 Kay: You started your Maui information site long before Blogging became popular. What possessed you to want to share all this information?
JON: After my first trip to Maui in 1979, a friend who was about to go to Maui asked me where to stay, where to eat, and what to see and do there. So my wife and I gave him a hand-written one-page list. The next time we went to Maui, we found many more things to add, so we typed up the list and it was three pages long. Then we went back every year and added a little more information to the list. By the early 1990's it was 25 pages long, and I put it on a web page on America Online. In 1999 I put it on my own website at www.mauihawaii.org, where it has now grown to over 300 pages.
Kay: Have you eaten at all of the 120 restaurants that you review on your website, and stayed at all of the 80 hotels and condos you review there? Did you take all the photos?
JON: I have eaten at all of those restaurants, and took all the photos of the food. I have not stayed at all of the hotels and condos, but I have visited all of them and took all of the photos. I have been to all of the sights and seen or participated in the activities. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it.
Kay: What is your favorite Maui restaurant and why?
JON: Plantation House is my favorite fine-dining restaurant on the west side, and Sarentos on the Beach is my favorite on the south side, because they combine great food with great views. Cane and Taro on the west side, and Cuatro on the south side, are my favorite moderate-priced restaurants because their food is excellent. For inexpensive places, my favorites are Penne Pasta on the west side and Eskimo Candy on the south side.
Kay: Have you ever thought about writing a book on Maui? People would pay for this information.
JON: Many people have told me to put all of this Maui information this into a book. But I prefer writing a website, because I can constantly keep it up to date. Restaurants, and to a lesser extent condos and activities, are constantly changing on Maui. Even if a book comes out with a new edition every year or two, it can never be as current as a website that I can
update any day.
Kay: What is in all this for you?
JON: I love Maui, so I love learning about Maui and telling other people what I have learned about Maui. This if FUN!
Kay: When and why did you decide to buy a condo at the Mahana?
JON: We bought a condo in 1992, when we decided we wanted to spend more time on Maui after my retirement in 2001. We chose the Mahana because it is one of the very few Maui condos where every unit is ocean-front, right on the beach. I do not recommend buying a condo for anyone who will be spending less than a couple months per year on Maui. And I do not recommend timeshares for anyone, no matter how much or how little time you plan to spend on Maui.
Kay: What's next for your Maui Vacations website?
JON: I added a monthly email Maui Newsletter last year. (There is a newsletter signup button next to the top menu on each page of the website.) I add more restaurants and condos every year. I started making pages about each sight and activity and have many more of those to add over the coming year.
| 
