Oahu

This flower is blooming near our hotel. I'm not sure what kind of flower it is. I'm really not all that knowledgeable about flora. But, it's pretty and I have to say, it is fun to play with my 50mm lens. The depth of field is so neat to see when captured on film.

I think this one is a red ginger. Also blooming near our hotel.



Finally, this is the view from my room at night. I like taking long exposure shots. The images that come out are pretty neat. It's amazing how much detail can appear in an image when you keep the aperture open for a long time.

Marlene is in Hawaii

Aloha, everyone! While 9 and Chani relax at the Kitty Hotel, I am in Hawaii again. First, my family and I went to Kona. Right outside our hotel, we had these really lovely waves crashing against the rocks. They were quite loud, so I couldn't leave my sliding glass door open at night. Still, they were magnificent. One can really stand in awe of Mother Nature while watching these waves.

Mom wanted a photo for the Christmas card, so she and Dad posed for me. Lovely photo, yes? We also took photos of Dad and me and Mom and me... Oh boy, do I need to start working out. Ah well, isn't that always the case?

We are traveling with my cousin and her fiancee who has never been to Hawaii. So we're doing all sorts of tourist stuff like going to see the volcano (Kilauea) and Rainbow Falls (above). You'd think that driving around an island would not be too tiring, but it did take all day and we were exhausted by the end of it. Still, with such beautiful sites to see, one can't stay tired for too long.

A plumeria (edited from before... don't know what I was thinking by calling this a hibiscus!).

A 'honu' or sea turtle petroglyph made by the early Hawaiians.

Hibiscus.

Fiddlehead fern.

Fern... I'm not sure what the name is, but these ferns always grow perfectly symmetrical... it's pretty amazing to see fractal math like this in nature.

Finally, this is Lola, the woofie at Greenwell Coffee farms. She's a smart girl who comes down to where the local historical society makes Portuguese sweet bread the old fashion way. Yes, she naps in the sun and waits for some scraps from the bakers. And, if you have never had a taste of Portuguese sweet bread, you are missing out. I cannot recommend enough going to Greenwell farms to try this bread, especially when it is fresh and warm from the oven.

more Hawaii

Here are a couple more pictures of Hawaii. I still have to pack up the rest of the kitchen and all the stuff on my dining room table. Sigh... moving.

White Lotus in Honolulu.


The City of Refuge on the Big Island.

Back to packing!

Hawaii

Hello! I'm back. Here are some shots of Hawaii. Above is the view from my hotel room in Kona. Nice, yes? I was really happy there.
Here's a shot of a rainbow from our room in Honolulu. There were a few rainbows since the rains kept coming. Fortunately, the showers were pretty short.
Pink lotus from a pond outside the hotel.
Bird tracks in the sand on the beach in front of the hotel. Took a few shots of those.
Birds in the pond between two nearby hotels. I'm not sure what kind they are, but they sure were very pretty.
Finally, a night view of Honolulu.

Overall, it was a great trip and I had a hard time coming back to the Bay Area.

Here's some news for you. A lot of changes will be happening for me in the next few weeks. I've been trying to buy a condo in San Jose. It's slow going, but I've got a really positive feeling about it. This means that I will be moving out of my apartment, away from Chris. He was a great kitten sitter, but we both have our own paths in life to follow. I'll probably move back to my parents' place for a bit before I actually move into my condo. It's a bittersweet time, but I'm looking forward to the change.

I'll keep you informed!