‘Iolani Palace

‘Iolani Palace is the only royal palace in the entire 50 states. Once its own sovereign kingdom, royalty ruled Hawai‘i before being annexed by the US.

Kramer Pacer

My 1990 Kramer Pacer guitar celebrates its 20th birthday this month.

Calla Lily

One of the calla lilies in a flower arrangement I got for Kat for our anniversary.

Family Portrait

A family portrait of Kat's sister and her family I took on Christmas Day.

Our Table Decorations

For our small reception, we had our table favors in these petite translucent pink take out boxes filled with small pieces of Mochi called chichidango.

I took this shot while Kat & I were placing the boxes next to the table settings before our ceremony.

Guideline

This is one of dozens of taxiway guidelines at the Honolulu International Airport. Earlier in the week, the winds shifted from tradewinds to Kona winds. I had the day off, and after running errands, I noticed planes making the westerly approach & departures. A friend invited me to take shots from the ramp, next to one of his planes. I got this shot while waiting for an airliner to depart. The guideline above is for Taxiway F that leads to Runways 22L and 22R.

Waiting Out The Rain

This pair of mountain doves wait out the heavy rain, during a downpour a few days ago.

Anemone

Kat noticed this sea anemone in the Kahalu‘u Fish Pond ...

Mosaic

In the Capitol rotunda floor, is the "Aquarius" pool, which is a mosaic created by artist Tadashi Sato. The artwork is roped off to avoid people from trampling the tiles.

Fleming Beach

Below the famous Plantation Course at Kapalua, is the D.T. Fleming Beach. It's one of West Maui's best beaches. There's also a quaint little pre-school, The Pre-School At Kapalua, at the entrance to the park ...

Happy 1st Anniversary ... To Us!

Kat & I celebrate our first wedding anniversary today!

This was alternate rings shot that I thought up, to the one I posted a year ago today.

Down The Aisle

A low-angle look down the aisle at Todd & Dyann's wedding, with the help of an ultra wide-angle lens.

Rafters

Rafters from the party area at Wet 'N Wild Hawai‘i.

Ride 4 Cops

Former police officer Harry Herington is riding his Harley-Davidson Ultra Glide motorcycle across the country to each state's capitol to raise awareness of the dangers of law enforcement, and support for the families of fallen officers. It's called Ride 4 Cops, a fundraiser for the Concern of Police Survivors (COPS), a relief organization to aid the families who have lost their loved ones in the line of duty.

After having his Ultra Glide shipped over from the mainland, Herington was joined by the Blue Knights and X-Solo motorcycle clubs to ride from Cycle City to the Capitol Building. The two motorcycle clubs are made up of active and former Honolulu Police Department officers.

Today's photo shows the gathering on the steps of the Capitol. Herington is seen in the center of the photo with Hawai‘i governor Linda Lingle (black pants-suit) before a small ceremony began. Herington stated that of the eight states he has visited, Governor Lingle was the first to meet him, and the turn out by the Blue Knights and X-Solo were the largest as well.

St. Patrick's Day

Kat & I wish you all a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We snuck this shot at a local-based party supply store ... gotta love those cell phone cameras!

Hammered

From the play "The Mourning Bride" by William Congreve comes the famous line: "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.", which was the alternate title to this shot.

A couple got into a heated argument when the girlfriend found out her boyfriend had hung out with another girl when he was out with the boys. The spat carried out into the parking lot, and was quite loud, as we could hear the whole story. It got really bad when she took a hammer to his Jeep. Loud thumps echoed through our neighborhood as steel took on steel and glass. It took a while for the police to show up, but things quieted quickly after a few minutes of their intervention. Apparently, a knife was taken to the tires later on.

It took a while for the car to be moved, but the boyfriend was never to be seen again.

I took this while driving to my parking stall ...

Three Generations

Three generations of this family enjoy their shave ice at Matsumoto Store in Hale‘iwa. Kat & I were waiting in line, when I managed to sneak this shot.

Little Greenies

My tiny green orchids are in bloom again ...

Ho‘okipa Beach

On the Maui's north shore, Ho‘okipa Beach is another hot surf spot.

Lavender Bee

A bee pollenates one of thousands of lavender flowers at the Ali‘i Kula Lavender Farm.

Nēnē

The state bird of Hawai‘i is the Nēnē, or Hawaiian Goose. This endangered species can be found at Haleakalā, and we came across this pair on a lawn in front of the visitor center.

Silverswords

Leaves of the silversword plant at the summit of Haleakalā ...

Clouds In Crater

Clouds billow through Haleakalā Crater.

Honolua Surf

A little further south is Honolua Bay, which is West Maui's top surf spot, and home to the Billabong Pro Womens Surf Contest. The contest is part of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) and the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.

We were there on Thanksgiving Day, and by the looks the amount of cars and surfers, these folks had no worries about cooking dinner, nor did we.

Looking Southward

The theme week for March is "Maui 11-09". Kat & I took a second trip to Maui during the Thanksgiving weekend. We went to a few new places, and re-visited a few places from our honeymoon last March.

Today's photo is looking southward at Mount Haleakalā from Honokahua in northwestern Maui.

Bridal Party

The bridal party from Kirk & Merilyn's wedding ... with a little extra Photoshop work

Wingspan

The largest variant of the Boeing 737, is the -900ER series. With a fuselage length of 138 feet, it can carry 180 passengers nearly 3,200 miles. Lion Air of Indonesia has ordered over 170 models, with at least 30 delivered. When completed, each brand new 737-900ER must make its way from Seattle to Jakarta, but must make one its three fuel stops at HNL, since the maximum range will not allow a non-stop flight. Unlike other 737 delivery flight stopovers which overnight here, Lion Air's 737 fuel stops last but a few hours.

Today's photo shows the 117'5" wingspan of a Lion Air 737-900ER as its being pushed back from its parking spot to depart on its second leg, it will continue onto Majuro.

‘Ukulele

The ‘ukulele is one the most recognizable musical instruments in Hawai‘i, although it was actually brought over by Portuguese immigrants.

Today's photo shows an ‘ukulele that my parents bought me over three decades ago, when they had me take lessons along with two cousins visiting from the mainland. After the lessons were done, I never took it up again, and found its way toward the back of my closet. When I moved to Kat's place it came with me ... but still sits in its box ... I just took it out to photograph it.

Sakura

Sakura, or cherry blossoms, in full bloom on a cherry tree we came across in a yard in Wahiawa.

Oh yeah ... Happy Girl's Day!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday ... Happy Birthday Mom!

We took this photo a couple of years ago in front of Shokudo Restaurant ...

Family Time

This family spends a quiet New Year's Day at Mokulē‘ia Army Beach.