Month: January 2008

Book Contest: We Have a Winner!

First, thanks for sharing your stories. And also, (drum roll) meet celebrity judge, and writer of our prize, Chuck Thompson!

Seeing as how I know about half of the folks that entered, I didn’t think I would be able to pick my favorite without having personal stuff in the way. I asked the publicist if he’d ask Chuck Thompson if he’d pick my winner, and hey, he did. He might be cranky as hell about travel writing, but also, it seems he’s a Nice Guy. We’re probably not supposed to know that. Also, the publicist said he’d ship the prize, so I get to keep my copy – more nice guy stuff all around, and, let’s be real here, great marketing. Many thanks, guys!

Here’s a list of the entries:

From Chuck:

A word to all the non-winners: Through the years I’ve entered a number of contests (writing contests, song contests, NCAA bracket pools) and have never won a single one. It sucks not to be chosen, and I’m sorry for being part of the process of you not winning this time. I really am. I hate not winning, though since I’ve never won one of these things I’m not sure I’d handle victory any more graciously than defeat.


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What Do You Mean You Don’t Have A Ukulele?

If you had a uke, you might have had the pleasure of having the Nikkei Horizons Ukulele Band come to play for you and your ukulele club last weekend. If you had a uke, you might have learned that the old guy in their club is 90 and the youngest 11, and you might wonder …


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The Grind

The mill: I have a confession to make. We bought a treadmill. Stick with me while I rationalize for a bit, then go ahead with your well intentioned derision. See, the weather in the Pacific Northwest between November and oh, July, is vile. Not only is it cold and wet, but it’s damned dark. Usually …


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Hawaii: Two Day Trips Worth an Overnight

Visitors to Maui are bombarded with exhortations to head to Hana – and lots do. They stumble out of bed at the crack of dawn, fold themselves into the rental car, and barrel off to the little town at the end of the road, stopping here and there to admire the view, snap photos of the falls, and let oncoming traffic pass. Visitors to the Big Island use this same tactic to go to the volcano, flying through the little towns on the south side, missing the coffee stands and the wonders of South Point to get in and out of the National Park before dark. Hey, it works. If it didn’t work, fewer people would do these excursions as day trips. The West Hawaii to Volcano drive isn’t so bad, though the Hana drive takes forever and doing it in the dark is a trial.

There’s no need for any of that harried rushing about. Both Hana and Volcano are great places to stay the night. We were lucky enough to do so and because we did, we not only have a better sense of what’s there, but we’re psyched to spend more time in the places that are typically revolving door spots for visitors.


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