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Hawaii Ski Club – September, 2011
EXECUTIVE ORGANIZATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President – Toby Kravet – 808-224-1065
Vice President – Kevin Okawa
Treasurer - Geof Chu
Susan Murata
Wayne Fujihara
Jon Kleinschmidt
Momi Kleinschmidt
Jonathan Carr
Roy Manzoku
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Club Historian
Jo Yee
Newsletter Editor
Toby Kravet
(Click on Contacts for e mail addresses)
CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
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 19 (Friday): 4:30 P.M. Pau Hana at Banditos Cantina, Pearlridge Center.
September 11 (Sunday): 11: A.M. "Urban Hike from Kakaako Waterfront Park to Magic Island for the second annual Hawaii Rice Festival.
September 15 (Thursday): 5:30 P.M. Board Meeting at Henry Louis.
September 23 (Friday): 4:30 P.M. Pau Hana at Ryans' Grill, Ward Center.
October 6 (Thursday) 6: P.M. Annual Kick-Off Meeting at Sam Sneads. This is the General Membership Meeting where we pay for the food, and you pay your membership dues for the coming year.
October 8 (Saturday): 8 A.M. Volunteer grounds maintenance and, perhaps, other, similar work at the Palolo Chinese Home in Palolo Valley (see below).
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE:
Excuse me if I've said this before, but the Hawaii Ski Club has really taken me down some roads rarely, if ever, travelled. Two Saturdays ago was my first time ocean kayaking and I got the sun burned ears to prove it, two or three summers ago was my first time on an ocean-sized sailboat although I had sailed 15 footers on the Charles River Basin as a teenager in the Boston area, last summer was only my second time at a polo match on the North Shore, and on September 11, I will be playing "foodie" and going to the Rice Festival at Magic Island. I am really thankful to the Club for these opportunities to get me out of my normal routines not to mention the ski trips to different locations: Yes Toby, there there are places to ski outside of Utah.
Speaking of "different ski areas," I don't mean to make you guys jealous, but I am heading "Down Under" to Queenstown, New Zealand this week for ten days of skiing: It's their winter right now. Around eighteen years ago, we started Club trips to New Zealand, but the novelty wore off for most, and within eight to ten years, it was just me and Dennis Nakaoka. This year, it's only me. While a little more pricey now than in the past when the dollar was stronger, it's a good way to keep the appetite whetted and the muscle memory going. Come to the September Rice Festival event and/or the September Pau Hana for some New Zealand stories.
Also, you should start thinking now about our Annual Kick-Off Meeting on October 6th. With your dinner on the Club and, maybe, a raffle prize if you're lucky, the monetary value of the evening might come close to the cost of your membership.
Aloha,
TOBY
UPCOMING SKI CLUB ACTIVITIES:
PAU HANA AT BANDITOS CANTINA
August 19 (Friday),
4:30 P.M.
Come to the August Pau Hana at Banditos Cantina, 98-151 Pali Momi Street A, across from Chili's and McDonalds in Downtown Pearlridge Center. Banditos is a "hole-in-the-wall" locally-owned Mexican restaurant and serves fresh, homemade Mexican food. Every morning, the kitchen staff prepares the many ingredients that make their dishes so fresh and delicicous. Even the tortillas and chips are made fresh, everyday. Happy hour is from 4:00 - 6:00 PM serving discounted beers, wines and drinks. Plenty of free parking adjacent to the cantina.
GEOF
"URBAN HIKE" TO RICE FESTIVAL
September 11
(Sunday), 11 A.M.
Mark your calendars for Sunday, September 11, 2011 and come
celebrate Hawaii’s beloved grain at the Second Annual Hawaii Rice Festival. The
event is being held at Ala Moana Beach Park at Magic Island from 10 a.m. to 6
p.m. A full day of activities is planned including cookoffs, contests,
demonstrations, and of course, lots of yummy rice dishes to eat.
We will
meet at Kakaako Waterfront Park and take a short scenic walk to Magic Island. The
35 acre park stretches the length of the waterfront from the entrance of Kewalo
Basin to the container ship loading docks. Certainly it is one of the more
scenic and enjoyable of O’ahu parks. It is well outfitted with comfort stations,
ample free parking, a waterfront promenade, paved walking paths and picnic
areas. The park is unique in that it is not a flat expanse where you might find
ball fields and tennis courts. Rather, it is a hilly park that maximizes the
beautiful ocean, city and mountain, and Diamond Head views. Families are
frequently found picnicking while children are found sliding down the grassy
knolls on old cardboard boxes. This park also has outstanding sunset views which
are frequently used as backdrops for wedding and other photo shoots. In the
early mornings it is not unusual to find joggers and walkers along with
shoreline fisherman casting their lines for the day.
KEVIN
PAU HANA AT RYAN'S GRILL
September 23 (Friday), 4:30 P.M.
For September, we are returning (it's been a little over a year) to Ryan's Grill on the second level of Ward Center, just opposite the escalator from ground level. If you are lucky enough to find a good parking spot in the adjoining, street-side garage, you can just walk across. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with Ryan's, it has a humongous beer selection, drinks of all kinds, pretty decent pupus, and has been a favorite Pau Hana location of the downtown crowd (think "Yuppie") for many years. I'll try to score a table to the left of the entrance, and, hopefully, we can add as the crowd grows. If you don't see us there, look on the lanai to the far left (behind the bar). For those of you going to the next day's U.H. football game with U.C. Davis, this is a preconditioning opportunity for those 12 oz. curls.
TOBY
ANNUAL KICKOFF MEETING AT SAM
SNEADS TAVERN
October 6
(Thursday) 6:00 P.M.
This is our annual General Membership Meeting to "kick off" the new membership year (October 1 - September 30). We will be making the new membership form available on our Website and/or the Newsletter, and/or by separate email prior to the meeting, and you can bring the completed form and your dues with you. This is the one meeting of the year when the Club buys the food and raffles items which, in the past, have included gift certificates and a free membership. We plan to reprise last year with your choice of three pre-selected dinners off the menu and will be providing the choices, with an RSVP request, prior to the Meeting. Stay tuned.
TOBY
VOLUNTEER MAINTENANCE WORK AT THE PALOLO CHINESE HOME
October 8 (Saturday), 8:00 A.M. - Noon
The Hawaii Ski Club has a long
tradition of participation in volunteer service activity such as assisting with
the cleaning and renovation of low income family homes in the now defunct,
annual Christmas in April project, assisting the Salvation Army with
feeding Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless at the Blaisdell Center on
Thanksgiving day, "manning" telephones at Hawaii Public Radio during their twice
yearly fund raising drives, and the ongoing operational assistance to fund
raising projects, such as concerts, in support of the Waikiki Aquarium.
The Palolo Chinese Home (PCH) (http://www.palolochinesehome.org/) a nonprofit adult residential care
home, providing adult residential care, skilled nursing/intermediate care, adult
day care, and overnight respite care services, can now use our help. Located on 15 acres in Palolo
Valley, it was established in 1917 to care for elderly plantation laborers and,
today, serves people of all ethnicities and religions.
PCH needs help with
maintenance such as yard work and painting and will appreciate any help we can
give. Please lend a hand for half a day
on Saturday, October 8, 2011,
8:00 A.M. PCH is located at
2459 10th Ave. in Palolo Valley. Tools will be provided. We plan to work the
morning , followed by some pau hana rest and relaxation at a location to be
announced. Contact Roy Manzoku,
roy@hawaiisnowskiclub.com , to sign up for this
volunteer service project.
ROY, TOBY
SKI TRIPS FOR 2012
Your Trip Committee has been hard at work getting you
the best prices for our two trips for 2012.
Ski Week -
Big Sky, Montana - January 27 - February 4, 2012. This is our
official Hawaii Ski Week trip for 2012! Full packages start at $1582.
1) Ski in/out Huntley hotel room with a
free breakfast buffet. The hotel is located in the Village and has two Queen
beds in the room with a small refrigerator. Double occupancy.
2) Walk in/out Bighorn condo's, 3
bedroom/3 bath, good for 6 occupants. This is a short walk to the slopes and you
can connect via the Poma lift. See this link for more details on a poma lift.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platter_lift
We are also planning a Yellowstone
Snowmobile day trip - if you're interested in that, purchase only a 5-day lift
ticket package to be able to make it as it will be an all day trip. More details
on that later - they're closed for the season right now!
Your lift tickets will be good at Big
Sky mountain. To ski on both mountains (Moonlight Basin and Big Sky), there is
an additional fee that you can pay at any lift ticket office (we thought it
easier if you coordinate with friends on what day to go, meet at the ticket
office, pay (approximately $27 more) and ski on TWO mountains.)
Big
White, CANADA
- is located in the picturesque Okanagan Valley. Big White is uniquely blessed with sunny weather, dry powder and a mild average
temperature of -5C (23 F). With 118 marked runs fanning from the summit, 2,565
acres of skiable terrain, and 16 lifts, there‘s a great selection of terrain for
everyone with deep powder bowls, wide-open glades, and great fall-line cruising.
For the ultimate park experience, head to the award winning TELUS Terrain Park
which is the best progressive park in North America. To top it off, slalom
through the spectacular“Snowghosts” (snow caked trees) which create a magical
backdrop in this winter playground.
Trip dates are March 9-17, which is the DOE Spring Break.
Bring your whole family! Kids ski free with a paid adult lift ticket.
Air Canada is an affiliate of United
Airlines so get mileage for United, AND one bag is free! Everyone who goes on
this trip MUST HAVE A PASSPORT.
TRIP COMMITTEE
PAST SKI CLUB ACTIVITIES:
KAYAKING TO THE "MOKES" AND
BEACH BARBECUE
(Sub-Titled: Waiting for Toby)
August 6 (Saturday)
As planned, Geof, Wandi with her daughter Marisa and son-in-law John, and this writer met at 9 A.M. to rent Kayaks and proceed to the launch area. We were met by Jon and Momi, who had their own Kayak, and proceeded, against a headwind, with occasional rain and constantly choppy seas, to paddle the 1.75 mile distance (and, for me in a solo kayak, 1 hour, 40 minutes) to Moku Nui, the larger of the two Mokuluas, where we were met by Mike Basso and grandson Elijah. With clearing skies and warming temperatures, we explored some of the coast but were unable to climb to the top as the island is a bird sanctuary, and hundreds of Shearshore Birds make their homes in easily crushed (were you to step on them) mini-caves (burrows?) on the slopes leading to the summit. Following our 1.5 - 2.0 hour respite (time depending upon whether you were me or everyone else) on Moku Nui, we made the faster (with the wind) return to shore and ended the day after, at least for me, a long hunt for parking (I couldn't get a break this day), at Kailua Beach Park where we were joined by Craig Shaffer, picnicked on barbecue, grill roasted veggies, salad, rice, and sushi, and were unexpectedly entertained by an aerialist couple performing their acrobatics while hanging from two curtains slung from a high branch of a nearby tree. I don't know about the rest of the "crew," but I slept pretty well Saturday night.
TOBY
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
SNOWBOARD FOR SALE
Craig Shaffer still has an unused size 141 snowboard for sale. $250.00. Craig may be contacted at 261-5989.
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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/