On November 1, the clocks will turn backwards for most of you. Shorter days and longer nights, is that the deal?

Our clocks won’t change in Hawaii. Hawaiian Time is real time, all the time. Hawaiian Time used to mean  being a little late for a meeting. Nowadays, being late is not a good thing. It is still OK to be on Hawaiian Time for a party, though. Fashionably late seems to be a universal thing, anyway.

I recall being late for my first session in Critical Analysis at graduate school. I honestly could not find the classroom. (Dumb local.) I walked in 10 minutes late and made a comment on Hawaiian Time. The professor didn’t appreciate it. Since then, my impression that omniscient professors exist has dissolved. You can imagine the rest of my term there.

So don’t set your watches ahead or behind when you travel to Hawaii. In fact, leave them at home. The flight attendant will announce the local time just before landing.

A neighbor’s dog is barking. That reminds me.

If you have a pet  you’d like to bring with you on vacation, be sure to ask if pets are allowed in the unit. Your local veterinarian will give you all the information you need before boarding the plane. Avoid being stuck on Maui with a pet that has to spend its vacation in a kennel.

The condo units that we list on our website do not allow pets.

A person can’t camp on the beach these days without a permit from the County of Maui, and only at specific beaches.

However, when we could camp out we’d pack enough supplies to last the weekend-a big cooler with lots of ice, a couple of cast iron pots for cooking and a project to keep me busy while my partner fished for our dinners; air mattresses, sheets and pillows neatly folded into plastic bags in case of a drizzle. I doubt that we even had sun block in those days.

Then we’d find a shady spot under the kiawe (mesquite) trees and park. Our beds were set up in the back of our truck under stars peeking through the leaves and branches. Occasionally one shot across the sky scape.

Morning coffee and breakfasts set over the smoky campfire, I watch the sparkling clear water glisten under the midday sun and read through the afternoon.

Our dinner was the bounty from the ocean-fresh fish or squid. Cheap and delicious over red glowing charcoal.

Makena’s Big Beach was like that-a long time ago.

Monday being the day after the weekend, I forgot to blog. I was busy noticing the subtle weather changes and how time is slowing down. That reminds me of what Kihei is like during slow season. The beaches are nearly empty, traffic slows down and dinner conversations are audible. My mind relaxes.

If you are fortunate enough to vacation during October and before Thanksgiving, you can also experience what I’m talking about. Kihei almost (I said almost) returns to its idyllic yesterdays. Shadows lengthen on the warm sand, leisure walks along the lazy traffic and that mai tai tastes a little better at sunset.

Pidgin English are simple phrases that cut to the chase. Questions are usually asked, “You like eat?” rather than “Would you like to eat?”or “Where you going?” instead of “Where are you going?”

You might run into these ear puzzling questions:
“You ready for order?” (”You ready fo awda?”) means “Are you ready to order?”
“Where you from?”(Whea you from?”) means “Where are you from?”
“Come, we go.” means “Let’s go.”
“Where the bathroom?” (Whea da batchroom?”) means-”Where’s the Ladies/Men’s Room?”

Be polite and ask the speaker to slowly repeat what he/she just said. You will probably hear the drift of the conversation just by listening closely. Be patient.

Pidgin English (in Hawaii) is an official language, believe it or not. We have used it to communicate for more than three generations, and in linguistic terms-that makes it real.

I’ve been asked, “What is local food?”

Local food is the collective of all the foods we’ve enjoyed since immigration started in the late 19th century. The Chinese came first to work on the roads and water tunnels, then Japanese, Puerto Ricans, Europeans, Koreans, Filipinos and Afro-Americans from Alabama came soon after to work in the sugarcane fields.

Don’t forget the East Coast missionaries who recognized the financial potential in Hawaii and campaigned for immigrant  workers. History books do not say that they shared their food or taught the Hawaiians how to cook it, but don’t take my word for it. Maybe that’s how I learned to eat “mush” in the morning.

Nevertheless, we locals learned how to eat each other’s food through our forefathers who labored in the fields. While they ate together and learned each other’s languages (from whence came Pidgin English), they also shared recipes. Thus, my Filipino father would come home with a new way of preparing mochiko chicken (Japanese) or kidney stew (Portuguese), neither of which were common in our Filipino diet.

The ideal way of sampling all these wonderful local foods is by ordering them in an authentic restaurant-Chinese, Japanese, etc. Look out for the two scoops of rice and macaroni salad if you’re watching your waistline.

Here’s a sampler of local foods that you might like:

Saimin – Japanese ramen noodles with homemade broth. Old restaurants used to have their signature broths. Unfortunately, these restaurants are no more. The closest to that would be a Vietnamese soup.

Kalbi – Korean short ribs that is a must.

Adobo – Filipino marinated beef, chicken or pork.

Pinakbet – Filipino vegetable ratatouille. The secret of recognizing local men. If they order it, you know they’re from Hawaii.

Roast Duck – Chinese succulent duck with five spice and other spices.

Gau Chee – Chinese deep fried dumplings. Oh, yum.

Pateles – Puerto Rican pork wrapped with mashed green bananas.

Kalua Pig – Hawaiian roasted pull pork out of a ground oven.

Poi – Hawaiian staple made from Taro. The best. Fresh poi is very dark purple. The lighter it gets, the sourer it is.

Rice – All locals eat rice.

Incidentally, spaghetti and tacos might be considered as local food now. No kidding.

There are more to this list and I could go on, but I’ll get hungry thinking about them. I can’t name the restaurants that I consider wonderful, but if you ask I will.

Aerosmith scheduled for October 20, 2009 at the Maui Arts and Culture Center. Get your tickets online if you haven’t arrived on Maui yet. They go out fast. You can have a paper plate dinner there too for around $15.

Travel time from Kihei to Kahului is about 25-30 minutes. Lots of parking across the street from the center or in the center’s parking lot if you are early.

http://mauiarts.org

I returned from a three day weekend in California last night where the weather was pretty cool, dry and cloudy.

There is a young person, just over four months old who I went to visit. Her parents live in Venice, California. She and my granddaughter have about two weeks between each other in age. I also spent time with her grandfather who is on his way back to Maui from Australia.

If you have spoken to me over the telephone in the last three months, you know that I am also in Nevada visiting my new granddaughter who was born in June. I’ll be here until December, doing condo business from my temporary desk next to a window under a shady mesquite tree. This is really wonderful that I’m able to conduct condo business while getting to know my granddaughter. The computer actually lets me be human. Imagine that.

For convenience, our website’s real time availability function allows guests to check their dates and rates on their own. But we notice that our return guests like to call and chat. This is great because I get to know them a little more. If possible, I can assist with some extra details that can enhance their stay. Of course, I also brag about our new additions to our families.

So if you are a person who likes to chat, give us a call. I’ll let you know how my granddaughter is doing. Or if you dislike small talk, go directly to our website and click on the “Check Rates” button. It will give you real time availability every 30 minutes.

In any case, we look forward to hearing from you.

I just read that President Barack Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize.  Ten points for Hawaii just because he grew up here.

Anyway, I’m off for the weekend and won’t have the computer with me. Your messages will be answered by the boss himself. Be kind to him. He’s a very nice person. Who knows, he might take a chance at blogging.

We’re also pleased to announce that we have a 7th Night Free special for the month of February 2010. That is a first in our history that we’ve given any specials in February. Hope you’re able to take advantage of it.

I’ll be back at the blog next Tuesday.

Aloha!

I’m sure your list of things to do on  Maui is longer than my arm, but consider adding these three things.

First, visit the Sugar Cane Museum in Pu`unene, next to the sugar mill. It has a complete history of the plantation days on Maui. Our parents lived on the plantation, sometimes next to the fields where they toiled.

Second,visit the old Maui High School in Hamakuapoko, above Ho`okipa to see the mission-style administration building designed by Charles W. Dickey.

Third, visit the oldest school west of the Rockies-Lahaina Luna High School, above Lahaina town.

These visits may give you an idea of what Maui was like when I was growing up.