Maui Ocean Center

One of our adventures was at the Maui Ocean Center, loacted in Ma‘alaea. It was a quite an attraction, and we both ended taking quite a few pix there.

Kathy's photo (top) was taken in the walk-thru tube in the main display tank that features sharks, ‘ulua, stingrays, and other sea life.

My photo (above) shows a cylindrical tank of jellyfish illuminated with blue lights from above and below.

Hammock & Kā‘anapali Sunset

Kathy's photo (top) has us laying in a hammock right outside the Westin Maui, between Kā‘anapali Beach, and the beachside walkway that runs the length of the Kā‘anapali Resort area. What a way to kick back and relax!

My photo (above) has the sunset view I captured from our room (mentioned yesterday). The island outline on the left is of Kaho‘olawe. The boats are near the beach are sightseeing boats that come to shore to pickup (and drop-off) the tourists.

Balconies & Heavenly

Kathy's photo (top) shows the balconies of the The Westin Maui where we spent our time on Maui. She got this shot one afternoon, after we returned from sightseeing. I must say that Kathy's got a good eye for creative shots! I sure have a talented wife!

My photo (above) features us in our Heavenly Robes and laying in our Heavenly Bed in our room which was upgraded to ocean view, which meant sunsets every evening! The Westin hotel chain is known for their Heavenly® branded features in their rooms, namely their beds, towels, and robes. We thought this would make a funny photo, thank God I brought along my tripod.

The Grand Wailea

The Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa is one of the few five-star resorts in Hawai‘i. Kathy & I drove to the south side of Maui to sightsee, the Grand Wailea was one of our stops. Just walking through the lobby, you could feel the luxury.

For Kathy's photo, we had one of the hotel's staff take a photo of us in front of their wedding chapel, which a koi pond and coconut palm trees surrounds it. The chapel was not open for dhowing, but from what we could see, it was spectacular, especially the stained glass windows. According to Kathy, her brother got married in the chapel several years ago.

For my photo, I got a shot of the famous water display and dolphin sculptures that lead to the pool area. The long promenade is one of the signature features of the hotel, among several others.

What's Up There? & ‘Ahinahina

Top: Kathy caught me looking at the upside-down flowers at the Kula Lodge.

Above: The ‘Ahinahina (or Silversword) is an endangered species and unique to Haleakalā. I got this timer shot of Kathy & I with an ‘ahinahina plant in front of us before the clouds really rolled in.

Lavender Farm & Haleakalā

This month's theme week is "Honeymoon". Kathy & I took a few days to take our honeymoon on Maui the week after our wedding. Since we were both armed with cameras, I decided to do a two-fer this theme week. So, one of the photos will be from Kat, and the other mine.

In the top photo, Kat got this shot at the Ali‘i Kula Lavender Farm in Kula. This farm was such a serene and fragrant place in UpCountry Maui. We walked around the farm soaking up the scent of lavender, and snapping a bunch of photos, while enjoying the cooler temperature. Kat even got a king protea from one of the ladies who worked there, which we kept with us during our trip.

In the above photo, here's a shot of the crater at Haleakalā. This was taken at the crater lookout, some 9,000 feet above sea level. As you can see the clouds are rolling in, within several minutes of taking this shot the area was covered in clouds, and the temperature was 30°F colder than at the Kahului Airport. That day the daytime high was 72°F, which meant we were near 40°F(!). Throw in wind chill ... there was a stiff breeze blowing (around 10mph), which dropped the temperature to the high 30s ... and we were wearing slippers.

Red & Green Ti Leaves

Everytime I've walked through the Ala Moana Shopping Center, I've wanted to get a shot of these ti leaves. Ti leaves usually come in all red or all green, this one seems to be a hybrid, though they are quite common here in Hawai‘i. The ti leaves for people of Hawai‘i, is a sign of good luck, and the University of Hawai‘i athletic department will ask fans to bring leaves when they attend home games (and even fans who travel with the teams).

DC-8 Cockpit

This is the cockpit of Murray Air Douglas DC-8-71F, N872SJ. This cargo jet was in town a few years ago doing cargo runs between Micronesia and Hawai‘i. While it was undergoing some basic maintenance, a friend and I went over to take a peek at this classic bird. The guys working on the DC-8, let me take a look at the 1960s-vintage cockpit.

This DC-8 was originally delivered to United Airlines in the 1960s, and was registered as N8096U. After its stint with United, it was converted from a passenger airliner into a cargo freighter, and found its way to Murray Air (of Ypsilanti, MI) in 2005. Murray Air recently changed thier name to National AIrlines.

Girls In Front Of Rock Wall

I took this photo of Tiffany and Chelsie, then played around in Photoshop changing the color of the rocks in the wall behind them.

Bug On Back

It seems that even robotic bugs cannot right themselves, just like the real ones ...

I thought I had an April Fools photo this year, but sorry to say, not this year ... oh well.



April Fool!

Westside Coast

Looking further down the west coast of O‘ahu toward Ma‘ili ...

Deadwood

This dead tree stands atop a knoll at Kalaeloa Harbor.

The Kick Is Up ...

New York Giants placekicker Jon Carney takes a practice kick in the fourth quarter of the 2009 NFL Pro Bowl. The ball is the brown blur in the middle of the frame.

New Orchids

These little multi-colored orchids are from a plant I bought a couple of weeks ago at an orchid exhibition...

Live Trucks

During Barack Obama's visit to Honolulu on his campaign run for the presidency, live uplink trucks from the local TV stations set up camp near where the then-Senator's plane would park. TV cameras several yards away fed the trucks, which were beamed to the stations to interrupt local programming to show the arrival of the Hawai‘i-born president. Obama's first stop was a park, a short distance away, where he atended a rally in his honor.

Waterfowl On Falls

One of the waterfalls at the Ko Olina Golf Course that houses these ducks and swans.

Globed View

I came across this globe-like decoration at the A&W Root Beer restaurant in Mililani when Kathy & I had gone there for lunch. Silly me had to get this fish-eye-like view before we ate lunch.

Oil On Water

A couple of weeks ago we had some heavy rains that soaked O‘ahu. While out shopping one day, I had gone back to the car to retrieve something for Kathy, before I got the item, I got this shot of this motor oil slick floating on the rain water. A car had leaked oil close to where I got this photo, and was being carried along with the flow.

Golden Gerberas

A couple of gold gerbera daisies I shot at a garden shop ... :-D

and they are one of my wife's favorites!

Just Married!

Kathy & I were married yesterday!

We had the waiter take this, as we arrived at the restaurant to set up the table favors before the ceremony.