Cristina writes of news of Kulana Artist Sanctuary in Hawaii:
You know how you can make one decision that takes on a life of its own & whirlpools you towards all kinds of future galaxies?
Well, that’s what’s happening at Kulana these days!
Between Cristina’s movie adventures, & 3+ year resident organic food grower Carl’s move to the mainland, & our newest long-term visitor to Kulana being a builder with skills she’s excited to share…we’ve decided to sell the 3 cabin/4 bedroom + main house on 3 acres with its meditation trails & organic food beds, etc. “retreat” that has been our special home & business for the past 10+ years!
We may be selling the property whole to someone dreaming of creating their own retreat/b&b/intentional community/creative sanctuary/yoga or healing oasis/etc. who finds value in having cabins of various sizes along with the main house/land…OR if the right new owner is only interested in the house and land, we may wind up taking our country-cabins with us!
In either case, this means: not only will we be relocating, but also that we have some version of this special property FOR SALE…in case you know anyone interested in purchasing Hawaiian property blessed-by-kahuna in the temperate-year-round tropics?
Though quiet & private, we’re located near national park hiking, Hilo employment, UH, art galleries, the free bus line, etc!
And as the ONLY retreat in our price range in this special neighborhood (or actually anywhere on the island!), we’d be delighted to hook the right buyer up with our realtor (and can provide partial owner financing for the sale of the complete retreat).
Though Cristina will be back & forth to L.A. & elsewhere from time to time, some version of creative community with her will most likely continue to exist. The shape, location, & perhaps how we operate will be different…but the spirit of special people coming together to co-create, with the intension of sharing our best selves & lives will remain.
Right now discussions are afoot with current, new, past, & returning Kulana-ites about what we’ve enjoyed most this past decade that we want to bring forward…along with our evolving goals for the future! Care to offer your 2 cents? 
Meanwhile, we’re continuing to welcome visitors & potential new residents to the artist sanctuary as usual…
Huge thanks to recent planters of poha berries & deck stainers & singers & old-time volcano storytellers & massage therapists & inner sanctum healers & weedeatters & pond lilly transplanters & pig fence builders & filmmakers & gourd carvers.
It has been a total joy living creative community with you…& investing in your/our past/present/future as world visionaries.
And for those of you reading this…if you’re someone nostalgically fond of what Kulana has been, or if you are one of the people who perused our almost 11 years of guest books and said: “I wish I could have been part of the dream-storming inception of all this!” …now’s your chance to come be part of our transition & rebirth! 
We hear from the latest travelers that Hawaiian
& some of the other airlines are having particularly good deals!
Image this:
sharing time & space
with a cozy collection of
ever-evolving “creative community”
at an artists retreat in HawaiiCristina Salat invites you to visit and stay at her home-for-the-creatively-&-spiritually-inclined on the Big Island Hawaii! Read more
Cruisin’ the Castro are celebrating 20 years of offering travellers and unique glimpse into the vibrant gay Castro area of San Francisco. Owner and guide Kathy Amendola has just added some new tours to the regular daily tour five days a week 10-12. I can highly rec0mmend the tours – they are fabulous and well worth adding to your list of things to do in San Francisco
The New Harvey Milk Tour
In memory of the 30th anniversary of the death of Supervisor, Harvey Milk, the “Harvey Milk Tour”, begins with Harvey’s immense presence in the Castro community moving on to his political progress at City Hall by becoming the first openly gay politician in the state of California in November 1977. Tour explores both the Castro neighborhood and the beautiful City Hall, where Harvey served and met his untimely death on November 27, 1978.
Also included in the tour is the new and exciting Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual & Transgender Historical Society’s “Castro Exhibit”!
Tour is Wednesday’s ONLY 10am-1pm $55 Adults & $35 Child (5-12yrs)
It is so nice to be somewhere warm in winter, I guess that is why thousands of people from Canada flock to Florida in the winter.
It is 77deg, warm and mild with very little wind, the sea is like a millpond. Despite the warmth I have not seen one person in swimming – the locals just don’t think it is warm enough – kiwis would all be in – this is as hot as it gets for many of us! Read more
I have just had to defrag my computer, and think it is a pretty good description of what has happened for and to me during my travels – I have been defragged.
My understanding of what defragging is on a PC, (or rebuilding the desktop with an Apple Mac) is that under normal working conditions we create a lot of ‘mess’ on a computer – files are disordered, temporary files are created, we jump from one thing to another, leaving a messy trail behind. Read more
My friends Mary Hunt and Diane Neu gladly delivered me to Union Station in Washington – it was an excuse to take their adopted daughter Min to see the big trains, the model trains and the Christmas trees and decorations in this magnificent edifice. I also managed to get a picture with the President Elect! Read more
East Village B&B is a fantastic centrally located apartment with great air conditioning (I needed that – it was really HOT) I had booked and paid ahead, and was sent many pages of excellent information, so felt quite confident turning up.by taxi at 8.30pm. Only problem no one was there. I waited an hour, rang the number I had been given, and got no answer. I started to panic – it was Friday of a long weekend, what was my chances of finding something else easily? Read more
Typing the words my memory spins out Frank Sinatra’s melody. There is something about this city – that draws you – big, busy, brassy, confident and sexy. And my visit has lived up to the image. My Amtrak trip from Buffalo was uneventful and on time. I rode in the coach – there is heaps of room and it is very comfortable, another time I will try coach on overnight – heaps cheaper, and I think it will be just as easy to sleep – certainly easier than a plane.
From Albany the train hugged the edge of the mighty Hudson river which was particularly beautiful – spanned occasionally by huge bridges. There were unconcerned blue herons, lazy boats and the occasional working barge, and sunset over the river was a picture. As we neared New York the occasional shack became large houses and estates.
New York here I come
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Deciding to go Amtrak across America, I noticed that it stopped at Buffalo, and I thought I would grab the chance to visit Niagara Falls - they looked pretty close on a map!
Well, it is actually a $100US taxi fare and a border crossing to Niagara Falls Ontario. But I bit the bullet and thought “how many times in your life do you get a chance like this?”
The Amtrak trip from Chicago was great and mostly uneventful – the sleepers slightly different – with a minute handbasin and toilet in the room. Mostly uneventful? Well I was sitting at breakfast enjoying talking about the Democratic Convention and thinking I had an hour to go, when I was reminded that time jumped forward an hour while we slept and travelled east. Oops – I had to leave most of my breakfast and head back to the room to pack.
We arrived less than an hour late – I got a taxi and the driver Izzie was a student in nuclear medicine, so it was an interesting trip. I dropped my bags at The Lions Head (more on that later) and Izzie dropped me at the Falls for no extra charge. He assured me I had made the right decision to see Falls from the Canadian side.
Well the Falls took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes – like seeing the Great Wall of China last year, nothing prepares you for a moment like this – there is no other word than awesome. I walked back along the river, stopping every few yards to look at it from another angle. Thousands of other people too, but it did not matter.
I joined the Maid of the Mist trip – very well oiled tour – but still amazing. Supplied with raincoats, the boat took us right into the power of the falls – we got soaked and windblown and it was – there is that word again – awesome.
A walk back along the river to the Lions Head B&B This beautiful old home has a gorgeous deep verandah overlooking the river, with luxurious deep chairs inviting you to sit and enjoy. The Lions Head is rated as no 1 B&B in Ontario by Trip Advisor – and deserves the acclamation. Unfortunately I have an early start tomorrow, so will miss the 9am breakfast – but it looks good!
Was it worth the stop off to visit Ontario and see the Falls – Definately!
