Some more pictures from Hawai’i. This’ll be all unless I’m lucky enough to go back at some point…
This post will be largely scenery and flowers. And some other non-human, non-underwater stuff. The final catch-all…
As I mentioned in a previous post, Keira and Dyson stayed at Eric & Sherri’s house, along with my parents, while Kel & I stayed at Heidi & Luis’ condo.
For orientation purposes (and not because of the quality of the picture - sorry), here is Heidi & Luis’ condo. They have the top left unit.
Here’s a picture from Heidi & Luis’ balcony. For a better picture from their balcony, see this one from their blog, Saucy Sauce.
Between the big tree on the left and the scrawny tree in the middle is the "beach" where we put in for snorkeling. See my turtle post for a picture of that…
Yes, that is a railroad track running through the field. The old railroad is now used for tourist purposes. The ride goes from Ewa to Kahe Point and back. I’m sure that Dyson would’ve really enjoyed it, but it didn’t fit into our schedule…
Now that orientation is over, let’s look at some halfway decent pictures…
The first morning after Dyson & I arrived, Heidi (and Kel) took me on the obligatory stroll to the shoreline to admire her backyard view.
Of course, being me, I also focused on the "smaller picture" as well.
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to identify either of these flowers that were growing in the untended "scrub" along the edge of the field.
For a bit, I got fixated on the different driftwood trees washed up along the shoreline.
Must’ve been some serious surf at some point…
The tiny red thing in the lower center is not, in fact, a hot air balloon - it is a fishing bobber (float).
I’m not sure if this is a homeless person’s "home" or just a fishing shack. Somewhat visible to the left are a couple of board "bridges" between rocks (with stick handrails) going out to (presumably) a fishing spot.
I can think of worse places to be homeless…
Like I mentioned in the previous post, we went up to Sunset Beach to see the big waves.
Of course, these pictures don’t do any justice to the size of the waves. I wasn’t able to get a good picture of a surfer (they were mostly in the opposite direction on the beach - and the spray made for hazy pix…)
Here are a few shots at the beach at which we tried to have a bonfire…
I believe that this Google map shows said beach (the center is where we were sitting)…
Honolulu and Diamond Head in the background…
Some palm trees, poolside at the Hale Koa hotel.
As I mentioned in the last post, we went to the lu’au at Paradise Cove. Here’s some of the pre-dinner entertainment.
The sunset at Paradise Cove (taken within a minute or so of the above picture):
A couple more pictures from the National Memorial Cemetery. You can see from this link to Google maps why they call it the Punch Bowl - situated in an extinct volcano…
We then took the boys on a gentle hike. Unless I’m mistaken, we ended up pretty much in the center of this link. (If I’m wrong, maybe Eric can correct me…)
I think this shot is looking south in the direction of Kahala (Diamond Head off the picture to the right).
This unusual cactus flower is called Stapelia gigantea. AKA carrion flower, giant toad flower, Zulu giant, starfish flower and (in Australia) dead horse plant. Obviously escaped from someone’s garden nearby, as Stapelia is native to Africa, not Hawaii.
I didn’t notice the typical carrion smell. (Or if I did, I didn’t make the connection to the flower…) Maybe it wasn’t yet "ripe" enough…
I had trouble identifying this one. Two possibilities: Formosa koa? Acacia koa? I’m leaning toward the former. Acacia koa seems to have slightly fatter leaves and the flowers are less dense and paler. But I may be completely wrong.
No idea what this one is…
Except for the color, the flower looks quite similar to the picture I included above. The leaves and stems seem a bit different, though…
A couple of panoramic shots from the top of the ridge.
The first looks to the northwest….
…and this one looks to the northeast…
Looking out toward Manana Island (from the satellite view, it appears to be an extinct volcano) with the much smaller Kaohikaipu Island in the foreground. Unless I’m mistaken, the picture is taken from here.
Taken from the same location as the previous picture, this is Makapu’u Lighthouse. Apparently this is a good place to watch humpback whales between December and April. (But not over Thanksgiving week, unfortunately…)
Our last stop (with Blake and Dyson fast asleep, so Eric stayed with the car while I ran out and took some pictures) was at the Nuʻuanu Pali State Wayside. (Satellite image here.)
Looking northeast toward Kaneohe (on left) and the MCBH (Marine Corps Base Hawaii) Kaneohe Bay (far background).
The Koolau Mountain Range is extremely young - quite jagged…
The cliffs are almost completely vertical…
The constant, heavy wind through the gap was enough to guarantee a bad hair day…
Despite what I said at the start of the post, this WON’T be my last post on Hawai’i. I remembered that I have the thumbnails from the professional pictures we commissioned of the family. I didn’t purchase the full resolution originals, so I don’t have those. (Although Kel & I DID purchase ten or so prints…)
Until then, aloha!
