Randy at Halemaumau Crater

Hawaii Born

I was born in Pahala, Hawaii (The Big Island) and at the age of one, my family moved to Honolulu, where I grew up and went to school.  I was very fortunate, I got to spend all my Christmas and summer vacations with my grandparents on the Big Island, from the age of 5 till I was old enough to start working, at 15.

For newcomers (malihinis), the Big Island is the nickname given the island of Hawaii, so as not to be confused with the state of Hawaii.  It is called the Big Island simply because you can fit all the other islands on it and still have room to spare.

The other island that can get somewhat confusing because of the many ways that people reference it,  is Oahu. Oahu is home to the city of Honolulu and to make matters worse, it is governed by the City and County of Honolulu.

It is also home to most of the famous landmarks most frequently associated when thinking of Hawaii…Diamond Head, Pearl Harbor, and of course, Waikiki.  More than 75% of the state’s population call Honolulu their home making it the 11th largest city in the US, so during rush hour, it may remind you a little too much of your home and less of the paradise you had envisioned.

The objective of this blog is simply to share my love of Hawaii with as many people as I can who may have an interest in or are planning to visit these beautiful islands.  I would suggest that you subscribe to the RSS feed so you can stay informed when a new post is published.   I also have a Twitter account, “@myhawaiifoodfun”.

Hawaii Activities and Events

I have categorized each post by island and you can pull up just those posts about the island that interests you (to the right).  You can also pull up articles by month posted, so if you’re planning a trip during the summer, you can see what activities and events you can anticipate during that time-frame.  Hawaii offers a lot of variety, more than just sunshine and beaches, that may surprise the first-time visitor.

You will also find a number of simplified island favorite recipes that are easy to make to bring a taste of the islands right to your kitchen.   I should point out that just adding pineapple to a recipe does not make it Hawaiian!   I hope you enjoy them.

I currently live in North Carolina and initially, I was just keeping track of what was going on back home in Hawaii for my own benefit.  However, I have decided that I may as well share the results of my efforts with others who may also be interested.  A pet peeve of mine is going to websites that contain outdated material, often in a post that has purposely been left undated so it appears current.  As I find new information, I either go back and update a previous post or post a newer, updated post so that you will have the latest information and not something written years ago that no longer applies.

Update: I have recently opened a Twitter account and I post updates on latest posts made here (and on my gardening blogs). You may find it fun to follow me there as I have been posting a daily tweet on a trivial fact about Hawaii. (The first 30-days were easy as pie, now that I’m starting my 7th month of daily trivia facts, I will admit its making me dig a little harder!  You can see myall of my previous trivia posts here.)  You can also find a Facebook fanpage under My Hawaii Food Fun and can follow updates there, if you prefer.

I hope that you will share this site with your friends and family.

Aloha nui loa,

Randy Yanagawa

P.S.  Feel free to leave me a message here in the comments section, I review all comments before they appear for public viewing, or you can email me at randy@myhawaiifoodfun.com.