Silver Wave

Closing out 2009 is a black & white photo of a wave I shot back in June ...

Where's Diamond Head?

A couple of weeks ago, O‘ahu got hit by another vog attack when the southerly winds blew volcanic ash up from the Big Island. This attack was pretty bad ... I snapped this shot from Lagoon Drive, by the airport, while I waited to get the arrival shot of a US Airways Flight US807 that was arriving from Charlotte, NC. It's US Airways' first flight between the East Coast and Hawai‘i.

Ironically, the vog has returned this week ...

Stuck In A Tree

I hate when this happens ...

Beagle Pup

While shopping along the north shore, we came across this Beagle pup which its owner had leashed it outside the shop.

This is also the blog's 1100th post ...

Lavender

Kat & I found a real cute lavender plant at Home Depot ... and this was on of the stems in bloom.

Lahaina Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree outside the Lahaina Cannery Mall during our Thanksgiving weekend trip to Maui.

To all those in Canada ... Happy Boxing Day!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

The Reason For The Season

The main and only reason why we celebrate Christmas ... the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

This is one of the other panes of stained glass at St. Peter's Episcopal Church ...

Ornament

One of the ornaments on the Christmas tree at New Hope Leeward ...

Cupcake Tree

This was one of two cupcake Christmas trees at the New Hope Leeward Volunteers Christmas Party. We all got to eat them at the end of the party.

Rippin'

This surfer takes advantage of waves on the south shore.

At this time of the year, the surf switches to the north shore where surfing contests are held, and waves can reach 40-foot faces.

Big Cloud

An ominous cloud seen through a fish-eye lens ...

Stained Glass

One of my favorite works of stained glass is at St. Peter's Episcopal Church. It uses colored glass fragments that are puzzled together to form the images. My favorite panels are seen above with the wave and palm trees. All of the panes are beautifully done, and the colors are quite vivid!

I took this photo before videotaping a Japanese tourist wedding a few weeks ago,

Eating Shave Ice

A group people enjoying their shave ice outside Matsumoto Store. The good thing is ... people in Hawai‘i can eat shave year-round.

White Uki Uki

A bunch of white uki uki (Hawaiian lilies) in my aunt & uncleʻs yard.

Funnel Cloud Over Hālawa

Five years ago on November 4, 2004, this funnel cloud hovered over the Hālawa area, near Pearl Harbor and ‘Aiea. I had gone to the airport to photograph a rare airliner that made a stop at HNL. While waiting for him, I noticed this funnel cloud, and had to get a shot of it. I submitted the photo to KHNL, the local NBC affiliate, and was on their website until recently.

Car Wash

One weekend, Kat & I decided to take our cars to a nearby car wash. I always wanted to take photos while going through a car wash, and this shot shows the spinning brushes at the entrance of the tunnel.

Haleakalā From OGG

During the Thanksgiving weekend, Kat & I took a trip to Maui ...

Upon arrival to the Kahului Airport (OGG), the skies were clear, and Mount Haleakalā was quite visible, and welcomed all those arriving that day.

Kaena Wave

A wave breaks on Kaena Beach ...

Front View

Wrapping up this month's theme week is a head-on view of the Mriya.

Tow Bar

Due to its immense size, the Mriya carries its own tow bar. I was told that the tow bar is stored in the nose. When the Mriya arrived at HNL, the aircraft stopped on the taxiway, opened its nose cargo door, kneeled the nose gear, removed the bar, then closed up before attaching the tow bar to the nose gear. After the process is completed, the An225 can be towed to its parking spot.

Cargo Hold

The cargo hold of the An225 held ten shipping containers which each held an electrical generator supplied by FEMA.

Flight Deck

Inside the cockpit of the An225 ... all of the wording on the instrument panels are in Cyrillic ...

Left Side View

Today's photo shows the left side of the Mriya on HNL's north ramp

Nose Shot

The bulbous nose of the An225 can open to load and unload cargo, the nose landing gear can kneel, and the ramp will unfold.

Мрия

The theme week for December is the Антонов Ан225 Мрия, or Antonov An225 "Mriya (Peace)". The largest aircraft in the world paid a few visits to Honolulu International Airport during October. The Mriya was used to ferry electric generators and other relief supplies to aid the earthquake and tsunami disasters in American Sāmoa, Sāmoa, and the Republic of Tonga.

Today's photo shows the An225 parked at an angle because its huge size. The behemoth actually took up three parking stands, and had to be towed in. Had it been parked normally, the tail end would have encroached the taxiway where the edge of the starboard (right side) wing tip is.

Red Velvet

Kat made a batch of red velvet cupcakes ... oh, were they yummy!

Press Corps

Members of the local news media photograph and videotape Hawaiian Air's newly modified 767 fitted with Blended Winglets. We were aboard a hydraulic lift to get us up to the level of the winglet. Hawaiian Air CEO Mark Dunkerley is seen on the far left in the light blue aloha shirt between TV interview segments.

Les Champions De 2009 Coupe Grey

The Montréal Alouettes are the 2009 Canadian Football League Grey Cup Champions! This past Sunday, the Alouettes beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders 28-27, with a game ending 33-yard field goal by Damon Duval.

This year's victory breaks a four-Grey Cup losing streak since 1977. The current incarnation of the Alouettes came out of the US expansion experiment in the early and mid 90s as the Baltimore Stallions. A bit of sports trivia, the Stallions, in 1995, are the only US team to win the CFL Grey Cup.

Today's photo shows my Alouettes mini-helmet I got several years ago.

Blue Iris

Kat had picked up these blue iris flowers to decorate the house.

Salt Air

While Kat & I were driving on Kamehameha Highway along the north shore, the air was filled with salt from the high surf and high winds.