Hear Hawaii calling? Holly Ross has. She sent this reply to a recent blog post :
After a week on Oahu and discovering Haleiwa, I am irrevocably changed and having a hard time back in SF. I had never been so relaxed and at peace. Going back in January – already looking at houses and jobs.
Aloha, Hawaii!
Like Holly, I remember when I first fell in love with Hawaii almost 20 years ago. I fell hard, eventually uprooted my life and moved here, shining the Mainland grind forever. Before nearly everything was online, I had to learn about island living the hard way. Now it’s easy to pass along tips to make the transition from the Mainland easier. Here are a few that I’ve discovered.
Consult this book, So You Want to Live in Hawaii (2nd ed) by Toli Polancy. It’s a great place to start learning about all of Hawaii’s cultural quirks. Just because it’s the 50th state doesn’t mean living here is like the Mainland. Oh yeah, that’s the point.
Also, check out Matson for shipping cars and belongings across the ocean. For moves between islands, you’ll need the help of Young Brothers shipping.
In case you’ve missed the drama unfolding over the past three years, here’s a recap of how the Hawaii Superferry got sunk. The State of Hawaii didn’t follow the rules to perform an environmental impact statement before forking over about $50 million for its pet project, the Hawaii Superferry. Instead, Governor Linda Lingle got a special session of the Legislature to create a new law exempting the Superferry from an EIS.
The boats were built and launched to Oahu-Kauai and Oahu-Maui. Protestors filled the Nawiliwili Harbor in Kauai, effectively blocking the ferry. It never once docked there. People on Maui protested, but weren’t as radical and ferry service floated for about one year. In the meantime, the Sierra Club together with other citizen groups sued the State over the EIS that was never performed. The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled 2009 that the new law (called Act 2) exempting them from EIS was unconstititional, immediately stopping ferry service.
Now the company that still owes over $137 million on the two high-speed catamarans is filed for bankruptcy in May 2009 and wants to ditch them. The company wants to move the hearings from Hawaii to Delaware, where it’s incorporated and there are more lenient tax laws. The hearing on whether or not they can change states is set for July 1, 2009.
Boarding passes may soon be a thing of the past. American Airlines has just started allowing passengers using select airports to board with their cell phone, instead of a boarding pass.
The new system works using a 2D bar code (like that used by the US Post Office) that contains all the passenger’s flight information. Wave it at the scanner before boarding, and the agent will see all the information a paper boarding pass would contain.
But not all airports, including those in Hawaii, are yet equipped with the new 2D scanner technology. I recently checked in for the OGG-DFW flight and was presented this list of check-in options:
To Complete Check-In:
Select how you would like to receive your boarding pass from the following options:
Print
Print your boarding pass(es) at this time. If you are unable to print, use a Self-Service Machine at the airport to print your boarding pass(es).
Email for Print
Access your email account at your convenience to print your boarding pass(es) at a later time.
Email Address
Example: joe.traveler@aa.com
Email Notification Preference:
HTML
Text
Receive electronic boarding pass(es) on your cell phone or mobile device
Why is the “Email for use on Cell Phone or other Mobile Device” not available for my itinerary?
A:
To qualify for this boarding pass option, the itinerary must only contain a single passenger and depart and connect through an airport that has the capability to scan 2D barcodes on mobile phones at the TSA security check point. Those airports are currently Los Angeles (LAX), Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Orange County/John Wayne (SNA), Atlanta (ATL), Las Vegas (LAS), and Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP). If the itinerary contains a return flight within 24 hours, the itinerary may also not be eligible.
Local knowledge about the Hawaiian Islands
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