March 2010Monthly Archives

Saving Hawaii

Hawaii can pride itself with the sheer amount of Nature Conservation implemented in the last few decades, which has led to preserving the original flora and fauna of the Islands and, in some cases, has reversed some devastating effects of invasive non-species and restoring more areas back to almost pristine qualities.

Much of the beautiful island of Kauai, the ‘Garden Island’, has been designated as a critical habitat and is under state protection and private conservation. This is one of the main reasons that Kauai has the biggest area of untouched wilderness and more of green vistas per capita, which are away from the beachfront resorts. This Garden Island , has the best ecological, eco-friendly efforts when it comes to saving its pristine quality. Kauai has assigned the lodging taxes to help fund efforts like the eradication of feral pigs, wetland restoration and removal of invasive plants. More visitors are coming to the island and are willing to respect its fragile nature.

The Big Island (also known as Hawaii), boasts of its Waipio Valley, a place where the road ends on its northeast coast; the pavement often ends at Hawaii’s most beautiful places. There are glistening waterfalls, verdant taro fields, and on the east side is Molokai, which is at the end of an even longer paved road, is the lush Valley of Halawa. This area has even fewer modern-day inhabitants than Waipio, and tortuous claim the one lane road. This Big Island place will rewards the steadfast traveler with Halawa Park with its twin beaches of Kawili and Maalaea that are only separated by a rocky point. A guide is necessary or permission from the families living there to hike into the rear of the valley, because like Kauai, the Big Island also takes pride in conserving what natural beauty is left.

The conservation area in Maui, is located on the western side of the island. It’s ecological systems are comprised lowlands to high mountain elevations, where Maui’s watershed is maintained and protected by the Maui Watershed Partnership . the West Maui Conservations Area is protected and managed by both public and private land owners. Most visitors to Maui , will reap the rewards of all the hard work the residence have done in order to maintain and preserve Maui’s natural beauty like the islands Turtle Bay, the Hale’akela Volcano, and Paia’s surfing beaches.

Lisa

March 29, 2010

Outdoors

0 comments

garden island

Kings Dominion in Virigina

Kings Dominion should be on the list of things to do and see for anybody who is in the state of Virginia as a resident or has chosen to come for vacation. There are plenty of rides to explore for children and adults of all ages. If you go to Kings Dominion be sure to get there early because there is so much to do and see you will want to have as much time as possible. After a long day of exploring the park and screaming at the top of your lungs you will definitely be tired and worn down. The best option after a day such as that would be to get a room at albemarle hotels and relax. Be sure to live your hotel early however because there is nearly a two hour ride between Kings Dominion and Albemarle.
There are so many different types of rides and sections at kings dominion that it may take a few trips to see it all and ride each one. The Intimidator 305 is the tallest and fastest roller coaster of its type on the East Coast. Only the second “Giga-coaster” ever built in North America the lift hill will stand a towering 305 feet at its highest peak then it descends 300 feet at an 85 degree-angle and thunders along the track at speeds in excess of 90 miles per hour during its three minute race to the finish. It is a nonstop thrill ride.
For the children there is a section of the park called Planet Snoopy that has a large number of rides that are suitable for small children to enjoy. The rides for the children are inspired by locations and characters from the Charlie Brown comics and cartoon series. A few of the rides go by the names; Flying Aces, in this ride the guest sit in seats that are lifted up to 85 feet in the air and spun around in circles. Those are just a couple of the rides that are featured at Kings Dominion but there are many more and also lives shows are put on and there are many different places to eat a good meal and get some dessert on a warm day.

Lisa

March 25, 2010

Travel

0 comments

kings dominion

Hughes and Missouri

Southeastern Missouri has a charm and a mysterious quality that bears repeating through multiple visits. Constantly making new connections, and investing its own thought in its future, there are many possibilities to explore the cities here as well as the small towns. There are fantastic things to look into, but none of them is as rewarding, perhaps, as looking a bit into the life of the great poet, Langston Hughes .

Born in Joplin in 1902, Langston Hughes was to have a remarkable career as a poet, enjoying a kind of success that is often only bestowed posthumously, although his immortality seems to be gaining in strength every day. There is nothing short-sighted about the words, which prove themselves more and more prophetic with each passing decade.

This is a find reason to visit the accommodations and enjoy what might be one of the most interesting times spent in a small town. Of course, there will likely be many moments of very delightful bliss, looking at a day that’s meant for relaxing and some delicious food. Making people feel welcome is a habit that gets learned, and it certainly circulates in the air here.

Missouri’s reputation is made on sentiments like Hughes ‘, who wrote so many remarkable things that touch generation after generation, and continue to explore the margins, looking for the empty spaces that seem filled with meaning, and only find words, hinting at something deeper, some deeper reason why this must be so. Moving from Missouri to Europe as an ex-pat, and to New York as a literary darling, there are more worlds in his life than most writers get to visit in their imaginations. And at the end of the day, what really is important is that agreement between the musician and the man behind the stove.

Traditional Japanese Attire

“I don’t have a thing to wear!” Boy, haven’t I heard those words before. Growing up in a house full of women, I think I heard this phrase every Friday and Saturday night, if not more often. Where am I going with this? Well, to Japan of course, to discuss the kimono, their traditional garment. The kimono literally means “thing to wear.” Although it sounds like something you could throw on in a minute, it is quite the opposite. Most Japanese women are unable to put on a kimono without the help of another. It has twelve pieces that must be worn, matched and secured precisely, requiring many to hire a professional kimono dresser. There are many types of kimono styles and fabrics that can be worn depending on the formality of the event. For a casual event the fabric is cotton, while for a formal event, silk. A kimono will use one bolt of fabric which comes in a standard size and is sewn by hand. While some kimonos are dry cleaned, historically all were un-sewn prior to washing and then re-sewn. Imagine if you had to do that for all your clothing! This was a very expensive process and may have caused a decline in its popularity over the years.

Men’s kimonos (yes, men wear them too) are much simpler and consist of five pieces. The colors are traditionally dark and subdued for formal events while the casual kimono utilizes slightly brighter colors. For the most formal events the kimono is black and is worn with white undergarments. Not quite a kimono tux, but the same idea. A child’s kimono is much like the adult’s, only smaller. They are just as elaborate and usually very colorful. Many take as long to put on as the adult kimonos. Kimonos are seasonal as well. Much like American fashion, colors and patterns are worn based on the season. It is common to see bright and floral patterns in spring, autumn colors and patterns in fall and bamboo or pine tree patterns in winter.

Occasionally, you can find a restaurant where traditional Japanese attire is donned by the servers. Fuki Sushi in Palo Alto, California is one such place. Patrons are charmed and awed by the lovely kimonos. So the next time you think you do not have a thing to wear, think of the Japanese kimono and I am sure you will find something.

What is the Job of a Property Manager?

A property manager is hired by a property owner for the rather obvious reason of managing their property, but what does that mean? A property manager’s duties usually include marketing empty properties to potential buyers, filling vacancies with the best tenants, maintaining the property to keep it in the best possible condition, tracking income, expenses, and determining profitability of the property locations, negotiate rental agreements, collect rent and deposits, keeps all things up to date and legal, responds to resident complaints and deals with difficult residents. All of this is a big job, but you might still be wondering why you would want to hire someone else to take care of it for you.

There can be a number of reasons you might hire a property manager to take care of your properties for you. One reason is someone who owns multiple places, or even multiple apartment complexes. It is hard to run all of them on your own, and a property manager will have other staff that can take care of all of these places. If you live out of town, or out of state from the place(s) you rent out, it is a good idea to have a property manager. They will have better connections to get good tenants into the house, as well as it being easier on you to not have to travel to your rentals to fix things. If you live in town and you only have one place you are renting out it can still be a good idea to get a property manager because they have connections and knowledge you don’t.

A property manager has usually been doing this a number of years, or knows other property managers who can help him. This means that they know what a fair asking price for rent is on the market right now. There are some tenants that will only rent through a reputable property management team . This is because they know that if they rent from a good property manager they will be taken care of if anything goes wrong. Which is the other nice part about hiring someone else to take care of your renters, you don’t have to take any time out of your life to help them out when something goes wrong, and if history has anything to say about it, there will be a problem at some point.

Some Yummy Eats in Boulder

Part of spending time in another city, town or country is to enjoy the foods and traditions that are from the local area. People are such creatures of habit when they are in their own environment and it is all a part of the thrill of traveling to get out of the habits and into something different. Got to love the varieties in life. There are some good places to eat while staying in Boulder Colorado and the near by towns. Boulder is definitely home to some award winning chefs most of them have moved to the area for the quality of life and that has let to a great quality in meals for the locals in the visitors. Boulder residence are also into eating good clean organic and fresh foods and there is a farm fresh approach to dining in this mountain town. For some wonderful Italian food head to Frasca which serves up amazing dishes in an elegant atmosphere.

To par up the great food there are also some notable breweries and wineries in the area. Many of the restaurants carry the locally brewed beers and there are a number of breweries that are serving up some tasty dishes. In between meals you may want to visit the tasting rooms of breweries like Avery Brewing Company . I bet you will find some of your new found favorites on the list at dinner. There are also a few wineries in the area that also have a fine tasting room. Let someone else drive you to the tasting rooms at wineries like Bookcliff Vineyards, Boulder Creek Winery, Redstone Meadery and The Blending Cellar for not only some good wine but some delicious tapas to top it off. There is so much to taste not far from your elegant room in your quaint hotel of Boulder Colorado.

Kolaches in Pittsburgh

For many people, the idea of Pittsburgh conjures up images of a grey industrial city, where there’s people who work, and people who watch football, and they’re usually the same people. There is a very strong work ethic here, and the Steelers are loved by nearly all, but there’s a bit more to the place than all this. Its reputation in industry hit rough times in the 70s, and it hasn’t recovered its glory as a manufacturing town, but it certainly has reached other heights in its multiple identities, and there’s always more than meets the eye here.

The downtown is really spectacular, with a very lively arts community. It’s not just the Andy Warhol museum, or the presence of Carnegie Mellon, but these certainly help. The citizens here are genuinely committed to making this city a center for visual and aural art forms, and the public events are usually refreshingly well-attended, and the atmosphere is fairly wonderful. There are also pittsburgh luxury hotels that speak to an elegance that merges old world customs and contemporary convenience. There are also spectacular used bookstores, great waterfront activities, and hidden gems everywhere you go. The mix of cultures that built Pittsburgh is still very much part of the fabric of everyday life, and there is a great diversity here. There’s a fairly strong Slavic community here, including Czech-descended people.

You don’t have to be Czech, however, to visit Cafe Kolache . Nestled on the main street in Beaver, one of the suburbs to the north, Kolache’s was started a few years ago by Kristi De Maiolo . She moved here from Houston, where there is also a large Czech population. There, kolaches are served in coffee shops and bakeries, but she noticed that there weren’t places in town to get them. Traditional families would prepare them from traditional recipes, but there’s no reason not to enjoy them in public. It’s a kind of sweet bread, in small squares, filled with meat or fruits or fillings, and when they’re warm, they’re delicious. They’re actually delicious any temperature, and this little neighborhood coffee shop is a fantastic place to go on a rainy day. With free wi-fi, and all the cool midwestern charm you could ever hope for, it’s a taste that’s contagious.