Hawaii Vacation Gifts by Double Brush-Hawaiian Gifts & Blog

Big Island of Hawaii Beach Sand Color Quiz

Take our Big Island of Hawaii beach sand color quiz. Can you choose the correct color of sand located at these 5 popular beaches on the Big Island of Hawaii?

Choose: A - White sand, B - Black sand, C - Green sand, or D - Grey sand

1. Kahalu'u Beach Park
2. Hapuna Beach State Park
3. ____ Sand Beach at South Point
4. Anaeho'omalu Beach
5. Punalu'u Beach Park

ANSWER:

Hawaii's beaches are magnificent and different from many other beaches around the world. Beach sand is created by the erosion of coral reefs, producing a "white" beach. In Hawaii, lava and volcanic sediment also add black, grey and green colors to our beach sand.

1. Kahalu'u Beach Park has a white sand beach.
2. Hapuna Beach State Park has a white sand beach.
3. Green Sand Beach at South Point has a green (of course) sand beach.
4. Anaeho'omalu Beach has a grey sand beach.
5. Punalu'u Beach Park has a black sand beach.

How did you score on our Hawaii Beach Sand Color Quiz?

When you visit any beach in Hawaii, enjoy the beach but remember that it is illegal to purposefully remove sand from any Hawaii beach.

Also, do not purchase sand online from companies promising to send you the actual sand from your favorite Hawaii beach. These companies are taking sand illegally and contributing to erosion and depletion of the natural habitat for Hawaii's ocean life, and destroying the beach for future generations of people.

See our related post Directions to a secret Hawaii beach with RED sand.

Spend Your Hawaii Vacation in a Green Hotel

Consider staying at a "Green" hotel on your next vacation to Hawaii or anywhere else in the world.

Whether it's a weekend getaway or a week-long stay, make sure your hotel has the same green habits as you do at home. Since hotels are such large consumers of resources--the hospitality industry spends $3.7 billion a year on energy and typical hotels use 218 gallons of water per day per occupied room--it is especially important to support environmentally conscious businesses whenever possible.

The Green Guide to Finding a Green Hotel list several sites which offer searchable eco international directories based on different certification programs for the travel and tourism industry.

If the Hawaii hotel or any hotel you want to stay at is not listed in any of these directories, you can ask them directly about how they handle different environmental issues such as how do they handle their trash and recyclables.

If more hotel guests let their hotels know that being green was important to them, I am sure that more hotels would make a greater effort to be environmentally friendly in their practices.

New Feature: Testimonial Tuesday

We have a new feature on our Hawaii blog. From now on every Tuesday will be known as Testimonial Tuesday! We receive so many wonderful thank you emails and notes, that I figured our blog would be the perfect place to share them with everyone -- I do not know why I did not think of this earlier!!

Testimonial Tuesday will be an additional post to our regular Tuesday post. These testimonials were received by our company Big Island Hawaiian Gifts, Candles, and Soap by Double Brush, and are unsolicited and used with permission from the authors.

**********

Everything just arrived! And how exciting we were to
open your lovely box of "extra gifts"!! Thank you, thank you. And,
all our merchandise came in beautiful condition--you did a great wrapping
job.

Thanks again for your thoughtful gifts, and we are
excited that our guests at the wedding rehearsal dinner will be simply in awe
at your Hawaiian touches. You made us very happy!

Mahalo,

Dave & Judy

**********

I wanted to send you a thank you for the wonderful gifts you sent me. I
love the smell of the candle, I have already started using the lip balm
and the earrings are great. It has been an awesome pleasure working
with you and I would recommend anybody your way.

Thanks again.

Tess

**********

I found your site last year after returning from my
honeymoon in Maui. I purchased the solid perfume at
Hotel Hana Maui. I loved it so much that I ordered more
from your site. I just recently returned from our
first anniversary trip to Maui and purchased a different
fragrance of the solid perfume from Hotel Hana Maui. So
now I just ordered several of the Mango fragrance to
give as gifts... and I'll save one for myself. I
love your soy candles too!

By the way, I love that you add a personal touch to orders. Your notes and little gifts are so sweet and so much appreciated in this busy, impersonal world we live in.

Please take care of yourself and keep smiling!
Tanya Bach

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I got the order today and when I opened the box, I could smell something wonderful and it was the candle . . . thank you so much for sharing that with me . . . and, I am not a lip balm person, but I already tried it and it is wonderful . . . it's light, but it does the job and feels really good on . . . thank you for sharing that with me too . . . the soaps looks great and individually wrapped is really, really nice . . . so glad I found your website, and hope to shop with you again . . . Blessings, Gary

**********

Read more testimonies from our customer-friends.

Spectacular Lunar Eclipse seen from the Big Island

People in Hawaii were treated to a spectacular lunar eclipse last night. It was an impressive evening show that started about 10:51 p.m. and lasted for a few hours.

From our Puna front yard on the Big Island, Hawaii, we had prime seats to this natural phenomenon of the full moon disappearing into the shadow of the earth. The weather was perfect with a clear cloudless night sky, cool night air, no rain, and tons of bright stars (we saw several shooting stars).

We turned off all the lights in the house and went outside. We wanted to experience the full natural effect of the Hawaiian lunar eclipse with no light radiating from the house. We also live in a rural area so there is no light pollution from any town or city.

It was really really dark, but it made the moon look that much more beautiful. As the shadow of the earth slowly passed over the luminous moon, it turned a shimmery copper color. The photo is not from last night, it is a photo off the web from NASA, but this is pretty much what we saw.

Don't feel left out if you missed this truly marvelous lunar eclipse seen from Hawaii. The next one is scheduled to make an appearance in Hawaii in December 2010, so make plans to be here!

Read more about Hawaii has front row seats to lunar eclipse.

Want to be More Green but Need Help?

For those of us looking for more tips and ways to be green and save our environment, check out the Green Guide recently acquired by the National Geographic. The Green Guide is a comprehensive website for consumers packed with tips on how to live a healthier life while treading lightly on Earth's resources.

The Green Guide features a Green Home Makeover with a step by step plan for each room in your whole house. The articles are informative and also point out greener name brand environmentally friendly products, and what to watch out for in conventional products and appliances. You can also find comprehensive product reports that cover the environmental, personal health and social problems and solutions of each product listed.

From safe plastics for storing food to insulating your house with soy, there are numerous helpful articles to help you live better, and help our planet at the same time.

I confess that I spent hours at this site, and I bet that you will too!

Hawaii Blog Carnival Fun

Have some fun in the sunny blogosphere by visiting the 1st Best Hawaii Vacation Blog Carnival Hot Picks. Pua was kind enough to include us in their first ever Hawaii Blog carnival.

What is a blog carnival? (Up until a couple of weeks ago I had never heard of a blog carnival!) A blog carnival usually starts with a theme, and then has a collection of posts from different blogs that relate to the theme. A blog carnival is hosted on one blog and links to all of the other blog posts. This is a great way to find out about different blogs in the theme or category you are interested in.

Please go visit the Hawaii blog carnival and tell us how you liked it!

Buy the Best Sunscreen Protection BEFORE You Visit Hawaii

Buy the best sunscreen protection before you visit Hawaii on your Hawaii vacation. What is the BEST sunscreen protection? Today that is a difficult question to answer.

Yesterday the Food and Drug Administration proposed to implement sweeping new standards for sunscreen, including a new labeling system for UVA rays.

Now, for the first time, the US health agency is proposing sunscreen standards to include the level of protection they provide from the Ultraviolet A (UVA) rays which are linked to skin cancer (melanoma), wrinkles and skin aging.

"For more than 30 years, consumers have been able to identify the level of UVB protection provided by sunscreens using only sunburn protection factor or SPF values," said FDA Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach.

"Under today's proposal, consumers will also now know the level of UVA protection in sunscreens, which will help them make informed decisions about protecting themselves and their children against the harmful effects of the sun."

The FDA proposals won't take effect until 2009, so for now consumers will be responsible for protecting themselves from sunburns and worst.

To do this, make sure your sunscreen contains these protective ingredients, known to protect in the UVA range.

oxybenzone, abobenzone, zinc and titanium dioxide

For more infomation see FDA Proposes New Guidelines for Sunscreens.

"Go Visit Hawaii" published an excellent post on 7 tips to avoid getting a sunburn.

If you find a great sunscreen brand, please share it with the rest of us by posting a comment!

Made in China Candles Recall Next?

With the recent and continuing toy recalls from Mattel for toys tainted with lead paint, and Walmart recalling dog treats, you can't help but wonder what product made in China will be recalled -- in a large way -- next.

Though not as publicized, there has already been many recalls for candles made in China because China has been manufacturing candles with wicks that contain lead. (Metal cored wicks have a piece of thin metal in the middle of the wick to help it stand up in melting candle wax.) We also do not know if many of the novelty type candles with paint on them may contain lead, especially the cheap candles.

It is illegal for manufacturers of candles in the United States to use lead core wicks, but other countries still allow lead wicked candles to be made. Sadly, many of these foreign candles are imported to the United States and end up on American store shelves and online stores.

Protect yourself by knowing exactly what you are buying, and purchasing candles made in the United States. Be careful about buying US brand candles that are manufactured in a different country. For example the majority of Hawaii gift and souvenir companies sell made in China candles.

Our company "Double Brush", has been producing handmade in Hawaii candles since 1996. We have never used lead core wicks and our company's direction is towards more natural products. A few years ago we switched from paraffin wax which is a by-product of the petroleum industry, to all natural soy wax. We also changed to hemp fiber wicks with no metal core.

We have received rave response from our customers for our cleaner burning and environmentally friendly candles. We invite you to try some the next time you are in the mood to buy some candles.

Take Your Pet to Hawaii Like Paris and Oprah Do

Paris Hilton and Oprah Winfrey are known to love their pet dogs and travel everywhere with them -- even to Hawaii.

It is not as easy as buying a ticket for you and your pet and showing up at the airport. First you need to know the rules and regulations for pet travel on your chosen airline carrier; second, you need to follow the Hawaii Animal Quarantine Laws or Hawaii Pet Quarantine Laws which happen to be VERY strict.

The reason the Hawaii Animal Quarantine Laws are so strict is that Hawaii is rabies-free, and the state wants to keep it that way. There are serious health problems for people and animals associated with the introduction and spread of rabies.

For decades all animals coming to Hawaii had to be quarantined for months regardless of how healthy they were. Today, pets can still be quarantined for up to 120 days, but now there is also a speedy "5 Day Or Less Program" for animals that meet a very strict criteria of having their rabies vaccinations, microchip, blood test, and other required documents.

Chapter 4-29 Hawaii Administrative Rules, governs the importation of dogs, cats and other carnivores into Hawaii. This law states that dogs and cats meeting specific pre- and post-arrival requirements may qualify for 5-day–or-less quarantine program, which has a provision for direct release at Honolulu International Airport after inspection. (See “Checklist For 5-Day-Or-Less Program” for details.)

Furthermore, the law requires dogs and cats not meeting all of the specific 5-Day-Or-Less program requirements to be quarantined for up to 120 days upon arrival In Hawaii. (See “Hawaii Rabies Quarantine Information Brochure” for details on 120-day quarantine.)

A few years ago after the 5 Day or Less Program became law, I remembered seeing our Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle on the local television news. She said she had just received a call from Oprah Winfrey congratulating her on passing the law, and that Oprah told her she would be visiting Hawaii more often.

Oprah Winfrey really meant it and now has a reason to visit Hawaii more often. Oprah has built a beautiful home retreat in Maui.

You may be interested in reading our related posts:
Take Your Whole Family on Vacation -- Pets Included

The Most Popular Dog Names in Hawaii

Take Your Whole Family on Vacation -- Pets Included

If you are planning to go on a family vacation, you no longer have to leave your beloved pets at home or in a boarding kennel. Times have changed and many hotels and bed and breakfast places now welcome you and your pets.

At the Pets Welcome site, you can find more than 25,000 hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, campgrounds, cabins & cottages and other places that can accommodate pets.

You can make reservations directly through their site for discounted pet friendly accommodations, but they recommend that you call the hotel to double-check on their pets policy as things sometimes change before information gets updated to the site.

At Pets Welcome there is even a list of pet friendly hotel chains such as Comfort Inn, Holiday Inn, La Quinta, Marriott Hotels and Resorts, Motel 6, Quality Inn and more.

Pets Welcome also has a travel tips section -- the category on traveling by air with your pet has the rules and guidelines from several different popular airlines posted.

If you are planning to bring your pet to Hawaii with you on vacation, you have to read our post on the STRICT Hawaii Animal Quarantine Laws.

Have you ever travelled with your pet, and where did you stay? Can you offer any tips on travelling with a pet?