This scene is about as far removed from the recent posts from the Sonoran Desert as possible. Instead of aridity, the land is moist, the sea is ever present, the inland areas are lush and green. Although there are dry areas in Hawaii, it is still a moist environment after several months in AZ and southeast California.
Chris had a conference in Waikiki so I accompanied him. We had a couple extra days to play. Below is a photo from a dawn shoot on the northeast side of Oahu.
We took a side road on the trip from the airport to the hotel to take in some of the mountain scenery and views of Honolulu. Unfortunately the air was hazy, so the cityscapes were not much to look at but we enjoyed the verdant foliage.
Waikiki Beach, our hotel site, is brightly lit at night. The temperatures were balmy and people were out enjoying themselves.
The surfer was out at the beach where the dawn photos were taken.
Chris has been to Hawaii numerous times for this same professional organization and has traveled around the island and has gone to other islands, including spending several months on Kauai after the hurricane in 1991. But he had never gone to Hanauama Bay Marine Reserve and neither had I the time I was in Honolulu. Its a typical tourist thing, but one well worth doing.
We had a blast swimming with the fish in the coral reefs. Purists may argue that there are places with clearer water or more fish, but we were delighted. Chris gave me an underwater camera for Christmas so I had fun. He put his point and shoot in a waterproof housing and we both snorkeled for a couple of hours, well slathered in water proof sun block and sun shirts. The place can be terribly crowded, but we picked a good day. The temperature in and out of the water was perfect, the snorkeling gear fit well, the cameras worked fine although shooting underwater is far different from land shooting and our results are not spectacular. But we had fun.
The photos from our snorkeling, kayaking, and visiting with friends are on the blog site labelled fish and boats etc. which follows this one. I started this and adding photos later (waiting to get some of them from Chris) is messy and louses up all the attempts I have made at layout. Even with those attempts, the finished product often has big gaps of white between paragraphs and photos. Oh well. But look to the other blog entry to see more Hawaiian photos.
The next day we rented a kayak. With help mounting it on our rental car we headed off. Neither of us is an experienced kayaker, but we had read about a couple great spots which did not sound too advanced for us. The lagoon was a bit choppy that day so we opted to the alternative, a trip up the Kahana River. This slow moving, narrow body of water was just our speed. However, coordinating our paddling so that we went straight up river seemed to thwart our best intentions. We found it was easier if just one of us paddled, which was mostly Chris. We did well all the way up. Coming back, Chris caught his shirt on an overhanging branch. As he pulled himself free he overturned the kayak.
It happened so fast I had no warning. I came up under the boat with a mouthful of water. But my life jacket was on, my little underwater camera was strapped, with a flotation device, to my wrist and my hat was tied on. The oars are attached to the kayak. We made sure each was okay and then moved the kayak downstream to a shallower spot to re-board.
Experienced kayakers can board from deep water, pulling themselves up and into the boat. No way I was up for that.
Chris has been to Hawaii numerous times for this same professional organization and has traveled around the island and has gone to other islands, including spending several months on Kauai after the hurricane in 1991. But he had never gone to Hanauama Bay Marine Reserve and neither had I the time I was in Honolulu. Its a typical tourist thing, but one well worth doing.
We had a blast swimming with the fish in the coral reefs. Purists may argue that there are places with clearer water or more fish, but we were delighted. Chris gave me an underwater camera for Christmas so I had fun. He put his point and shoot in a waterproof housing and we both snorkeled for a couple of hours, well slathered in water proof sun block and sun shirts. The place can be terribly crowded, but we picked a good day. The temperature in and out of the water was perfect, the snorkeling gear fit well, the cameras worked fine although shooting underwater is far different from land shooting and our results are not spectacular. But we had fun.
The photos from our snorkeling, kayaking, and visiting with friends are on the blog site labelled fish and boats etc. which follows this one. I started this and adding photos later (waiting to get some of them from Chris) is messy and louses up all the attempts I have made at layout. Even with those attempts, the finished product often has big gaps of white between paragraphs and photos. Oh well. But look to the other blog entry to see more Hawaiian photos.
The next day we rented a kayak. With help mounting it on our rental car we headed off. Neither of us is an experienced kayaker, but we had read about a couple great spots which did not sound too advanced for us. The lagoon was a bit choppy that day so we opted to the alternative, a trip up the Kahana River. This slow moving, narrow body of water was just our speed. However, coordinating our paddling so that we went straight up river seemed to thwart our best intentions. We found it was easier if just one of us paddled, which was mostly Chris. We did well all the way up. Coming back, Chris caught his shirt on an overhanging branch. As he pulled himself free he overturned the kayak.
It happened so fast I had no warning. I came up under the boat with a mouthful of water. But my life jacket was on, my little underwater camera was strapped, with a flotation device, to my wrist and my hat was tied on. The oars are attached to the kayak. We made sure each was okay and then moved the kayak downstream to a shallower spot to re-board.
Experienced kayakers can board from deep water, pulling themselves up and into the boat. No way I was up for that.
Back in the boat we continued downstream. It wasn't until I was having trouble viewing my camera that I realized the one thing that was not tied to me was my glasses. We spent the next day at Lens Crafters getting me new glasses. I think Chris enjoyed reading menus to me at dinner the night of the flipping.
My camera was on movie mode when the upset occured. I have it all recorded.
Another treat during the stay was seeing Cindy and Jim Cook. Former RVers, I have known them for years. They are currently living in Oahu and we got together for a great dinner on Sunday evening. On Monday, while Chris was in his sessions, Cindy and I drove the rental car back to the airport (parking at the hotel was more expensive than the rental) and then we took the bus back to town where we met Jim in Chinatown for a Dim Sum Lunch. Had a great time.
1 comment:
Beautiful photos as usual...love the night sky. Don't know how you do it?! We will be leaving Yuma in a week and thought we'd check out the boondocking outside of Ajo, and get to know the town better. Lynda
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