I am frequently asked by client’s from the mainland whether I get island fever living on a relatively small island in the middle of the Pacific. The answer quite simply is no. There is more than enough diversity on Maui and within the islands of Hawaii to keep me entertained. The geographic diversity of Maui is tremendous. The sunny beaches of South Maui and West Maui, the lush rain forests of East Maui or the rolling hills and even lunar landscape of Maui’s Upcountry are all 45 minutes or less from my home on the North Shore. If you want to see more of the Hawaiian Islands, Inter-island flights are relatively inexpensive through airlines like Go!, Hawaiian Airlines, and Aloha with rates starting as low as $29 one way. There is also ferry service from Lahaina to the nearby islands of Molokai and Lanai. A Superferry is planned for the islands that will allow longer range ferry service including vehicle service among most of the islands.

This past weekend, I took advantage of the low cost airline tickets to attend a U2 and Pearl Jam concert in Honolulu. While Maui gets a lot of great performer’s at the MACC, Aloha stadium on Oahu is the place to go for big stadium shows. A crowd near 50,000 attended the last stop on U2’s Vertigo World Tour. It was an amazing concert and nice to get a quick taste of the city life. Honolulu offers the usual city amenities including shopping, dining and cultural events. It is not your average American city though. Asian and Hawaiian culture and the beaches of Waikiki give the city its unique character. It was a good quick getaway and a fantastic concert. However, the hustle and bustle of Honolulu made me more than happy to touch back down in Kahului airport on Sunday.

Pete Jalbert