Omigod! The Sixties ARE Back!

Surfing the net to see what's up with Nordstrom, because we're about to be their neighbor at Ala Moana Center, I found, in the women's department, a bunch of clothing under the headline "Behold the Bold"...clothing that looked suspiciously like it came from the 1960's or from an Austin Powers movie. It is pictured here and speaks for itself. boldly.

I was looking around the women's department because that is what will open up on to the area of the mall that our tropical island kiosk will be located on/in/at. We, that is Lanikai Bath and Body, as previously mentioned on this blog, will be located in front of Chico's and nearby will be Williams Sonoma and Ann Taylor. Women of our generation should love this end of the mall, and we will be there to sell them the most wonderful lotions and potions that are made right here in Hawaii (or anywhere in the world, for that matter).

So --whether the sixties is back or not, Nordstrom is finally in Hawaii, and we hope to profit from their being here. Please do come and visit!

I Taught Barack Obama in 5th Grade

Okay, maybe that's bad grammar, because I wasn't in 5th grade, and we weren't in fifth grade together. I was newly arrived to Hawaii with a teaching certificate from the State of Massachusetts and a degree in English from Smith College.

I got a job at Punahou School, the "elite private school," which Barack attended. His regular 5th grade teacher, who he has mentioned frequently, Mabel Hefty, had gone to Africa on a sabbatical the previous year and was teaching a class in the "Academy", Punahou's high school about Africa. So I was a permanent substitute in her class. For some reason, she scheduled Hawaiian History in the time period I was to teach. Having just arrived in Hawaii, I could barely distinguish all the "K" words, let alone pronounce them. I was terrified, and a terrible teacher I am sure. I have no memory of the only black(/white) boy in the room, but he was there and I can say I taught Barack Obama.

Somehow, I thought my claim to fame would be something different. Anyway, he won Hawaii handily last night, and there were lines around the caucus voting places in Kailua, the hometown of Lanikai Bath and Body. And that's how I bring it round
to this blog name. It will be an interesting 8+ months!

Hawaiian High

Lanikai Bath and Body is opening at Ala Moana Center in the new Nordstrom wing -- locating near Chico's. This particular wing comes out of Nordstrom's women's department.

We've been spending a fair amount of time at Ala Moana these days, and noticing things we haven't noticed before. This tapa cloth look under Macy's roof for one thing.

We are looking forward to bringing Lanikai Bath and Body products across the mountain to our friends who live in Honolulu. We've also opened a store-within-a-store at Spa Hawaii, now owned by Val and Miguel Ramirez. Spa Hawaii is located off Atkinson in the Yatch Harbor Towers.

For those of you who love Chico's and are looking forward to its arrival in Hawaii, you can step outside and visit Lanikai Bath and Body! Hope to see you soon.

A Beautiful Day at Kualoa

This morning we drove out to Kualoa Ranch to introduce our friends Lisa and Robert Hadley to John Morgan. We had long thought they would enjoy each other's company, and they have a lot in common -- having come from generations of folks who invest in land and deveolp and preserve it with wisdom and care.

Kualoa is an amazingly beautiful 4,000 acres of land which includes the largest fishpond in the state (125 acres), incredible mountains and two deep valleys. As part of their stewardship of the land, John's family has created a place for outdoor adventure and eco-cultural tourism.

Some very well known movies have been filmed there -- including 50 First Dates and part of of Jurassic Park after Hurricane Iwa hit Kauai in the early 90s. Television, too, including Gilligan's Island and now, Lost.

If you come to Hawaii, or have friends who visit you here, we definitely recommend Kualoa as a must-see. This morning we saw several re-tooled (John says recycled) school buses full of happy visitors and one group of adorable children in identical sky blue t-shirts designed with a plumeria lei around their little chests. They were waving at everybody, and shouting enthusiastic hellos, full of Aloha.

Just another beautiful day in Hawaii nei...

(picture is view of Kualoa from behind and above Chinaman's Hat).

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Sending Hillary Pikake Hand Sanitizer

Tonight on the Jon Stewart show we saw a clip of both Obama and Hillary telling the interviewer how they stayed healthy during the campaign. Hillary said that one of the things she "did to stay healthy was to wash her hands often and use Purell or one of the other hand sanitizers."

Never mind what that says about how much she loves to shake hands, or the plug she gave to our competition, it is obvious to us that Hillary doesn't know about Lanikai Bath and Body Home Pikake Hand Sanitzer. She certainly wouldn't plug Purell if she did!

Our Side of the Tunnel

The link below will get you to an article published today, February 10, about Hawaii's 10 most popular state parks. One of them is the Nuuanu Pali Lookout, which is pictured here, and this is the view we see every time we drive back from Honolulu.

Today was the ProBowl, the NFL's funny game. It looked like everyone was having fun and the sun was shining bright (good for Hawaii).

The article on state parks is worth reading, especially if you're planning a trip to Hawaii. If the link doesn't work go on www.gadling.com and the article link is posted on the front page.

http://www.gadling.com/2008/02/10/hawaiis-most-popular-state-parks/

Sunshine on My Shoulders

Beautiful days at the beach at Lanikai -- it's the middle of a cold, cold winter on the mainland -- and we are reminded of how very lucky we are. Someone recently said that the colors of Hawaii are almost pornographic in intensity. We wouldn't go that far, but it is hard to match the greens and blues of our beautiful Lanikai, and its incredibly soft sandy beach.

Today the sun was flooding our world with warmth again -- after several days of rainy skies and cool breezes. Too bad we all had to go to work, or we would have been at the beach, or in the ocean. If the cold is getting to you, book a trip to Hawaii. If you are hard at work, too, take time out to order some Lanikai Breeze pineapple lilikoi lotion -- or any of our Mango Coconut products -- and savor a little of Lanikai for yourself!

Kailua Nights are the Coolest!

Thanks once again to Danielle Scherman and all the Kailua Scherman's (especially the beauteous Kristie who helps with Women's Night Doubles!), Kailua had its second annual fantastic (fantastico, actually!) block party on February 2nd. It was another amazing feat of pulling merchants and people together for a night of fun that benefitted cancer cures and definitely benefitted our small community.

Amazingly well orgaqnized, Cool Kailua Nights closed Uluniu and part of Aulike Streets, lining them with tents filled with merchant goodies, lots of food, bands, and games and rides for the kiddies. It was a cool Kailua night, and the rain seemed to stay -- for once -- on the other side of the Pali. The police estimated that close to 10,000 people came.

Lanikai Bath and Body loved being there and we'll be there again next year. Here's a picture, thanks to Danielle, of Cheri and Amber at our booth. That's Cool!