Haleiwa Bridge, the "Rainbow Bridge"

Haleiwa Bridge, Oahu, Hawaii.  Also know as the Rainbow Bridge.  Canoes and paddle boards routinely glide underneath as they head up the Anahulu river.  Sometimes turtles come to the surface to bask in the sun.  Other days, there are fisherman patiently waiting for mullet along the banks of the Anahulu and kids frenetically jumping off of the bridge into the river below.

Surfing Sandy Beach

Surfing just outside the rocky shoreline at Sandy Beach, Oahu, Hawaii.  The surfers would surf within about 20 feet of the rocks before veering off, sometimes closer.  If I tried that, I'd be in the hospital for sure.  The Winter waves at Sandy Beach are pretty sizeable as well (not pipeline sized but big enough for some serious action).  Hats off to these guys.

Makapu'u and Sandy Beach, Oahu

Makapu'u coastline with Sandy Beach in the distance.  Oahu, Hawaii.

Picking the View Side of the Plane to Oahu

Aerial shot Maui (foreground) and Hawaii (background) on a cloudy day. When flying to Hawaii, the direction of approach will vary somewhat depending on the direction of the wind and where you are coming from. However, most of the time, whether coming into Hawaii from Northern or Southern California, the planes will fly in toward Oahu from the Southeast. Thus, the left side of the plane will view Maui and the island of Hawaii first and then fly over the low planes and hills of Molokai before approaching Oahu over Pearl Harbor and landing on the reef runway. Depending on the winds, sometimes the plane will loop out over the ocean and fly over Hanauma bay, Koko Head and Waikiki approaching in the opposite direction. However, the majority of the time, when flying to Oahu, the left side windows are your best bet. When leaving, chose the opposite. Nothing, of course, is guaranteed.

Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail View

Makapu'u looking back towards Hawaii Kai, Koko Head Crater and Hanauma Bay, Oahu, from the cliffs along the Makapu'u lighthouse trail.

Kualoa Regional Park, Oahu, Hawaii

Kualoa Regional Park, Oahu, Hawaii. An overcast Winter day at Kualoa Regional Park highlighting the jagged, razor sharp, eroded lava cliffs caused by millions of years of rainfall as the warm, humid tradewinds rise along the slopes of the Koolau Range on Oahu.

Marbled Blenny and Helmet Urchins

Entomacrodus marmoratus or the Marbled Blenny, with Shingle or Helmet urchins (Ha'Uke'Uke), Magic Island, Hawaii. These amazing little Hawaiian blennies come up out of the water as the waves wash over shoreline rocks. They sit on these rocks where they graze on algae, ever keeping a watchful eye for threats such as stray humans or the occasional bird or crab. Their eyesight appears to be quite good, even out of water. When threatened,do a quick snap of their tail, possibly with a bit of a wiggle to get to the edge of the rock, to escape back into the ocean.

The local fishermen will sometimes catch these little blennies to use as live bait for larger fish such as Ulua (Jacks) and Baracuda.

Also shown are a group of Shingle or Helmet urchins, Colobocentrotus atratus. These are called Ha 'uke 'uke in Hawaiian and, while edible,are not commercially harvested. They are usually found out of water in the splash zone clinging to large rocks.

Giant Dome off of Waikiki: Sea-based X-Band Radar

Sea-based X-Band Radar off of Waikiki Beach. Wow, this radar dome is absolutely huge! It's based on a Norweigian/Russian-built, double-hulled, mobile oil platform that cost over $900M to build. It provides radar tracking for advanced missile defense. It's a pretty amazing sight to see.

Napping Hawaiian Monk Seal

Hawaiian Monk Seal, Monachus schauinslandi, napping on the rocks, on Oahu, Hawaii. Hawaiian Monk Seals are solitary, endagered, earless seals and, due to development and environmental degradation, are largely restricted to the Northern Hawaiian Islands. They are the only native seal in Hawaii and one of only two surviving species of Monk seals in the world. Hawaiian Monk seals are rarely found on the major, inhabited islands. This one, however, was napping on the rocks on Oahu, the most populated of all the Hawaiian islands. Quite a treat indeed!

Body Surfing Flip Acrobatics

Body Surfing Flip at Sandy Beach, Oahu. This surfer did a full flip and landed it perfectly! He was also doing 360s in the waves!

The Angry Myna

Common Myna, Acridotheres tristis, Waikiki, Oahu. This mynah appeared wet, possibly from the recent heavy rains. Whatever the cause, he sure looked cranky!

A'ama

Grapsus tenuicrustatus, a'ama, thin shelled rock crab, Oahu, Hawaii.

Surfing

Nice ride on a nice wave, Sunset Beach, Hawaii.

Turtles Napping

Green Sea Turtles, Haleiwa, Oahu, Hawaii. These two Green Sea Turtles were napping on the beach in Haleiwa. Now that they are protected, Green Sea Turtles have come roaring back and are actually reasonably common to see swimming in the shallows at the beaches.

The Family That Surfs Together Stays Together

Family Surfing, (the) Queen's Surf, Honolulu, Hawaii. Posing for a surf pic!

Graffiti Tree

Graffiti Tree, Waikiki Shopping Plaza, Honolulu, Hawaii. Old, old banyan with generations of graffiti from tourists around the world. It may not look all that attractive but this tree is probably over 60 years old and probably pre-dates the shopping plaza itself. Some of those love notes have been on there for a long, long time. It's kind of romantic in a odd sort of way. So, Danny and Kara, Noelle and Luke, Mike and Sally: we hope you're still out there and still happily and passionately together.

Oh Why Not?

Surfing Sunset Beach! North Shore, Oahu. Wow!...

Big Waves

Surfer on huges waves at Sunset Beach, Oahu, Hawaii. I thought about doing a little zoom and crop on this one but I figured I'd leave the whole wave there to help you see what it was really like on the beach that way. The waves were HUGE. They were even bigger the day before.

Hanging Out in Waikiki

Group of friends just hanging out on the beach in Waikiki. More shots of warm weather just in case you're stuck in the frigid temperatures we've been having this winter... As for me, vacation's over and it's back to the books! It is nice to see all my friends again. Ah, that school thing.

Surfing Sunset Beach

Surfer at Sunset Beach, North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii. Oahu's North Shore gets some huge waves in the Winter. A passing storm sent 40-60ft waves to Waiamea Bay the day prior to this picture. However, the line of cars wanting to see the gigantic waves stretched all the way out to Haleiwa (aka for miles). Faced with stop and go traffic, wet roads and stormy weather that would likely last through sunset, we opted to snap pictures of the nearly as huge waves in Haleiwa. The 60 footer was a freak wave in Waiamea Bay that same day prior day. The waves started dropping off throughout the day to a measly 20-25 feet the following day. Oddly enough, when I snapped this picture at Sunset Beach, Waiamea Bay was fairly calm (for Winter time anyhow).