 20th century music and entertainment. During his 23 year career Elvis would craft music that would sell over 600 million albums, and star in 31 feature films. During his illustrious career Hawaii would become almost a second home to Elvis, who would not only film 3 of his movies on The Islands, but also made it one of his favorite vacation spots. In addition to filming Blue Hawaii, Girls! Girls! Girls! and Paradise, Hawaiian Style, he would also perform several concerts in Hawaii, including his famous 1973 TV concert special, Elvis, Aloha from Hawaii.

Founded in 1961 by Gordon "Grubby" Clark in Laguna Niguel, California, Clark Foam revolutionized the surfing industry by producing polyurethane foam blanks. These blanks provided a basic surfboard construction for shapers to refine into their own individual models, and the blanks themselves were actually designed for Clark by such legendary shapers as Dale Velzy and Dick Brewer. At one point before closing in 2005, it is estimated that Clark supplied about 90% of all surfboard blanks in the entire world.

Today, the three-hour drive to Hana is a popular tourist attraction, famous for its rich cultural history and exquisite natural landscapes. In 1962, the Hana Highway formed when 52 miles of land were paved to connect Kahului in east Maui to Hana. Although 56 one-lane bridges and 617 curves in the road make the highway a famed tourist attraction, the historical sites along the drive are a window into Maui’s cultural past. Popular sites include the cave where the wife of Hawaii’s King Kamehameha I, Queen Ka’ahumanu, was birthed, and the grave and home of Charles Lindbergh, the first American aviator to fly the world’s first transatlantic flight. Beautiful waterfalls, tropical gardens, unique Hawaiian shops, and intriguing historical sites reveal the renowned beauty of Maui along the road to Hana.

Believe it or not, Hawaii does, indeed, have an interstate highway. Now, you ask, how can an island have an interstate highway? Well, U.S. law states that federal highway funds can be used as long as the proposed highway connects military bases. Oahu’s Honolulu Highway, known to locals as  “H1,” connects Pearl Harbor with Diamond Head, which used to be home to Fort Ruger. The first portions of the H1 opened in 1953, and over a half century later, H1 still enables locals and visitors alike to explore the beautiful island of Oahu. There are also interstates H2 and H3, which completed in 1997, has arguably some of the most beautiful views of any US highway.

Originally founded in 1946 under the name Trans-Pacific Airlines, Aloha Airlines was launched by Ruddy F Tongg, Sr. with the concept of having an airline to connect California, Hawaii, and China.  In its earlier years, the company was focused primarily on inter-island flights in Hawaii and its service quickly led to the airline earning the nickname "The Aloha Airline", a name which was incorporated into the official name TPA-The Aloha Airline in 1950.  In 1958, the company dropped the TPA portion of its name and would move into the future under the Aloha Airlines name.  During the late 50's and into the 60's, Aloha Airlines would remain near the front of the rapidly evolving airline industry technologies.  They were the second airline in the United States to move completely to a strictly turbine operated fleet.  By 1966 they were already making the push into an all-jet fleet that would eventually feature Boeing 737-200 jets that were fondly nicknamed "Funbirds".  Aloha would continue to offer inter-island service as well as flights to the US Mainland until it eventually ceased operation in 2008.  Although Aloha Airlines no longer operates it played a significant role in Hawaii's aviation history and opened up access to Hawaii's islands to generations of passengers.