Ensell Lee's Blog: October 2007

There was a moderate earthquake in the Bay Area last night. No injuries reported. The epicenter was in San Jose - over 60 miles away, so no damage in San Francisco. I was in the car when it happened and the person on the radio was reporting it in real time. That was kinda cool.

Predictably, cell phone service was effected for about 30 minutes after the quake. Most people wonder why this is. Simply put, too many people are calling into and out of cell phones when major events happen like this. It overloads the capacity on the network. Since cell phones communicate with antennae closest to your proximity (technical term for the antennae are "cell sites"), anyone placing or receiving a call near you is sharing the same cell site resource. Cell sites have a limited number of connections (technical term is "channels"). When cell phone traffic spikes to many times normal traffic like after an earthquake, the system does not have any open channels to place your call.

One way around this is text messaging. To reach a person during an emergency, text, don't call. Text messaging operates separate from voice channels and can accommodate much more traffic simultaneously. Bottom line, it's a better bet when you absolutely need to contact someone.

Finally, all of this rolling and rocking brings to light the importance of being prepared for the next big one. If you live in the Bay Area, you and your family need to have a disaster plan. This includes having enough food and water rations available and to have a meeting plan in case you are separated with your family. At minimum. The city and county of San Francisco has a marvelous online resource: 72Hours.org.

Emily and I vacationed on Maui recently. Overall, we had a great time. Here are some notes for those of you considering Maui:

Use the Maui Revealed book. It's got the most detailed information of all the guide books. Our public library had the 2007 editions already, so you might want to check with yours.
We stayed at the Marriott Maui Ocean Club in Ka'anapali. First off, Ka'anapali is FAR from everything interesting in the island. It is in close proximity to Lahaina (one of the world's great tourist traps, similar to Fisherman's Wharf), but far from Wailuku (good food), Hana (good excursion), and Haleakala (big, dormant volcano). The resort, itself, is very family friendly - awesome pool and on site barbecue grill. However, there is no beach to speak of - unless you consider ten feet of sand between resort and ocean to be a beach. Another negative -- if you're a timeshare owner and stay here, you'll get nickeled and dimed to death. They charge for daily housekeeping. Only a mid-week refresh of linens is included, so if you're neat and clean, you'll do well. Otherwise, bring an extra $65 a day.
If you come in from the mainland on Friday or Saturday, make sure you do the Road to Hana before Sunday. No one tells you about this in the guidebooks. Basically, everyone comes into Maui on the same days -- Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Most families like to relax on the first few days and procrastinate about driving out to Hana until they get acclimated some. If you wait until the week starts to go out to Hana, it will be VERY crowded. We went on a Sunday at the drive was fantastic with very few other cars to compete with. You should make a side excursion to Kanae Landing Fruit Stand for the Banana Bread along the way. Kanae is four miles off road. See guid
Note #2 about Hana. Invest in a Jeep. Most of sites are best seen in a convertible or top-off jeep. Having the higher sight line on a jeep also helps you see over guard-rails and bushes. It's well worth the investment. Enterprise has affordable, older model jeeps. National has the newer Jeep Wrangler (2-door or 4-door) but is really expensive. One smart family we ran into rented from National, but returned the jeep after Hana and rented from Enterprise.
If you plan to do the Sunrise bike ride down Haleakala, there is some bad news. Due to recent fatalities, all tour companies have been banned from the Federal park. Haleakala Bike Company does a sunrise van ride up to the peak and then drives to outside the park entrance where you bike down. This was the highlight of the trip for Emily. Tim, our guide, was pure entertainment. Bring LOTS of warm clothes. It gets very cold. Also, for mainlanders, you will want to do this ride within your first couple of days - before you have adjusted to the time zone. You have to meet at the bike shop by 3:30AM (in summer months its earlier).
Hali'imaile General Store is one of the best restaurants that I have been to. Don't miss it. Lunch is cheaper than dinner, but still expect to pay for the five star quality. The crab pizza is to die for. I'll repeat: Don't miss!
Other fantastic eateries: Sam Sato's (in Wailuku - try the Dry Mein), A Saigon Cafe (in Wailuku), Kula Lodge (on the way down from Haleakala - recommended only for breakfast), Sansei (in Kihei and Kapalua - good sushi), Aloha Mixed Plate (in Lahaina - Mochiko Chicken special on Monday is not to be missed!) and Tasaka Guri Guri (sherbet like treat in the Maui Mall).
Listen to Wild 105.5 FM when you are there (Shameless plug for college friend, Ryan P).
The much ballyhooed Hawaiian Superferry has suspended operations as of our vacation because of opposition from kama'aina (local residents).
Bring lots of cash. Maui is not cheap.