Happy 110th!

This week would have been my Grandpa's 110th birthday. He lived to 106 years of age. This photo was taken at his 100th birthday party. 

Sleeping Bag?

On occasion, Yuki likes to go inside the pillowcase like a sleeping bag to sleep. She's had this habit since she was a puppy.

Flying Into Night

As our flight traverses from Los Angeles to Atlanta, the sky transitions from day to night somewhere over Arizona. The dusk colors give way to the darkness of night.

Sweetheart Rock

One of the notable landmarks on the island of Lānaʻi, is Puʻu Pehe (or Sweetheart Rock). Itʻs located on a short hike, east of the Four Seasons Manele Bay. It's now a seabird sanctuary. I was on Lānaʻi as part of a media event of ʻOhana by Hawaiian that not only featured the flight, but a day trip to Lānaʻi City and the Four Seasons Manele Bay Resort.

There is a ancient Hawaiian legend about the romance between a prince and princess that ended tragically.

Happy 19th Birthday Emi!

This week, our feisty, little miniature dachshund, Emi, turns 19! According to a pet age chart, in human years, she is going to be equivalent of a 92-year-old. This photo was taken while posing her for a Christmas photo.

NFL Kick-off Week

This is the first week of the 2022 National Football League regular season.

In December 2014, we got tickets to a Seattle Seahawks game, versus the Los Angeles Rams at Centurylink Field (now Lumen Field). The game was sold out, and in the temperature was in the mid-to-low 40s. It was a great game, and even better, with the Seahawks winning, 20-16.

HNL Sunset

Sunset at the Daniel K Inouye International Airport, as a Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 717 rolls out after landing from an inter-island flight, and an American Airlines Boeing 777 at one of the Center Concourse gates.

Makai Pier Beach

The beach on the north side of the Makai Pier, at the Makai Pier Research Facility, in Waimānalo, looking toward the upper part of Waimānalo and Kailua.

Hawaiian Blessing

A maile lei draped across railings, and ti leaves atop a koa bowl filled with water, sits on the steps of Island Air's new Dash8-Q400 before it receives its Hawaiian blessing before the aircraft was put into service.

During a Hawaiian blessing, the minister will offer a prayer, usually a Christian one, for those of the airline, and of the aircraft. The minister will then walk around and inside the aircraft sprinkling water with the ti leaves. Finally, the maile lei is untied by someone from the airline, usually the CEO, and the lei is placed on top of the instrument panel in the cockpit.

ER-2S

NASA brought over its Lockheed ER-2S research aircraft to the islands for oceanic and volcanic research flights. It was photographed above as it taxied out for take-off on two-and-a-half hour flight from Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i. HNL RareBirds was on-hand to capture the pre-flight, take-off, arrival, and post-flight of the ER-2S. If this aircraft looks like a US Air Force U-2S reconnaissance aircraft, that's because it was loaned to NASA, and converted for environmental research.

High Stepping

Pearl City Chargers' wide receiver Makoa Cooper (purple jersey 3) high steps to avoid Roosevelt Roughriders defensive back Jared Elwin (white jersey 3, on ground), as fellow Roughrider defensive back Myka Kukahiwa closes in on Cooper. The Chargers blanked the Roughriders, 42-0.

This is the opening weekend for the 2022 Hawai‘i high school football season, with pre-season interleave matchups.

Sea Otter

One of the sea otters at the Seattle Aquarium, relaxes by floating on its back in the otter display.

Service Rehearsal

The hula and worship teams from New Hope Leeward rehearsing for their Good Friday service. I was on the low-front camera, which was on a tripod-dolly. We on the Tech Team, were doing our camera blocking for the service elements.

Sleeping Kid

One of the kids at Surfing Goat Dairy, takes its nap on a plastic chair. Surfing Goat Dairy, located in Kula, Maui, offers tours of their goat farm, and farm-made dairy products.

Spotting Time

One of my fellow planespotter friends, Bill, was back home from the mainland, and got in some aviation photography time at the airport. He lucked out on his first day, and got photos of this Urumqi Air Boeing 737-800 as it taxied past us. This 737 was making its delivery flight from Boeing Field, and was taxing for departure to Majuro (its next fuel stop), then onto Guam, Beijing, and finally Ürümqi.

Kaloko Beach

The rocks leading to Kaloko Beach on O‘ahu's southeast shoreline, with Koko Head in the background.

The Boss And The New Plane

At the introduction and the blessing of their first new Airbus A321neo, N202HA "Maile", Hawaiian Airlines President & CEO Mark Dunkerley poses in front of the new airliner prior to the open house, blessing, and media event.  After I took this photo, he asked if I could take one with his camera. It turns out that after the blessing was done, he announced to the media his retirement from the airline.

Puppy Love

Yuki gives Emi some love and affection.

Run Aground

Apparently, this sailboat, "Dolphin", got loose from its mooring after some severe weather, and ran aground along the banks of Ke‘ehi Lagoon. It was there for a few weeks before it was removed.

Paint Department

A pair of paint-stained mallets and a heat gun on the counter of the paint department of a Home Depot store.

Patina On Steel

A close-up photo a layer of patina building up on exposed metal on a façade at the now-decommissioned Aloha Stadium.

Selective Colors

I used Lightroom to eliminate all of the colors, except for the Hawaiian Airlines livery on this Boeing 717-200 taking off from HNL's "Reef Runway" for a Neighbor Island destination.

Monster Wall

Another of Adrian's senior photos shot around Kaka‘ako, at the Kevin Lyons mural he painted for the 2017 Pow Wow Hawai‘i street art festival, on a wall of the old Friends of the Library building. We thought it be a funny photo to have her mimic this monster beside her.

Late Winter Bare Trees

Bare trees in snow along a country road outside Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Turn The Corner

This running back from the 808 Ducks turns the corner to gain more yardage against a swarm of KapCity Hurricanes defenders in a Jr Prep Sports youth football game.

Freighter Conversion

This former British Airways 737-400 underwent a conversion from a passenger variant to a freighter variant, and is now making its ferry flight from Alabama to its new home in Jakarta, Indonesia. Once in Jakarta, it will be repainted in the livery of its new owner.

Waimea Canyon

Looking toward the southeast end of the Waimea Canyon on Kaua‘i Island, also known as the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific".

Happy Easter!

Ice Cubes

Ice cubes from a cooler that were dumped on the turf at Aloha Stadium after an event.

Chef Chai

Chef Chai Chaowasaree is one of Hawai‘i's top chefs, and was the featured chef for Hawaiian Airlines for several years, as he designed the airline's first class meals. He's seen above making ‘ahi poke cones during one of Hawaiian Airlines' route launch festivities.

Soccer Ball

One of the Nike practice soccer balls that the US Women's National Team used during its practice the day before their canceled friendly match against Trinidad & Tobago.

Rainy Emi

Emi was out for a walk on a rainy day clad in this pink rain jacket. One of my cousins sent this jacket to Emi as a Christmas present.

Air China Pilots

Pilots from Air China line up on the stairs for a photo after they arrived from Boeing Field. They are part of the flight crews delivering a brand new 737-8 to China.

Snow On Railing

Snow piled on a railing outside the hotel we stayed at in Minneapolis. It snowed the night before, and left the area with fresh powder.

Surf Day

This surfer makes the most of a summer south swell off of Magic Island.

Kelly Simek

KHON's weatherperson Kelly Simek, does a live stand-up report from the finish line of the 2016 Great Aloha Run. Also in the photo is Kelly on-air, though delayed about 20 seconds, on the AlohaVision video board.

Kelly has since become one of the co-anchors of KHON's "Living 808" morning show.

This was also a homecoming of sorts for Kelly, as she was the featured baton twirler for the University of Hawai‘i Rainbow Warrior Marching Band from 2010 until 2014.

The 2022 Great Aloha Run will be the final public event in Aloha Stadium, as the facility is in the process of decommissioning, in preparation for the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District.

Yuki & The Strawberries

Yuki stands on her hind legs to get a look at the dish of strawberries on our coffee table. This miniature dachshund loves strawberries, and we placed one of the fruit on the top of the dish to see if she could reach it (she couldn't).

Happy Valentine's Day!

Streetlight Cadence

Local alternative quartet, Streetlight Cadence, rehearses for their halftime performance during the 2016 Hawai‘i Bowl.

Limey

Limey, is what the Hawai‘i vanity plate says, on this bright green McLaren 675LT. This British-made high-performance supercar sits atop a shipping tray as it was awaiting it's cargo flight to Los Angeles.

I wonder if the folks at the Hawai‘i DMV knew that the term "limey" is an American slang for a British person, that can be construed as derogatory, or did the car's owner convince them it had to do with the car's color ...

Kimié Miner

Grammy Award nominated and Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award winner, Kimié Miner, rehearses "Hawai‘i Pono‘ī" for her pregame performance at the 2018 SoFi Hawai‘i Bowl. She also performed with Kalani Pe‘a during the halftime show.

Crossing Bridge

A Toyota Tacoma pickup truck crosses the Waolani Stream bridge on North Kuakini Street, with motion blur from a slower shutter speed.

Rain Droplets On Leaf

Rain droplets on a fallen leaf, after a band of passing showers.

Front Row

Dream Weekend 2017 concertgoers with exclusive field access line up against the barrier as they wait for The Chainsmokers to take the stage.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Lights

The LED Christmas lights on our lanai, photographed with a 4-point star filter.

Merry Christmas! 

Christmas Tree Farm

A snow-banked Douglas Fir Christmas tree farm outside the parking lot of River Valley Church, in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Pink Clouds Over HNL

Pink sunset clouds hover over the Honolulu International Airport.

Cal Lee

Saint Louis School Crusaders' head football coach Cal Lee gets interviewed by KITV's Brandi Higa (left) and KHON's Rob DeMello before the 2018 Hawaii High School Athletic Association Football Championships. The Crusaders were slated to face the Mililani High School Trojans on that Friday night; and resulted in a 38-17 win over the Trojans.

Lee is one of the most winningest coaches in Hawai‘i high school football, with a 296-41-5 high school record. He has coached the Crusaders to 19 Prep Bowl or HHSAA Championships. His last game coached was the 2019 HHSAA Open Division final versus the Kahuku Red Raiders, with a 45-6 victory. He has since stepped down as head coach, but remains the Crusaders' defensive coordinator.

Hale‘iwa Beach

A black and white photo of Hale‘iwa Beach, on O‘ahu's North Shore.

Rainbow Warrior Fans

At the season finale of the 2016 Hawai‘i Rainbow Warrior football season versus the UMass Minutemen, Outrigger Hotels & Resorts gave out Hawai‘i "H" flags to fans as the entered the gates. This couple had their flags stuck in the back of their caps as they watched the game. The Rainbow Warriors beat the Minutemen, 46-40, to secure their Hawai‘i Bowl invitation.

Bruno Mars

Three years ago this week, Hawai‘i's own Bruno Mars held three sold-out concerts at Aloha Stadium. The massive stage was built in the north end zone to accommodate fans on the field. With 36,000 tickets sold per night, he and his band entertained the crowd during his two-hour-plus show. Much of Bruno's wardrobe (as seen above) was Hawai‘i-themed, as he wrapped up his 200-show "24K Magic" world tour.

United's 747 Farewell

Four years ago today, United Airlines flew their final 747-400 revenue flight from San Francisco to Honolulu, as United Flight 747. The airline held a special event to mark an end of an era, complete with a rain shower (Hawaiian blessing) as the jumbo jet landed and taxied to the gate. Upon its arrival at HNL, this 747 had a orange lei draped over the forward section of the "Queen of the Skies". Today's photo shows a United employee capturing video of the lei-draping on her iPhone. This flight ended a 45+ year run of 747 service with United.

I was fortunate to collaborate with a freelance writer/photographer who was aboard the flight, documenting the pre-boarding festivities at SFO, the flight, and media event at HNL.

I had a couple of flights on United 747s in the 1970s, one going to San Francisco in the summer of 1975, and returning from Los Angeles in the mid-winter of 1976. There's nothing like riding on a 747. The cabin is spacious.