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Travel Tidbits–Museum Moves

Good news for those of you who missed out on the headline grabbing King Tut museum tour. The mega-popular exhibit, which features objects buried with Egypt’s King Tutankhamun is returning to the United States next year. It will include three stops, beginning in Dallas. I was fortunate to be one of the 4 million visitors to take in the “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs” exhibit during its two-year, four-city tour. I saw the exhibit in Chicago, but it also visited museums in Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, and Philadelphia before wrapping up a few weeks ago. The exhibit … Continue reading →

Houston’s Must-See Museums

My friend and former colleague recently accepted a job at the number news station in Houston, Texas. At her going away party I asked her what she was most looking forward to doing when she got to her new home. “Visit the museums,” she replied excitedly. Visit the museums? What was she thinking? I bit my tongue and smiled. It was either smile or… grab her shoulders, shake her, and demand to know why, after six long years living in the frozen tundra of northeast Wisconsin, would she not be dying to explore the nearest park, pool, or pond? I’m … Continue reading →

Tsunami Museum

My mom was just an infant when a deadly tsunami obliterated her hometown of Hilo, Hawaii back in 1946. The massive wave killed 159 people, but spared thousands of others, including my mother and my grandparents. In the decades following the incredible natural disaster, the city has been rebuilt and is prospering. However, the memory of what occurred in the early morning hours of April 1, 1946 will live in perpetuity thanks in part to the creation of the Pacific Tsunami Museum located in exact location where the tidal wave hit. The museum is one of the Big Island’s most … Continue reading →

Do You Allow Your Kids to Watch the News?

The other day a friend of mine sarcastically suggested that certain cable news shows should come with a PG-13 rating. If you have tweens or teens, you probably don’t do a lot of news censoring. However, if your kids are 12 or younger, you might be hesitant to allow your son or daughter to flip on CNN, MSNBC or Fox News without your permission, or more importantly, your presence in the room. Despite, or perhaps, because I spent nearly 10 years as a local TV news anchor/reporter, I never allow my 6-year-old to watch the evening news by herself. What’s … Continue reading →

Tips to Help An Autistic Child to Cope

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It is normal to feel some anxiety when hearing about a natural disaster, especially when it is a big one, that directly affects thousands of people. Children who are on the autism spectrum tend to be rather anxious about life in general. Their anxiety can increase dramatically when they become aware of natural disasters such as the recent events in Japan. Fortunately, there are things a parent can to do help a child who has autism cope with his or her anxiety. I am no expert, but I think that it is a very human response to immediately think about … Continue reading →

Worrying is Eternal

Thank you to everyone who sent prayers and well wishes to my family in Hawaii and Japan in the hours following the massive earthquake and tsunami which flattened most of Miyagi and Fukushima Prefecture. Despite the dozens of earthquakes, tsunamis and tsunami warnings that I have lived through growing up on the Big Island of Hawaii, including a 7.2 earthquake in 1975, which generated a tsunami that claimed multiple lives, I’d be a fool to underestimate the power of Mother Nature’s wrath. Being jaded doesn’t pay. My heart goes out to the displaced families in Japan and to all of … Continue reading →

Are Your Kids in Danger?

As a kid growing up on an island floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean I always dreamed of moving to New York City. Don’t all small town kids have the same dream? I was going to take a monster bite out of the Big Apple and never look back at the tiny Hawaiian town of my youth. My girlhood dreams included taking over for Jane Pauley on the “Today” show, marrying Jason Bateman and calling a Manhattan high-rise (preferably with a spacious cupola), home. Well, we all know what happened to those dreams. Anywhoo, now that I am … Continue reading →

Benefits of Being a Small Town Mom

I grew up in a small town on an island floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. To say that I lived an isolated existence would not be far from the truth. Popular trends, such as MC Hammer pants, jelly shoes and Members Only jackets took a while to catch on in Hilo, Hawaii. Fast-forward 25 years. As fate would have it, I happen to live in another small town, roughly 5,000 miles away from the one where I grew up. Only now I am the parent of 6-year-old daughter and I no longer have winged hair ala Farrah … Continue reading →

Feeling Safer During Your Next Trip to Hawaii

Frankly, I don’t see what all the fuss is about. For those of you who plan to travel to Hawaii in the near future you might be interested to know that dozens of surveillance cameras will soon be installed in Waikiki and on various spots on the Big Island. County officials say the new cameras are part of an effort to reduce crimes against tourists. Good news, right? Not according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which objects to the cameras over privacy concerns. ACLU attorneys say the cameras divert taxpayer money away from other crime reducing measures such as … Continue reading →

Harrison Ford Is In Hilo

That’s right; Indiana Jones is in Hilo, Hawaii. The place I was born and raised. Unfortunately, I’m 5,000 miles away from my childhood home, but I am thrilled for my family and friends (and the rest of the residents of our sleepy town) who get the privilege of meeting (maybe) the award-winning actor while he films scenes from the latest Indy adventure. (Producer George Lucas and director Steven Spielberg has not released the title of the film, scheduled for release May 22, 2008.) Word has it the actor, who turned 65 yesterday (producers say he still fits into Indiana Jones’ … Continue reading →