Yearly Archives: 2006

It’s been a week since we returned from our 11-day trip to the Big Island and I’m still smiling as I recall all the great ukulele fun I was able to enjoy (and the smiles are still there in spite of coming back home to 41-degree weather and rain!).

If you’ve never had the chance to visit Hawaii and play ukulele with friends there, let this account clue you in to the great fun—and learning—that can be yours in the land of sun, surf, sand and GCEA tuning (if you’re not a “word” person and just want to skip to the pictures, go here):

Travel and lodging
We took Hawaiian Airlines from Sacramento to Kona Airport, via Honolulu. Definitely sign up for their frequent flyer program, Hawaiian Miles, even if you’re not one (yet) and don’t even have any trips planned at this time. Credits/miles can be transferred at no cost to/from friends and family members and with only 35,000 miles you can book a round-trip ticket from the West Coast to any Hawaiian island. Get the HA Visa credit card and you get one mile credit on your Hawaiian Miles account for each dollar charged—sweet!

I know, I know, I’m a bit late writing about the Southern California Ukulele Festival (SCUF), held two weeks ago (Oct. 6-7, Cerritos, California) but life’s been really busy with the election and all the political/campaign work we do at Cedar Creek. I haven’t written much on the ukulele boards or updated this site with the event info and pix ’cause I’ve created 24 mailpieces in the past 16 days–plus the usual writing and design work. Our trip to Hawaii in two-plus weeks will be a much-needed vacation–and I’m sure we’ll spend the first day or two just sleeping!

(Warning: This post is lengthy — but I’m trying to share with folks who weren’t able to attend so just skim it or skip it! If you just want to jump to the album of photos, go to my photos🙂 and scroll down to the bottom to 2006 SCUF.

Our youngest son, Alden, 20, attended the festival with me all day and my Dad and I “did” the concert together that evening (Alden had to drive three hours back to his dorm at Thomas Aquinas College). I’d missed SCUF last year (I had to choose between three festivals in a four-week period in 2005, a tough decision) but I’m glad I was able to head south for this one again this year. There were lots and lots of folks selling everything ukulele-related as well as island-themed.

The next meeting of Ukuleles of Paradise will be on Thursday, Oct. 12. I will have returned from the Southern California Ukulele Festival by then so look for a first-hand report of this sure-to-be-fun event.