Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

Today's photo was taken a couple of years back with Kat and my folks after we had gone out to dinner.

This year's Father's Day is a bittersweet one. My mom (seated), passed away a few days ago after a long illness. We will miss her, though we will see her again in heaven.

Ducklings

Four ducklings and its mother swim in the stream at Moanalua Gardens.

Top Off The Oil

One of the crew members of this China Eastern Airlines 737 delivery team checks the oil of the right side CFM56 engine shortly after arriving at HNL. He added two cans of oil of to this engine, while another mechanic added oil to the left engine. Apparently, no one had a can opener, because this mechanic and another could not open them until a third mechanic brought over a screwdriver. Later, a gust of wind caught the empties, and rolled them down the tarmac, with people chasing them down.

Burying In The Sand

Our niece Kisa (left) buries her sister Ellie in the sand on our New Year's Day trip to Army Beach in Mokulē‘ia.

Diamond Head Road Lookout

The view of the waves from the roadside lookout off of Diamond Head Road. Down below, Diamond Head Beach, is a popular surfing spot on the south shore.

Dragon Van

One of the vans that store the tents of the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, has this dragon painted on the side.

Clouds In Valley

Heavy rain clouds sink into Nu‘uanu Valley.

Mini Orchids

Kat got these mini-sized orchids from a friend ...

Wedding Cake

Todd & Dyann's wedding cake at their reception.

Maui Bound

This Hawaiian AIr Boeing 717 is departing for Kahului, Maui as HAL316. I took this photo from the Sand Island Marine Recreation Center, which is under the Runway 8L departure path.

Queen Lili'uokalani

Queen Lili'uokalani was the last reigning monarch in the Kingdom of Hawai‘i, before the overthrow and annexation by the US Government in 1893.

This statue stands between the State Capitol and ‘Iolani Palace, and is often decorated with lei.

Plumeria

A couple of big bunches of pink plumeria at the Urban Garden Center.

Palm Shadow

The sun casts shadows of palm fronds against our newly painted wall.

Kahekili Highway

Driving down Kahekili Highway in Kāne‘ohe on New Year's Day. We were on our way to play mini-golf with our nieces and nephews at the Bay View Golf Course.

... And Then There Will Be One

June's theme week is "Verticals Volume 2". Leading off this month's theme week is the end of an era, both Honolulu daily newspapers will merge to form one.

Today is the final day for both The Honolulu Advertiser and the Honolulu Star*Bulletin to publish separate issues. From tomorrow, the newspaper becomes the Honolulu Star*Advertiser. The above photo shows both paper's street vending machines side-by-side at the corner of Kaheka and Kapi‘olani Streets.

Magenta Arch

One of my orchid plants has a stem of blooms that have over 30 flowers! Today's photo shows a portion of the arch of flowers.

Lantern Floating 2010

The Na Lei Aloha Foundation Lantern Floating 2010 took place this past Monday on Memorial Day at Magic Island Park. Today's photo was the scene as lanterns were released into the water, and was taken from my TV camera platform. Over 40,000 people attended the event, with a few thousand lanterns released.

Lanterns that honor the dead are floated to sea, it's a Japanese Buddhist ritual called tooroo nagashi. For this event, people wrote the name of a loved one, and sometimes a short message on the paper walls around the candle.

This year, local TV camera operators were used, though our director was from Japan. We managed to work through the language barrier, and had a blast, as the director really got into the broadcast.

Cyclops

Playing around with an ultra wide-angle lens and mirrored ball I came across at the Urban Garden.

Makali‘i Blessing

Hawaiian Airlines had their first Airbus A330-243, N380HA "Makali‘i", blessed today in before employees, local dignitaries, and the media. Kahu (Pastor) Richard Kamanu of Kaumakapili Church blessed the aircraft with Hawai‘i Governor Linda Lingle, Hawaiian Air CEO Mark Dunkerley, and Airbus America President Allan McArtor at the top of the airstairs, with Hawaiian Air flight attendants gathered below.

The cool things about these blessing ceremonies: is that its done in both Hawaiian and English, and incorporates the Hawaiian culture and Christianity.

Crossing King Street

This couple crosses South King Street, one Honolulu's main thoroughfares. While I was editing this photo, I thought this kinda looked like The Beatles' "Abbey Road" album cover, with the white bars of the crosswalk.