Sunset at Koolina Resort

lagoon 4

shore line

 What a beautiful day. There was nothing to do but take in all the fullness of the day. After doing some chores and loading music on my ipod, decided that the beach would be a perfect end to the day. Jumped in the car and headed to Koolina, where the most spectacular beach lagoons are. What makes it so good, for one thing, is that it is just down the hill from the house.
There weren't that many people there, just enough to take pictures without having bodies in the shot.
It is truly amazing to see the beauty that is all around us here in Hawaii, I know that I take it for granted but I find myself capturing more and more of it while shooting for my blog. It is exciting to see things that you see every day, but some how they look exceptionally beautiful when you stop and really look at them. All I can say is WOW, I didn't realize that the sunsets were so amazing to watch. Well, I hope that you can see the beauty that I saw when I fixed my eyes on it,,,,,,have a great tomorrow...aloha

hotel on the beach

Ihilani hotel 

westside hotel

westside sunset

Eddie Would Go!

the Quicksilver Eddie Aikau surf meet

Today was a great day to do the beach, the morning started early, 4:00 am to be exact. The was a pearly moon and giant waves. The waves were at least 20 plus feet, there was a large crowd of viewers and surfers too. There was plenty of action in the morning, the surf fizzled around lunch time but by then I had gotten the shots that I wanted. It made for a long day but boy was it worth it. There were people from all over the world, here just to see the giant waves.
I guess that sometimes I take being in Hawaii for granted because of all the to-do about big wave surfing didn't really move me until I was standing on the beach at Waimea hearing all the talk about how beautiful it is here, the mountains, the water, the surf, and the goodness of most of the people here. It was really awesome to see the power of the big waves and witness the skills that were displayed by the surfers themselves. It made a believer out of me and I will not miss this event in the future. I could have stayed longer but there were hunger pains and there was a bus to catch to get to my car which was parked at Haleiwa Beach Park, about 7 or 8 miles away, that's another story in itself. The traffic was outrageous with the water literally crossing the roads. All of this excitement made for an unforgettable day....Aloha

the crowd was there

the ride of their life

the waves were very nice for the event

more waves

awesome waves

just below the road

viewers were everywhere

the highway was packed

early morning at Waimea

a.m. view

Winter in Hawaii

view from the Pali Lookout

looking towards the Marine Base

roosters and chickens at the Pali Lookout

the Koolaus from the H-3 highway

View from my back door..cloud layer is low..sometimes we are in the clouds......

the Koolaus

lots of waterfalls

It was windy and cloudy today as I travelled towards Kailua. The clouds were really low hanging and full of precipitation, it didn't rain one drop on me. There weren't to many tourist out and about either. The temperature for the day is the high 60's, that makes us island folks shiver a little. Two mornings ago it was down to 53 degrees, you know that is truly wrong. That reminds me of how much I really do need the electric blanket that was given to me. As I sit in my chair gazing out over the deck, I see the rain showers and hear the winds gusting....I kind of think about turning on the heat, but there are no heat systems in homes in Hawaii. I guess I will put on my woolies and get ready to have a nice evening at home.
There were more chickens out at the Pali Lookout, then there were people. I had not been the Lookout in some time, I was a little surprised to see such a large group of chickens....that's a first for me.

The drive was without any complications, it was almost a good drive, except that I was the one driving myself around, oh well, it was a good day.
I am going to enjoy the rainy weather and stay in, so stay dry if you are in Hawaii and stay warm if you are on the mainland......Aloha

A day at Waimea

crashing waves

The day was perfect for time at the beach. The road to Waimea Beach Park was not crowded as thought, there were not that many people there either. I even got parking in the parking lot with no trouble.
The waves were suppose to be up to 20 feet but that wasn't happening as of yet. It was maybe 10 feet outside where the surfers were, but the shore break was possibly 4-6 feet. The body boarders were cutting it up in the surf, the surfers were being particular because the short ride led to a tough paddle back out to the lineup.
The day was cloudless and just enough breeze to make you feel comfortable. I was surprised because of the lack of people, but that also made it great to be out and about. I drove as far as Pipeline but there wasn't much action so I turned around and made my way back to Waimea. That was a good move because it was more acceptable for what I wanted have in this blog. Oh well, I guess I will sign off for the day and see you in a couple of days.  Aloha

boogie boarders delight

more boogie boarding

surfer coming in

surfing near shoreline

off the lip

waves at the point

done for the day

tourist on the beach

catch a wave

The Last Day of 2010....the New Year is here.....2011

fireworks in the street

playing with fire

What a night of anticipation...the party was held down the hill from us, but still overlooking Kapolei and the bottom of Makakilo.
It was great to see the people that we see at most family parties. There kids grew up with Nicole and the little ones are growing fast. They all enjoy a timeless tradition of having fireworks to celebrate most major holidays, like we celebrate the 4th of July.
This year the fireworks will be used legally for the last time, they have been banned from use because of fire hazards and for health reasons. This may be the last time that such a displayed will be enjoyed by the public.
The celebrating began at dark, with the kids playing with sparklers and popper, the occasional boom was heard then the aerial display was seen. The closer it got to midnight the more booms were heard and of course the more displays in the sky.
We ate some traditional Japanese food that brings good luck for the upcoming year and all the other party foods. We laughed at stories of good times and remembered some of the bad times as well. What a year, a lot happened in those past 365 days, I am thankful for a lot of things...my health, family, loving wife and daughter and I can't forget all the friends.....I hope all my friends and family have the best year possible and that we are able to gather again in 365 days to do it all over again. Happy New Year to everybody that I know and I look forward to seeing you sometime this year........ALOHA

fireworks over Makakilo

more fireworks in Makakilo

fireworks everywhere

lots of fireworks

all kinds of fireworks

more playing with fire

in the middle of fireworks

what a night

the kids had fun