Monday, July 31, 2006

Maui Reviews

We went to Maui for vacation last January. A couple weeks after we got back, we had some friends go over. I put together some observations on a few of the places we went. I figured if anyone else wanted to know what I thought about some touristy things to do on the island, they could. So here are

MARK AND ERICA'S MAUI REVIEWS

Some of our favorites:

Grandma’s Coffee Shop for breakfast – Erica likes the Belgian waffle with fresh fruit. Mark likes the Bullseye, a modern Polynesian dish consisting of sticky rice covered with a layer of corned beef hash, covered with a couple of fried eggs, covered with a spiral of ketchup and circled with grilled slices of spam…..mmmm, tasty.

Coffee refills will cost you 50 cents apiece but it is good coffee. Just be forewarned.

For a nice walk after breakfast, go left at the fork in the road and then take an immediate right at the next fork in the road about 20 yards up. There isn’t much traffic and there are some spectacular views. Nice and relaxing. We turned around at the gate for the bed and breakfast but you can go further but the road isn’t as nice.


Directions from Paia: Take Highway 390 (I think this is the road where you’ll be staying) several miles up to Makawao, turn right on Makawao Avenue. You will pass the massage school in a strip mall on your right and continue heading south. The road ends in a T intersection next to a store called the Pukalani Superette. Turn left there (Haleakala Highway) and then turn right at the next light onto the Kula Highway (Hwy 37). You will stay on the Kula Highway and travel several miles to Grandmas. It is on the right side of the road right next to a gas station.

Paia Fish Company (or something like that) - On the corner in Paia on the main strip and Baldwin Avenue. Any of the fish burgers are really good. Our favorite is the mahi-mahi. If you are eating fries, just get a side order of fries with two burgers. If you order the fries with the burger, you don’t get as much so get a side and share it.

They serve a couple of local beers which are pretty good. I had the Longboard Lager. It has just a hint of sweetness but I liked it. It gets busy right around lunch time. If it’s busy when you go in, you’ll need to keep on eye on seats and maybe one of you sits down while the other orders so you have a place to sit and eat when the food is ready.

Kimo’s in Lahaina for lunch – About half way down the main strip in Lahiana on the ocean side. Tasty lunch selections for a reasonable amount of money. You can sit outside and look at the ocean while you eat. Dinner is real expensive – their menu changes in the evening and it becomes a fancy dinner place. Excellent mai-tais. I don’t know how the beers are, didn’t have one…Sorry, Steve.

Fred’s Mexican Food in Kihei – I was leery eating Mexican at a place called “Fred’s” but the sun was setting on the ocean, we were in the mood for a Margarita, and no other place looked good. I was surprised and delighted on every level. The food was good, the margaritas were excellent and the service was delightful. I suggest the fried calamari for an appetizer. It’s not the chewy, rubbery, crispy ring-things you’re used to on the mainland. These are real chunks of meat lightly breaded and fried. Tacos were fresh. And our server, Alison, was great and finished every interaction with the casual flash of the ‘hang loose’ sign and a “right on”. If you time your dinner right (about 5:30 or 6:00) you can sit outside and watch the sun set onto the ocean. If you request a seat outside you’ll have to wait a bit more but it’ll be worth it.
This is located in the southern part of Kihei on the main strip next to the beach. It is just south of where the Denny’s is located.

Pineapple Grill in Kapalua – If you are looking to have a fancy meal and spend lots of money doing it, there are a ton of places on Maui to do that. A friend of my folks just opened this restaurant in Kapalua and it is pretty damn good so we recommend it.

The owner is a guy named Chris Kaiwi (pronounced kye-ee-vee). He used to run a restaurant called the Plantation but started this new place. If you are spoiling yourself, go here.

This place is spendy! My parents picked up the bill and I think it was close to $200. But we did order a $95 bottle of wine so dinner ran about $100.

Aloha Bike Tours – If you feel like riding a bike down the volcano, this is definitely the company to go with. Groups are small, you ride at your own pace, and actually pedal for several miles. It is a nice and relaxing experience with phenomenal views. Take a camera. A light breakfast is served beforehand and you get lunch at the winery afterwards. There are a couple extra routes you can ride if you are fit enough. The company is run by a former pro rider, but not the exclusionary type who is really into himself like the guys up at Canyon Bicycles.
http://www.mauibike.com/
800-749-1564

Other Points of Interest:

Sugar Museum is BORING and not worth the time, effort or money. Don’t go.

Erica is a big fan of the Old Lahaina Luau. She insisted I put it on this list. It is one of the best luaus around. You'll get a buffet style Hawaiian dinner and it has a pretty good historical dance performance.

Hana Hou is a nice restaurant in the town of Haiku. It doesn’t look like much from the front. It’s in the back of a parking lot next to some sort of market (I think there is also a massage school in the complex, too). Good food. From the parking lot in the front, you wouldn't believe you’re on the edge of a rainforest. But once inside, you find out that you are out in the middle of a rainforest– a rainforest with avocado trees.

Kihei Canoe Club – if you are interested in trying outrigger canoe paddling, they have beginners days where the inexperienced can go out into Maalea Bay with an experienced instructor. Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 8:00 are for beginners. The cost is a tax-deductible $25. http://www.kiheicanoeclub.com/ 808-879-5505

Pollis is the Mexican restaurant in Makawao. Our experience this year was mediocre at best. The chips were cold, the food was fine and the service was borderline rude. We may have been there on a bad day but after flying a couple thousand miles across the Pacific, I hoped for a bit more from a Hawaiian eatery.

We had breakfast at a place called Moanas in Paia. Nice place, pleasant experience, and I had another rice, meat and egg type dish that I liked. Much like the breakfast at Grandma’s.

Pacific Whale Foundation whale cruises will get you out to the whales, and you can find pretty good deals for a couple of the cruises every day. If we hadn’t seen the two whales breach right in front of us, the whole experience wouldn’t have been that great. The cruise was late and no announcement was made to the group of us standing around. The captain was full of himself and was rude to Erica, and we got stuck sitting inside until we decded to just go out and stand on the front of the boat.

This company works to save the whales and whale habitat so I like my money going to that. Again, maybe it was a bad day for them and their A team wasn’t working. They do know where the whales are on any given day because they are studying them. So you will see whales. If you take this cruise, be sure you are toward the front of the group when loading onto the boat. This should be easy because you walk a couple hundred yards from the meeting place to the boat. So stand toward the back of the group as they talk and walk briskly. Once on the boat, you will want to sit at least four rows up. What happens is when whales are spotted, everyone from the inside and back of the boat stands in the front and as a result, they stand in front of those seated in the first couple of rows.

Friday, July 21, 2006

The Waiting Game

This has been the most waitingest week of all time for me.

Monday: The Stakeout

A 5 year old girl is missing. A big, organized search is going on in town. A 'person of interest' is questioned by police. The news gods in town decide that they need a shot of this person leaving the police station.

As a result, photographers from all the TV stations (me included) get to spend the entire day sitting/standing/pacing in an asphalt parking lot for their entire shifts. I arrive at 2:00 when my shift starts. Right at the hottest part of the day on one of the hottest days of the year. The brilliant part about this is that I was sent over without being told what I was doing so I didn't get to bring water, food or reading material.

When we are on a stakeout like this where we are waiting to get a shot of a person coming out of a building we never know when they'll come out. So we have our cameras set up aimed at a door while we stand/sit/pace next to them.

The problem is if this person comes rushing out and tries to leave quickly we have to jump into action and get our shot. Otherwise we miss the whole thing. If I were to miss the shot and we were the only station without it, it doesn't matter what I did on my last breaking news live shot or how many awards I've won, I'm in a lot of trouble. Same thing goes for all the other photogs. So every time a person walks outside for a smoke break, or to leave work, or to bring a bag full of garbage out, we all have to look at them to make sure they aren't our guy. Lucky for us, there was a patch of shade we were able to hang out in. I'm sure the sight of 4 guys with their big cameras, huddled in a small patch of shade in the parking lot amused many of the people working in the police station.

It turns out the cops let this guy go without charging him and they snuck him out of a side door. Eight hours worked and not a single frame of video shot.

Tuesday: At The Park

Little girl is still missing. There is an organized search and the command post is at a local park. The family is there and we need someone to be there 'just in case something happens." Meaning if the girl is found we can get reaction from searchers and family.

I don't have much to shoot since the day shift guys shot all the stories for the show. So I sit. I sit in the park with my camera and do alot of watching. I watch the family of the girl sit around and eat free food that has been donated by local businesses for the search. I watch the mom of this missing girl sit and smoke a pack of cigarettes while 8 months pregnant. I watch them sit and talk to friends and neighbors who come by the park to see how they are doing. I see a reporter for another station almost run over a guy biking through the park.

There is a press conference in the evening so I actually get to shoot some video for the day. Then a 20 year old girl wanders into traffic next to the park and gets hit by a car. So I get to cover that story too.

Wednesday: The Jury Deliberates

Good news: I'm not on the missing girl story. Bad news: I get to sit outside again for my entire shift.

A high profile case has gone to the jury. The defense didn't defend so it should be pretty cut and dried but they do need to discuss 15 counts. We know that they should come to a decision soon but we don't know exactly when. So we sit and wait.

TV cameras aren't allowed in the federal courthouse so we get to sit outside in front. There are no benches. There are no seats. There isn't any space for us to put our own chairs. There are some large planters that serve as a blockade for anyone who might want to drive a van full of explosives up the front steps. We can sit on these planters but they aren't comfortable and after a few minutes make your back hurt. This is where the news photographers sit/stand/pace during the day.

An interesting dynamic that develops during this kind of thing is how we end up being friends with our 'competition'. News producers look at the other stations as the enemy to be conquered and beaten in the ratings. Out in the field we obviously spend a lot of time with the reporters and photographers for the other stations. We chat. We get to know each other pretty well. I've spent more time with a couple of guys this week than I will all month with my wife. There's kind of a sense of camraderie amongst the worker bees. So these things are not always as bad as we like to think they are. I've worked at three of the four stations in Salt Lake so it's good to catch up with some of my former co-workers. Plus news photographers, by nature, like to bitch and moan a lot. So it's a great opportunity to do that.

We are on the shady side of the building and it's breezy. We talk about our equipment, our stations, how our freelance work is going, shows we've seen and other mundane crap to fill the afternoon.

The jury finally comes to a decision sometime around 7. Then it's back to work. Set up for a live shot. We cut into programming. Then rush back across the street to get reaction from family, prosecutors and jury. Then rush to the back of the courthouse to get a shot of the guy being taken back to jail. Then quickly write and edit the story and do another live shot at 9 for the news. The End for Wednesday.

Thursday: Internet Crimes Against Children

A little more activity for today. Local law enforcement is serving some arrest warrants on men who solicit sex from teenage girls on the internet. We are invited to go along and tape these dopes being arrested. I went to the police station to meet up with the cops. I found out that their meeting time was more of a suggestion. So we wait for everyone to show up and get briefed.

They wanted to serve eight warrants but for different reasons they only had four ready. They go out in teams to knock on doors and hope the suspects are home and then arrest them. This kind of thing is not nearly as exciting as the movies make it out to be. The proper term , I believe, is 'hurry up and wait'. There was no door smashing, or foot chases, or yelling or even resistance. One guy wasn't home so his dad (yes he's in his 40s and still lives with his parents) called him. We waited until he showed up and they took him into custody without incident.

One guy had moved out of state, another wasn't around. And the last guy answered the door when they knocked and gave up without a fight. So I got two arrests on video. Not too bad. I was hoping for more of a 'Cops' kind of an experience: running in and confronting some shirtless, toothless drunk while he's perpetrating some kind of devious act over the computer. But not this time. Now it's my weekend.

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Exhaustion

It started a couple months ago. I had a bout of insomnia where I sat awake until about 6 in the morning. I drifted off into an unsatisfactory slumber for a couple of hours before waking up again. I dragged my way through that day mostly in a stupor.

Physiologically I don’t know what happened to me. But I wouldn’t get a good night’s sleep for several weeks afterwards.

Most of the time I would have a hard time falling asleep at night, then get a few hours of unproductive sleep before getting up and feeling tired all day. At all times, I wanted to take a nap. The funny thing about that is when I could nap, I again couldn’t fall asleep. Granted, just laying there was a lot more enjoyable than walking around wanting to just lay there. But I never felt rested.

Eventually I stopped doing things I enjoyed. I couldn’t hike more than 20 minutes before exhaustion set in. I stopped working out. I felt beat and out of breath all the time.

I was able to remain functional in the important things: eating, working, and cleaning myself. But the quality and motivation for everything was lacking.

Every day became a painful mixture of exhaustion, headaches, weakness and confusion. Even if I did sleep for 8, 9, or 10 hours I still woke up feeling like a slug that had just been covered in salt. Obviously I wasn’t going to get better on my own so I broke down and went to the doctor.

“Well obviously you’re suffering from symptoms of sleep deprivation,” he told me after I described my symptoms.

Blood tests showed nothing other than I’m really normal. I slept with a blood-oxygen detector to see if I have sleep apnea (I don’t). So the doc’s theory was that my sleep patterns and bio-rhythms were so out of whack that we just needed to reset them.

He gave me a prescription for a medicine that has a side effect of extreme drowsiness. It works. I take one at the same time before bed and I’m out. After about a week I started feeling fully rested after a night’s sleep. Now I am tired by midnight and sleep restfully. I feel human again.

A couple months of inactivity did wreak havoc on my fitness levels but those should come back. It just sucks spending a good part of the hiking season getting back into shape.

Anyway, now I can spend a little more time keeping up with things here rather than lying around lamenting that I don’t have the energy to spend 10 minutes on the computer.