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August, 2014
EXECUTIVE ORGANIZATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President – Toby Kravet – 808-224-1065
Vice President – Jonathan Carr
Treasurer - Geoff Chu
Secretary - Paul Ferguson
Rene "Fergie" Ferguson
Roy Manzoku
Bill Hodges
Cathy Lau
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Club Historian
Jo Yee
Newsletter Editor
Toby Kravet
(Click on Contacts for e mail addresses)
CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
Additional events, such as concerts, hikes, excursions, may be added. Watch your email for possible updates.
Every Monday evening (except on holidays): 4:30 P.M. A group of ski
club members and their friends play
tennis at Keehi Lagoon courts, off Lagoon
Drive. Stay in shape and share refreshments afterwards!
August 7 (Thursday) 6:00 P.M. General Membership Meeting at Seven Palms. Learn the latest on Hawaii Ski Week, 2015. Come no later than 5:30 for the Sunset Specials on dinners.
August 15 (Friday) 4:00 P.M. Pau Hana at Monterey Bay Canners, Pearlridge Center.
August 21 (Thursday) 5:30 P.M. Board Meeting at Henry Loui's
August 23 (Saturday) 6:30 P.M. Join a group of your Ski Club friends for the "Back in the Day" concert at the Waikiki Shell with Henry Kapono and Friends. Tickets available through Ticketmaster or, at less expense, at the Blaisdell Arena ticket office.
September 4 (Thursday) 6:00 P.M. General Membership Meeting at Seven Palms. Come no later than 5:30 for the Sunset Specials on dinners.
September 19 (Friday) 3:00 P.M. Pau Hana at Monkey Pod Kitchen, Ko Olina Resort. Happy hour starts at 3 P.M. (I guess for those of us who are retired, "flexibly" employed, or work strange hours).
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE:
I kind of lamented, in last month's newsletter, the fact that I wasn't going to my favorite foreign country, New Zealand, this year for reasons that you well know. Following the Newsletter, I learned that Paul and Fergie Ferguson were going on Saturday, July 19 after several years' absence: If they are back and come to the August 7th General Membership Meeting, maybe they'll have some stories for us. I know that Dennis Nakaoka, from Kona, was also planning to go (separately) but don't know when. I also lamented, in the Newsletter, that not too many people were showing up for Pau Hanas, but, lo and behold, we had a crowd of fourteen at Pinky's last Friday night. See how things turn! Now we'll see what happens with the August Pau Hana in Pearlridge and, hold onto your seatbelts, the September Pau Hana all the way out in Ko Olina. I've never been out there and, to avoid traffic and nose around before the "serious stuff" starts, I'll probably get there earlier.
What we do as a Club, from year to year and month to month, aside from planning and executing the annual ski trip(s) has a lot to do with the interests and venues (recreation rooms, backyards, etc. of your (unpaid) Board Members: Remember, we're all volunteers, have other demands on our time, and some of us (though not me) even have jobs that keep us busy most of the week. We owe a debt of gratitude to Roy for the volunteer activities, a particular interest of his, he has developed for us and to Cathy for setting up the hikes and excursions thus far this year. I would also like to thank Wanda Sowell, not a current Board Member, for inviting us to join her at the free symphony concert in Kailua a couple of months ago and the upcoming, not so free, "Back in the Day," concert at the Waikiki Shell: Some of those entertainers on the bill bring back a lot of memories, and I can't wait. For several years running, we had periodic bicycle rides which attracted decent turnouts, but we haven't since because bicycle riding has not been a particularly strong recreational pursuit of members of our Board. Excuse my broken record (how many of you remember broken records?): If you would like to lead a bicycle ride or have an idea for anything else that might be of interest to a number of ski club members, let me know, and we'll work on scheduling it.
See you at the activities and meetings.
TOBY
UPCOMING SKI CLUB ACTIVITIES:
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Seven Palms Bar and
Grill
Navy-Marine Golf Course Club House
943
Valkenburgh St., Honolulu, Hawaii
August 7, (Thursday) 6:00 P.M.
Come to our General Membership Meeting at the usual location on August 7. Jonathan, back from his annual sojourn to Oregon, promises to be there to give the latest information on next year's ski trip to Steamboat. Although the meeting doesn't "officially" begin until 6:00 P.M., many members start coming at 5:00 for drinks, dinner, and "talking story." You need to be there by 5:30 P.M. to take advantage of the reduced prices of dinners for two.
TOBY
PAU HANA AT MONTEREY BAY CANNERS
August 15
(Friday) 4 P.M.
Join us for our next Pau Hana on Friday, Friday, August 15 at Monterey Bay Canners. There is always something good going on at Monterey Bay Canners. From delicious dining to fun and cocktails in the lounge, you’ll always find MBC a great place to be. Monterey Bay Canners is located in the Pearlridge West section of Pearlridge Center. To get there from Kamehameha Highway, turn off the highway onto Kaonohi St. (where you see Anna Millers,), take the first entrance into the shopping center right behind Anna Millers, take a left, and follow your nose up to Monterey Bay Canners which overlooks the poi? farm that you can see from Kamehameha Highway just before Anna Millers. Be forewarned that the different sections of Pearlridge Center are not necessarily interconnected, and another entrance may not get you to the MBC. See you on August 15.
TOBY
"BACK IN THE DAY"
HENRY KAPONO AND FRIENDS
WAIKIKI SHELL
August 23 (Saturday) 6:30 P.M.
A group of "Ski Clubbers" is planning to attend this concert at the Waikiki Shell on August 23. The plan is to sit on the grass for $30.00 (this price only available with purchase at the ticket office, Blaisdell Arena location) and one or two of us will be getting there early to, hopefully, score a good spot As the "friends" of Henry Kapono include Kalapana, Jerry Santos of Olomana, Brother Noland, Keola Beamer, Robert Cazimero, Willie K, John Cruz, Amy Hanaali’i, Robi Kahakalau, Sean Naauao, Ledward Kaapana, Mike Kaawa, & Raiatea Helm, this could be a sellout: Advance purchase of tickets, through Ticketmaster, if you can't get to the ticket office, is advisable. Even if tickets are available at the time of the concert, the lines, judging from other popular concerts at this venue, might be huge.
TOBY
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Seven Palms Bar and
Grill
Navy-Marine Golf Course Club House
943
Valkenburgh St., Honolulu, Hawaii
September 4, (Thursday) 6:00 P.M.
Come to our General Membership Meeting at the usual location on September 4. Although the meeting doesn't "officially" begin until 6:00 P.M., many members start coming at 5:00 for drinks, dinner, and "talking story." You need to be there by 5:30 P.M. to take advantage of the reduced prices of dinners for two.
TOBY
PAU HANA AT THE MONKEYPOD KITCHEN
KO OLINA RESORT
92-108 Olani St., Kapolei, 96707
September 19 (Friday) 3:00 P.M.
Well, finally a place to go on the West Side and the 3:00 PM to 5:30 PM Happy Hour and live music should be enough to get you motivated to come out to my neck of the woods before traffic starts. Plenty free parking and Happy Hour Specials. Visit www.monkeypodkitchen.com/koolina for specifics and directions. Read the on-line reviews. Monkeypod Kitchen by Merriman opened in the Ko Olina resort in December 2012 bringing 36 craft brews on tap served at 29 degrees, kiawe wood oven pizza, and live music twice a day to Oahu’s west side! This venue was recommended to me by the bartender at the Cattle Company when I went there last. Having been there a handful of times for lunch, the food is excellent. But be warned, this place is not cheap but you get what you pay for!! See you there,
GEOF
HAWAII SKI WEEK 2015
AT STEAMBOAT
The Hawaii Ski Club is going to Steamboat
Resort ( http://www.steamboat.com ) in
Colorado for the 2015 Hawaii Ski Week, January 30 – February 7, 2015. The
Steamboat ski area comprises 2,965 skiable acres with a vertical drop of 3,668
feet. The elevation of the village at the base of the gondola is 6,900 feet.
They average 385 inches of snow per year. The ski terrain is described as 14%
beginner, 42% intermediate and 44% expert. They started a night skiing program
in 2014. You can explore the mountain with the Ambassador ski guides, Director
of Skiing Billy Kidd, mogul expert Nelson Carmichael (yeah, right), or with the
Over the Hill Gang (that sounds more like it). They have a First Tracks program
for the day that all the powder is there for the taking.
In addition to
skiing, the resort offers snowshoeing (including a guided, gourmet snowshoe
luncheon), sleigh rides, snowmobiling, tubing, etc. The town of Steamboat
Springs is 3 miles away by free shuttle. The town is cowboy themed, and they do
things like tow skiers down the streets behind horses. In town and nearby there
are two different natural hot springs, which might make for a fun excursion.
Our transportation and lodging is being booked by our familiar travel agent,
Ski.com.
Our flights are as follows:
United-383 S Depart: HNL
1/30/2015 09:00 pm Arrive: DEN 1/31/2015 06:46 am
United-328 W Depart: DEN
2/7/2015 11:30 am Arrive: HNL 2/7/2015 04:07 pm
We may change these
flights if we can obtain a reasonable and convenient flight into and out of
Hayden (HDN), Colorado, which is only a 35 minute bus ride from Steamboat. We
should find out about this in late May, when the airlines “load” the fares and
schedules to Hayden. Otherwise we will have to put up with the 3 ½ hr bus ride
to and from Denver. (I understand it is very scenic though).
We are
mainly staying in the Phoenix Condominium, which is a block away from the
gondola. The Phoenix (http://www.thephoenixatsteamboat.com) offers 2, 3 and 4
bedroom condos, two outdoor hot tubs, a heated, outdoor pool, free Wi-Fi,
exercise room, co-ed sauna, clubhouse and meeting rooms. The condos all have
fireplaces, a washer and dryer, and some sort of sleeping arrangement in the
living rooms. Many of the condos are on two levels. They have many more 4
bedroom condos with single bedding than 3 bedrooms, so consider the 4 bedroom
with larger common areas for your mini-groups.
For those of you who want
to stay in a hotel, we are offering the Ptarmigan Inn, which is two doors down
from the Phoenix. The Ptarmigan
(http://www.steamboat-lodging.com/about-the-ptarmigan-inn) is slope-side with
true ski/in ski/out access. They have an outdoor hot tub and pool, ski shop
(Christy’s) and a popular restaurant. The rooms feature one king or two queen
beds, free internet and a refrigerator. The Ptarmigan is $200 more per person
that the 2 bedroom units at the Phoenix. A daily breakfast buffet is available
for $80 for the week.
We will have the traditional ski club activities –
reception, pot luck, pizza party – and a few more that the Trip Committee may
dream up. On Sunday, February 1, 2015, your après ski experience can include
viewing of the XLIX Super Bowl between the Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders.
The prices for all this are on the Registration Form which has
already been emailed to current members. If you have not received a form
please contact Jonathan (
jonathan@hawaiisnowskiclub.com ). If you are not a current member and wish
to join the Club, the membership form can be found on our website
(
www.hawaiisnowskiclub.com ). Please fill
out the Registration form carefully and mail it in with your first payment (due June 15). The
flights and rooms are limited so mail in your forms as soon as you can. Don’t
worry if you do not have roommates lined up yet; that can be worked out later.
If you cannot read or print the Registration Form, please contact Jonathan.
Trip insurance is available from our travel agent. It is possible to pay for
your trip with a credit card, but there is a 3% surcharge. Let Jonathan know if you want either of these options.
TRIP COMMITTEE
PAST SKI CLUB ACTIVITIES:
TOUR OF COCONUT ISLAND
June 21 and June 29
A total of twenty five Ski Club members were able to take the tour of
Coconut Island in two groups over a couple of Sundays in June. It was interesting
to be able learn the history of the little island off the coast of Kaneohe that
is now being used by the University of Hawaii's Institute of Marine Biology to
study marine life . After a 4 minute boat ride from Heeia Pier, the group of us
met our tour guide and were given a history of the island, which was originally
called Moku O Lo'e, used by Hawaiian shepherds and fishermen. It was bought by
Christian Holmes, owner of Hawaiian Tuna Packers and heir to Fleishmann's Yeast, as a private resort complete with a 4 masted schooner, the Seth Parker, which
was used as a movie theater. There was also a bowling alley, shooting gallery,
and a small zoo complete with an elephant. In the 1940's it was used by the
Marine base as an R & R retreat for officers, and this lasted until 1947 when it was bought by a group of
wealthy oil men who, in turn sold it to Edwin Pauley. At that time, the many famous
people who spent time on Coconut island as guests included Harry Truman, Lyndon B.
Johnson, Red Skelton, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan. In the 1990's, the
Pauley foundation approved a grant of $7.615 million to build a marine
laboratory. In 1995, the Pauley family provided the UH Foundation with the $2
million necessary to buy the private portion of the island.
The new
marine lab focuses on two aspects of tropical marine biology, biodiversity and
biotechnology. We were able to see the tanks where they were doing research on
tuna, talapia, and the shark lagoon. There was a touch tank where we were able
to actually touch a slimy soft sea cucumber as well as anemones and learn about
sea creatures you shouldn't touch. The Pauley-Pagan laboratory gives the
University of Hawaii a world-class facility for marine biology, which we were
lucky enough to be able to visit.
CATHY
LUNCH SERVICE AT THE INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN SERVICES
On Saturday, August 19, six Ski Club Members helped serve lunch to those in need at the Institute for Human Services in Iwilei. We donned, hats, aprons, and gloves and, in assembly line fashion, assembled the plates of hot food for over 200 people in the facility's dining room. Following the lunch service, which lasted for approximately one hour, we "adjourned" to the New Eagle Cafe, just down the street on Nimitz Highway, for our own lunch. Thank you again, Roy, for arranging this opportunity to be of service.
TOBY
PAU HANA AT PINKY'S IN
KAILUA
July 25 (Friday)
Go figgah! We have a Pau Hana "all the way out" in Kailua, and we get fourteen members show up. Beautiful! Pinky's may not have the glitter and pizzazz that it used to, but the drinks are reasonable, the pupus are good, the atmosphere is definitely laid back, and there is no loud music, piped in or otherwise, at least not that night, to have to talk over. Good venue for finishing off the week and talking story. I am thinking that we should go back sooner rather than later.
TOBY
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
THE WAIKIKI AQUARIUM NEEDS VOLUNTEERS
Up until three years ago, if my memory serves me correctly, a whole contingent of volunteers from the Hawaii Ski Club assisted the Waikiki Aquarium at their summer concert series and, sometimes, at other special events such as Sea Hunt, an annual program promoting ocean awareness for youngsters. More recently, there are only three of us from the Club, and the Aquarium is now looking for more people (not just from us) to volunteer. Work for the concert series (which is just about to end) has included, but is not limited to, setup and breakdown of tables, chairs, and tents, ushering, and policing the gates. For those who are interested and can commit to regularly scheduled activities, the Aquarium also uses volunteers to serve as docents and perform other work more closely aligned with the aquarium's mission. Continuing volunteers have been rewarded with a limited number of passes for their friends and family, a free volunteer luncheon every year, the intangible joys of working with a great bunch of people, and, if they are working at events with entertainment, the opportunity to enjoy some of it themselves (when their duties permit). If you are interested, let me know and I will put you in touch with the appropriate staff person.
TOBY
FREE TEE SHIRTS FOR NEW MEMBERSHIPS
Effective May 15, 2014, for a limited period of time, one free Ski Club tee shirt will be given to all new "Memberships," i.e. one per Membership, individual or family.
THE HAWAII SKI CLUB IS ON FACEBOOK
If you are on Facebook, add the HSC as a “friend.” You will be up-to-date with recent HSC activities that members upload. The HSC Facebook page has photos from members on ski trips and at Club activities. You can also include your personal photos and announcements relating to the club for all HSC members to view.
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Contributions from the membership to future newsletters are encouraged and will be greatly appreciated: Please e mail them to Toby (see Contacts) no later than 9 calendar days from the end of the month. Thanx much.
Updated club info available at http://www.hawaiisnowskiclub.com/