Orlando!

Orlando is like this super-huge playground.  Kinda like Disneyland on steroids.  So that is the reason we haven't been able to write for the past few days!  We finally got to Orlando at like 1:30am on Friday morning.  But bright and early, some of us were up and ready to go to MGM Studios.  Others just stayed and hung out around the hotel, and some went to get pampered at the spa next door.  

Orlando is hot.  Like super-hot.  And super-humid.  Even just standing still and breathing will cause you to perspire.  Okay, that's too delicate.  Cause you to sweat.  Or should we say "super-sweat."  

If you're wondering where all this "super" terminology is coming from, it's our latest "Makaha Son-ism" or whatever you call it.  There was a waiter back in Oregon who described every menu item as "super" this or "super" that and Kealo picked up on it and pretty soon everything was "super" superb and "super" fantastic.  It's kinda like last year's "MEAN!" and "reeeaaaallllly."  But...don't look for any "super" shirts to be coming out "super" soon.  We are currently working on Kealo's "ha" line (some of you might have seen the "ohana" shirts at Take a Walk in the Country).  It's "super" terrific.

Friday night we were joined by Marina (our promoter), her daughter Kanoa, and her niece and her boyfriend, and Uncle Pat from Ua Mau, at Benihana's.  The food was so good but as always we ate too much.  John's son Kapua, his wife Misty, and grandson Pai'ea also drove in late Friday night.

On Saturday, some of us went to Universal Studios (see picture above).  Saturday night was the show, and we'll write about that later on.  

For now, we have more things to do, places to go, people to see!  And music to practice for tonight!  hahahaha!

Hope you all are having a "super" Sunday!

OOPS forgot one!

Upon arriving in Nashville, Nathan & Linda Crawford took us to this quaint little restaurant called Monell's...and they had the most awesome southern cooking we've tasted!  When you arrive you walk into this cute little garden area, and then entering the restaurant, it looks like you're a guest in a big southern home.  Meals are served family style, and on this night their main courses were spinach lasagna, pulled pork (which tastes very similar to kalua), and fried chicken (yum!)  They also serve broccoli, cucumber salad, green beans, corn pudding, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and strawberry shortcake.  We ate soooo much that we could barely walk out of there.  We will definitely make Monell's a stop next time we're in Nashville.  Thank you Nathan & Linda!

On the Road Again!

Well here we are, on our last leg of our tour...headed to Orlando.  We left at around 10am this morning and it's close to 8:30pm now.  We have 225 miles to go and are shooting for Orlando at 12:48am.  Wow!  For a bunch of Hawaiians, we're not used to this!  But we're having a blast.  We stopped off to eat at this little diner somewhere close to Macon, Georgia.  Apparently Macon is known for their cherry blossom trees.

Thank goodness we have tomorrow off, although some of us were planning to go to Disneyworld and check out the parks there.  

Well, Sharlene's computer is just about to run out of batteries and we have one more blog to write so better sign off here!

Johnson Theater - Nashville, Tennessee

Last year, when we performed at the Johnson Theater for the first time, we were so impressed by the acoustics and the tech staff and management that we decided to come back again this year, and we weren't disappointed!  Apparently the audience from last year did as they promised and brought back 50% more people to the show on Wednesday night.  It's nice to see their Hawaiian Club growing too.  Mahalo to Vanessa Maynard who helped spread the word and also coordinated the opening halau.  Great job!  

For this show, we got to perform a lot of our hapa haole favorites.  We normally don't use a songlist (or just throw out the one we write when we get a feel for the crowd) and just go with the flow.  As expected, Barry brought the house down with not one, but TWO standing ovations!  

We'd like to thank the following people for helping us make this concert a success:

Heather White

J.R. Hutchins

Doug Dowler

Jeff Ent

Karen Palin

Ginger Muse

Jennifer Baker

Vanessa Maynard & Hui Hawai'i O Tenesi Hawaiian Civic Club

Sandy Mosley

Hope to see you all again next year!

Elvis Lives!

This morning, before driving out to Nashville, we stopped at Graceland to see where Elvis lived.  The estate is pretty large, 13 acres from what we heard.  And the house is supposedly 17,000 square feet, but it just didn’t seem to be as grand as all the hype set it up to be.  The furnishings were all done in like the 70’s, and they kept everything pretty much the same as when the Presley family lived there.  Just knowing that Elvis once walked those very same halls that we were walking in was mind blowing.  You could still feel his spirit.

 

We then went into the Trophy Room which holds all his gold and platinum records, as well as his grammys, costumes and movie posters.  He also had a raquetball room, which was made into a room that held more gold records, more costumes (including his suit from the well-known Aloha from Hawaii concert).

 

We also toured the Lisa Marie, Elvis’ private jet.  That was amazing.  It’s a full size plane, which was gutted out and redone to fit 10 passengers.  The seat belt buckles were finished in 24 karat gold.  Elvis even had his own bedroom and full bathroom in the sky.  Now THAT’S the way to travel! 

There was a private VIP room that we toured, where they brought some of the items down from upstairs (where the public is not allowed to go).  Lisa Marie Presley, the owner of Graceland, chose to keep the upstairs of the mansion private.         

 

We didn’t see his car collection as it was on the opposite side of the estate. 

 

Kealo bought a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich, which was one of Elvis’ favorites.     

 

We said farewell to Elvis and Graceland and headed off to Nashville.                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Where the Heck Are We Now????

In Hawaii, where we are isolated and separated from the rest of the United States, it’s a novelty to us when we’re driving in one state one minute and the next we’re in another.  So of course, we had to take the opportunity to stop when we drove into Mississippi.  The ladies that greeted us at the visitor center were so friendly!  They even offered to take our picture outside.

 

After taking pictures and a short potty break, we were back on the road.  We drove through Alabama too, but everyone was sleeping in the car, so we didn’t stop there.

 

We finally reached Memphis at around 6pm.  Almost ran over a fox that ran across the road.  Drove through some of the worst ghettos we’ve seen so far (thanks Maaaarrrrry!!!) and ended up in downtown Memphis right off the river, which was really nice.  There were some hip restaurants over there.  We settled on a sushi restaurant called Bluefin. Their food was really good.  The funny thing is that they get some of their food from Honolulu.  The last time we were in Tennessee we went to a Japanese restaurant that put peas in the miso soup.  That was interesting!  That chef put peas on everything.  He flicked the pea on Jerome’s leg and he said “I pea on your leg.”  Then he flicked a pea in John’s water and said “I pea in your water.”  He was hilarious.

Memphis Here We Come!

Saying our goodbyes to New Orleans, we stopped off at a little bakery called Cafe Du Monde.  Kelly had heard from her co-workers, and Haumea Aynaga had told us that we had to try the "beignets" in New Orleans.  Those are little square french doughnuts that were kind of a combination of malasadas and funnel cakes (that we had in Whittier).  They were really good!  The bakery also served steaming cups of cafe au lait.  Of course we wonder why people would want to drink coffee in 102 degree weather, but hey, to each his own.  

We got in our vans...all ready for our 6 hour drive to Memphis, on the way to our next show in Nashville, Tennessee!  Hope "ghetto Maaarrrrrry" is all set.  We locked her up so Mikey couldn't get to her so I think we're safe =)

Lakeview Harbor Restaurant

This is Mark's Lakeview Harbor Restaurant (that's Mark right in the center)

Yes, there are Hawaiians in New Orleans!

We didn't believe it ourselves until we had seen it, but there ARE Hawaiians in New Orleans.  There were also a lot of people who had never heard Hawaiian music before, or didn't even know who the Makaha Sons were, all at the Lakeview Harbor Restaurant parking lot last night.  The lot was packed full, mostly with people in their aloha wear, but also a bunch of biker dudes in their Harley-Davidson gear.  All tapping their feet and nodding their heads to the music.  It was amazing.  We saw Tom & Pam Pitz from Toronto in the audience too...they were at the Houston show and they are coming to Nashville!  When Barry played his 12th Street Rag/Sweet Georgia Brown medley, the crowd went absolutely nuts!  There were some guys from the New Orleans Jazz Festival in the audience, and we wouldn't be surprised if Barry gets invited to play there.  And of course everyone stops breathing when Kealo comes out and dazzles them with her graceful hula.  At the end, when we hana hou'd with a medley of Take a Walk in the Country/I'll Remember You/Aloha 'Oe/Hawaii Aloha, everyone stood up and joined hands and sang along, and there weren't many dry eyes in the house.

What was most gratifying was talking to the people after the show, some who haven't been back to Hawaii in 30 years.  They were so appreciative that Mark brought Hawaiian music to, of all places, New Orleans, Lousiana.  People were already talking about next year and how they will bring their friends.  And that's what it's all about right?  Sharing the music and spreading the word.

We can't thank Mark Schenk enough...not only for bringing us to his hometown, but also for being such a huge supporter for all these years (I think it's 14 years now!)  He has some phenomenal stories about the Sons that I hope one day he'll share with all of you.  Mahalo nui to Mark and his 'ohana:

Mark Jr.

Emily

Chase

Kim

Penny

Kelly

and extended 'ohana:

Six Pack (the movie star)

Ricochet (the cruiser)

Road Runner (chef extraordinaire)

and Juan and the sound crew...you guys were awesome.  Thanks Dolf, for the stage and lighting...we LOVE your truck!  

Weaver 'ohana, thank you for the beautiful lei's.

to the Lakeview Harbor family, thank you for making us feel at home.  

We hope to be back next year!!!

Aloha Houston, Hello New Orleans

If you're wondering what this picture is of, it's a cool bridge that we crossed in Texas on the way to Louisiana.  Why did we choose to post this picture?  Because, other than this it was about 5 hours of open field, trees, and swamp.  And a few cows.  Approximately 300 miles of it!  All kidding aside, there were some beautiful lakes and rivers too.  And each little town we passed had its own personality.

We left IHOP in Houston at approximately 12 noon, and made our first stop somewhere around Beaumont.  We remember Beaumont because quite a few people from last night's show came from there.  Wow, you guys drive far just to come see the Makaha Sons yah?  Mahalo!!! 

We drove for quite a while just talking or joking, and then Kealo remembered she could plug her iPod in.  There's nothing like good music to make the time go quicker.  So, you wonder what kind of music the Sons listen to?  Of course they love good Hawaiian music, but they also love the Gipsy Kings, Michael Buble, Diana Krall, Frank Sinatra, Luther Vandross, Santana, Phoebe Snow, old 60's and 70's music, Motown, the Eagles, and many others.  Their musical taste is surprisingly diverse.

We hit Louisiana about 6pm and got stuck in some traffic.  We crossed the Mississippi River, and then drove through Baton Rouge.  True to form, "ghetto Maaaarrrrry" got us turned around and took us through the projects.  Actually, we were just following Mikey, who unbeknownst to us was falling asleep while driving.  We heard his wife, Kelly, had to give him a few jabs with her elbow to keep him awake.  Thanks Kelly!  He probably needed a (loud) dose of Gipsy Kings.  We arrived in New Orleans pretty close to 8pm.  You can still see signs of the devastation, but the city looks like it's rebuilding quite nicely.  Other than some empty lots around the area, and the fact that there are an unusual number of new homes, you'd never know that a hurricane and flood came through there.

After checking into the hotel, we met Mark Schenk, who invited us to his restaurant, where the concert will be tomorrow.  We heard that the VIP tickets are getting close to sold out but tickets to the show are still available if any of you will be in New Orleans.  Anyway, we got to have dinner at Mark's restaurant, and the food was yummy!!!  It's called Lakeview Harbor Restaurant, at 911 Harrison.  We could barely walk out of there...we all ate so much!

We were debating whether to drive through town, but it was late and we were all so tired so instead decided to zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Mahalo Houston!

We gotta admit, we love Houston.  It's been quite a few years since we were last here, and so it was a homecoming of sorts.  We felt so appreciated and well received, and saw a lot of old friends.  Special thank you's go out to:

Stephanie Mahelona (thanks for the rice!)

Josie Travlos

Vave Partch

Aunty Harry

Luana Sayers

Dana, Mike, and the staff of the Bayou Theater

We are already talking about coming back to Texas next year!

After the show, a few of us went walking around outside.  It was wild kingdom over there!  We saw an armadillo, a deer, a few raccoons, a cat, and a possum.  We were walking over to the raccoon to get a closer look at it, when we realized that even though the thing looked cute, it actually bites, eats trash, and might have rabies!  And it runs pretty fast.  So...we were out of there...quick!  The theater workers were cracking up at us.  Hey, we've seen people marvel at the plumeria trees in Hawaii so no laugh!

Tomorrow, we get up early and head for New Orleans.  One of our good friends, Mark Schenk, will be hosting us there.  Our concert is at his restaurant, Lakeview Harbor.  We are looking forward to seeing him again, and this will be the first time to New Orleans for a lot of us, so we are excited!

G'nite y'all!

Houston, We Have a Problem

It's Day 2 in Houston, and "ghetto Maaarrrrry" still has not acclimated to her surroundings.  Driving to breakfast, she sent us instead to a medical building.  She waits until we pass the street then tells us to turn on it.  She doesn't "recalculate" until way after we choose another route.   

Mikey said it's because the streets where we are in Houston are all new, and it hasn't been programmed yet.  We think he's still making up stories for sabotaging us yesterday.  We think he kidnapped "G.M." and erased her memory.  What do you guys think?  

Well, new maps or not, or brainwashing or not, "G.M." better get her act together by tomorrow when we make our first long drive to New Orleans.  Compared to our last 12-hour trek, this will be a walk in the park....as long as Maaaaarrrrrrry doesn't send us up the river.

We Made It to Houston!

After leaving Honolulu at 8pm last night, we finally arrived in Houston at 11:30am.  It is hot!  We were looking for oil rigs but none to be found.  We picked up our 2 minivans and then the Sons (with entourage of 9) took to the road.  Not 5 minutes later, "Maaaaarrrrry" (Mikey's GPS) already got us lost.  It's pretty bad when you use a GPS and still get lost.  The other problem is when the 2 GPS's don't give the same routing for the same address.  So we are now pulled over in this little lot where they're selling tires and hub caps.  Mikey is MIA (Mikey, meeting at 8am tomorrow!)  We finally decide to just follow our own GPS (whose name is G.M., "ghetto Maaaarrry"... who got her name because 1) she likes to drive through the ghettos and 2) we didn't have the right fixture to stick her to the dashboard, so Uncle Moon whipped out his duct tape and stuck her on there) and we figure we'll all just meet up at the end...hopefully!

Surprisingly, gas here is cheap...$3.89!  Thank God because if we keep getting lost like this we're going to eat up a lot of it.

We know we're lost because all of a sudden there is nothing in English here.  Everything written in Spanish.  No habla Espanol!  Where the heck are we???????  Lotta dollar stores in this area, and a Dairy King (Dairy KING????).  Sitting here hoping we didn't cross the border.

It is a beautiful day though, the sky is a light blue and lots of fluffy clouds.  Yes, we digress so as not to focus on the ghetto we're driving through.

...to be continued...if we get out of here alive.

We're Heading for Houston!

Hi Everyone...welcome to our blog!  On our last tour, we had such adventures that we wanted to share, but by the time we got back we forgot half of what we did, and our photographer was sleeping the other half of the time!  So we set up this "travel blog" so you can follow us on our tour, and not miss out on a moment of fun.  We're also setting this up where you can make comments, which we will receive while we're on the road.  

See you all in Houston!

Moon, John & Jerome