Hawaii's Favorite Snack

Photo Courtesy Flickr
So what is it? It's Spam Musubi!

It's like sushi, except that the protein is Spam. They grill it, put it on top of rice and usually use the seaweed as a wrap to hold it together. They're found everywhere - convenience stores, supermarkets, and local restaurants.

I'm an adventurous eater, a food snob, a "foodie" if you wilI...but I draw the line at "mystery meat." Have you tried Spam?

Aloha!

Personalized Plates a'Plenty

In Hawaii, everything is more fun, including vehicles. My car, which has a Texas registration sticker, my base stickers, and the parking decal for the garage at work all on my front left windshield, looks sparse compared to some of the exterior "accesorization" going on here.

First of all, yes, people here do have hula girls on their consoles, and yes, they do have aloha-print car seat covers. There are also aloha steering wheel covers and leis hanging from rear-view mirrors.

I've seen countless ' in memoriam' vinyls taking up the entire rear windows. And instead of the stick figures seen typically on mini-vans on the mainland, Hawaiians have their own (cute) version - flip flops, dolphins, and turtles. Fun!

But the most entertaining, at least for someone who is once again stuck in traffic (after two blissful years!), is looking for personalized license plates. I've been taking pictures for the past couple of weeks and I'd love to share them with you!

I apologize for the quality of the pictures in advance - they're taken from my phone, and while driving -0ops, did I just admit to a driving infraction?

Enjoy!

"My Bunny"


IDRNKCOKE - so what?

"June 20" - ?

"Grammy" - I can tell by your driving.

I guess this answers who made all the dents in the car.

I'm more of a Huffle girl myself

Aloha!

People you may not have known are Hawaiian

In this first edition of "People you may not have known are Hawaiian" (how's that for a long title?), I'm featuring Jack Johnson! If you're a fan of his, then you may have known this already. If you're not a fan, what's wrong with you?? Just kidding...you probably don't know much about him.

Here are some quick facts: He's from the North Shore in Oahu (my FAVORITE area), started surfing at age 5, but stopped after a bad surfing incident that left him with more than 150 stitches. He is an environmentalist, is involved in the local community, and he has my all-time favorite name for a boy (yup, that's a fact!)

If you ever feel like going to the beach but can't get there, his music will take you on a mental vacation!

Here's the video for "You and Your Heart" - from his new CD To The Sea.

You can get more info on Jack Johnson and his music at his website: www.jackjohnsonmusic.com
(when I first looked him up, I put in jackjohnson.com and got a resort developer - maybe I should become a fan of them too!)

The Green Scene

Orchid Leis are very popular. This is one of the many we received when we arrived to the Honolulu airport.

My favorite tree: the Red Ti Tree. The pictures don't do it justice.

Hawaiian State flower: the yellow hibiscus. We have a bush full of them, but I guess they're shy - only two of them posed for their close-ups.

Don't you just LOVE the vibrant green!

How do you say......in Hawaiian?

I've been here a few months and have picked up the lingo. They locals say that my Hawaiian pronunciation is pretty good.

Here are a few simple words to get you started:

Aloha (n.) Hello, goodbye, I love you. (ok, ok, everyone knows this one already)
Aloha, have a great night!

Haole - (n.) slang for a non-native Caucasian.
Look at the hauli trying to surf!

Mahalo - (n.) thank you.
Mahalo for removing your sandy shoes.

Keiki - (n.) child.
It's such a beautiful day, I think I'll take my keiki to the park!

Pupu - (n.) appetizer, snack
My favorite pupu is coconut battered fried shrimp, yah?

Stay tuned for more "Hawaiian" words in future posts!

Aloha for now!