"Trick or Treat" - Halloween Special

Halloween is a big part of the island custom with children going door to door saying that old familiar phrase, "trick or treat" and if those kids are brave enough to go through the spooky walkways to the door like this one, they are sure to get some wonderful treats from this fine family - This happens to be my friends house =)

In-Between Sets

Two surfers waiting patiently in-between the sets of surf

Dancing Water

Posting this a little late but here it is - surf picked up on the east facing shores the last couple of days

Sunny Splash =)

29 degrees Celsius, sunny skies, trade winds, and surf's up!!! East and North facing shores - High Surf Warning!!! =D

Check out Excel Pro Surf Contest Live!

Photo taken at Ehukai! Can you see da rainbowwww?

Marlin Results

This photo was taken while on my kayak outside of Hawai'i Kai. If you look closely, there is a parasail in the distance on the left side of the picture. That mountain thing in the middle is the back side of Diamond Head.

Marlin results...I decided to take the top 5 answers within radius of the correct answer.
Names in bold - send me information on where to send your surprise mail! =)

Congratulations! - if your name is not on here, please let me know where you posted your answer.

	Kg	lbs.	256
Felicia	29	63	-193
Edwin	30	65	-191
Lisi	60	132	-124
Carol	72	158	-98
Kate	79	174	-82
Aisha	82	180	-76
Zsolt72	90	198	-58
Cropstar5	94	207	-49
Zannie	100	220	-36
Natalie	104	228	-28	#
Brie	111	245	-11	#
Celine	118	260	4	*
Alex	120	264	8	*
Weez	125	275	19	#
Curly	139	305	49
Sally	180	396	140
Jing	210	462	206
Helen	227	500	244
Fay	227	500	244
Nathalie	420	924	668

1 - 4 - 9

First, fourth and ninth place - the finishing places for Kamehameha Schools in the third race of the high school surfski season. You can see how narrow the kayaks are - only about 18 inches (46 centimeters) wide

Human Sacrifice

The waters of Kewalo Basin.
Before ships passed through here, before large white sails of missionaries came through, before the English and Captain Cook, there were the Gods - Kane, Lono, Kanaloa, Kane - the powers that guided the life of the Hawaiian people from Land to Ocean - the people: Ali'is, Kahunas, Maka'ainanas, and the outcasts - the Kauwa - those unfortunately to be born into this lowest of all social class would be called upon by the Ali'i (King) for human sacrifice, to be dragged alive under the waters of Kewalo Basin.

The Spirit of Queen Emma

I've been busy so I am posting a photo taken on Oct. 8th - a photo of St. Andrews Priory - founded in 1867 by the late Queen Emma, wife of King Kamehameha IV, as an Anglican school for Hawaiian girls.

Once a year, on Ascension Day (sometime in May), the queen returns to her beloved school. Her footsteps can be heard walking along the wooden squeaky floors in the middle of the night, lights appearing on and off, and the grand piano playing Queen Emma's favorite songs.

More recently, another spirit has begun to appear - that of a student of St. Andrews Priory who died when she stepped into the weakened wooden floors of the historic building. Looking up into the tower window, the unhappy girl can be seen reliving her tragic accident.


Queen Emma

Jason in Manoa

Jason is an energetic young 8 y.o. who recently moved into a house with his parents. Like any other 8 y.o., adjusting to a new home and new neighborhood took some getting used to. One day, Jason's mom observes her son talking to himself in the mirror. For about a week, she notices this same peculiar behavior and realizes he is creating his own imaginary friend to keep him company. So, she decides to ask him who he is talking to. Jason, looking at the mirror and then back to her mom's face, replies, "I'm talking to an old man." Surprised as to why Jason would have an imaginary friend way older than him, she ask him more questions.
Jason begins to explain to her that the old man used to live in the house until, one day, the old man was buried by his daughter in the backyard. Everyone in the neighborhood thought he had simply passed away.......

The photograph was taken in Manoa, parts of the story is based on a true event in Hawai'i. Which part? I will let you decide. Happy Halloween. =)

Creepy goblins

This creepy creature was photographed last night trying to find its way in through the kitchen window as we armed ourselves with pots and pans and the longest spatulas we could find in hopes of swatting this ghoulish monster if it ever got in - gosh forbid!!

As you have probably figured out, this is an embelishment in the spirit of Halloween. =P

For a truly spooky fun time, visit Alexandria Daily Photo beginning with the Oct. 16th post here.
Be forewarned! Its not for the faint or weak of heart and do not read it alone and in a darkened room! Have a happy spooky week! =D

p.s. You still have time to take a guess on the weight of the Marlin in my previous post ;)

How many pounds/kgs?

Correctly guess how many pounds/kilograms this Marlin weights and you get a special prize! The first person to guess within +/- 5 pounds/2.27 kilograms of the correct answer gets a package in the mail.

1 - 2 - 3 - 4

First, second, third, and fourth place! A very deserving and rewarding finish for a group of young, bright, humble, and good natured teens in todays high school kayak race.
When the teens are not kayaking in these ~20 feet long (6 meters), 18 inch (46 cm) wide kayaks, they are paddling or competing in water polo.

It's Friday!

This photo is a result of what you get when its a Friday, it's raining, and the only adults around are just as crazy as the kids on this bus! Have a great weekend!!!

The Ironman race - 2.4 mi. swim • 112 mi. bike • 26.2 mi. run - takes place this weekend in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island. Read about the underpants race that takes place a couple of days before the big Ironman competition.

Sunset at Sunset beach

Surf was up to 10 to 15 feet the last couple of days so I took a spin up to the North Shore and bring to you, an image of Sunset Beach at Sunset. (I hope these people in the photo discard/recycle their beer bottles appropriately!)

This post is dedicated to Felicia of San Diego DP and Santy of Jakarta DP - thanks to them for informing me of spam in the comments
=)

People have been asking how Hawai'i is doing so this is a very short recap of our status...

O'ahu: ~150 miles from the epicenter and where Honolulu is located and most of the population resides, we had an island wide blackout on earthquake Sunday but electricity was restored to most if not all customers by 2 AM - I was one of the first to have power restored at 3 PM. T.V. cable came back on later in the night.
Damages to the island included some computers from the electrical power surge and one chimney collapsed from a 94 year old istorical home. One lady fell down in the shower and suffered a broken bone I think and another 80 y.o. lady died when the candle she was using burn her room during the blackout.

Kaua'i: Farthest away from the earthquake (aside from Ni'ihau), they went unscathed and no blackouts.

Mau'i, Moloka'i, Lana'i: Some pockets of blackouts on Sunday but very minor compared to O'ahu with power restored fairly quickly.

Big Island: The island closest to the quake suffered the most infrastructure damage to roads, buildings and homes on the Kona (West) side but no life lost and electricity was restored very quickly, they will be having the Ironman Triathlon this Sunday. Hilo (East) side faired much better.

Today, they had a pre-Ironman race - the undergarment race where competitors run in their underwears.

Hawai'i was very lucky to have such outcome - In 1994, Northridge, California experienced an earthquake of similar magnitude and resulting damages displaced 22,000 people!

Likelike Hwy

On the way to work along Likelike hwy at 3:30 PM.

On top

Photo was taken last friday during the afternoon hike =)

Day and Night - the aftermath

Literally and figuratively - what a difference a day makes - its like night and day, as the saying goes. Just yesterday, an earthquake measured officially at 6.7, and rain to add to the mix. Today was a new day...
Above photo: Top view of the University of Hawai'i campus with Diamond Head in the background at ~2 PM
Above photo: Night photo of the Ala Wai canal and Ala Wai Boulevard across the canal at ~7:30 PM

Mahalo nui loa for all your thoughts and words - meke aloha pumehana!

7:09 AM...

...that was the time the bedroom started to shake like a match box, awakening into a surrealistic dream - the source - a 6.6 earthquake originating some ~150 miles away, underwater and offshore of the west coast of Kailua-Kona, Big Island.The image above was taken about 9 PM and shows some buildings still without electricity in Waikiki during the island wide blackout.

Below was a picture I took/posted on Sept. 02, 2006.

This was my first personal encounter with a ground shaker, and hopefully my last.

My T-Mobile cellphone failed completely while someone elses Cingular continued to work. Fortunately, the electricity came back on at 3 PM for some of us including myself and this island, O'ahu, suffered very little infrastructure damage being a distance from the epicenter.
When I finally got to watch CNN's coverage of the earthquake at 10 PM, I could not help but be amused at the dramatic and sensational coverage of the event. This quake caused some minor structural damage but nothing significant to result in direct lost of life. We are definitely grateful and fortunate of the outcome given the potential of mother natures wrath. =)

Waterworld

I found this behemoth of a construction mess near Sand Island - located adjacent to the airport and it reminded me of the water civilization city in the old movie, Waterworld by Kevin Costner. Portions of that movie was filmed in Hawai'i (Big Island) but I would be surprised if anyone reading this post has seen this movie. Click here to view a picture I found on the web of the actual Waterworld prop.

Wa'ahila Ridge Hike

View from along the ridge line of Wa'ahila Ridge this afternoon (5 PM) .:Happy weekend:.
=)

Lifes a beach II

After my post of two days ago, some people wondered where the adults were, soooo, here is another picture to show that the little miss pink was not abandoned on the beach by herself.

Here she is on the left playing with a friend's gf while others are frolicking about on the right and in the water.

Kilauea Volcano Haze...

Vog - smoggy haze caused by the Kilauea volcano on the big island combined with "Kona" weather conditions can be seen in the horizon.

Click here for Google map

Today's headlines in Honolulu:

• Voggy weather conditions
• Electronic Health Records Under Study
  

Lifes a Beach

Even for a kid, life can be hard on an overcast morning - so whats a kid to do, but to sleep!

Read about Waimanalo in the National Geographic

Click here for Google Map

Today's headlines in Honolulu:

• Tahiti finishes 1-2-3 and breaks course record
• Funnel clouds seen over O'ahu
• Big wave surfers paddling, biking 500 miles for Autism
  

First Friday Event

Hawai'i Financial Management located in downtown Honolulu served as host for the art gallery display that is free to the public on the first friday of every month.

Check out this First Friday posting from Phoenix, AZ!

Click here for Google Map

Today in the news (Honolulu):

• UH football beats Nevada
• Enough water for ethanol?
  

Hawai'i Kai

The night lights of Hawai'i Kai - Click image to view large version.

Click here for Google Map

Today's Headlines from Honolulu:

• Challenge across the Kaiwi
• Tales of the Kaiwi Crossing

Puffy Clouds

Taken the same day as the previous post, I found this cloud formation during sunset quite stunning. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! =D

Click here for Google Map

Today's news from Honolulu

• Kava Festival offers free ‘awa drinks for all
• University Campus Beat (Crime Bulletin)

YWCA - Laniakea

Opened in 1927, this historical building served the community and Hawai'i well, esp. during WW II, when they refused to discriminate against black women who were employed as war workers.

Located in downtown Honolulu, today, the building is actively used for meetings, dining, fitness/ceramics classes, as well as swimming lessons.

Click here to view Google Map

Today in Honolulu News:

• Disguise Bandit Bank Robber Caught!
• Future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens watch son play in Hawaii Winter Baseball League
• "Lost" Again

Wai'alae Avenue

This is not exactly a "pretty" image but I decided to take a picture of this street for several reasons - Aside from the fact that this is my daily morning route to the University, this area is considered the "oldest little business town" on O'ahu and has managed to preserve some of its original shops while drawing in new ones. Incidentally, there's more places to eat per square feet in this are than in Waikiki - not to mention, probably cheaper as well. This area is frequented mainly by locals so if you are visiting the islands, park the car, and enjoy a piece of the island history and mingle with the kama'aina =)

Along this mile long stretch of road (and not far from Waikiki), you can find all types of business including a Brazilian shop, a variety of ethnic foods including Vietnamese, Mexican, Italian, Korean, Chinese and American, just to name a few, as well as a $1 movie theatre, Yoga studio, bead/jewelry making store, Coffee shop (no Starbucks!), cell phone shop, automotive repair, barber shop, schools, churches yadayada - you get the idea.

Click Here For Google Map

Today's Honolulu Headline(s):

• Hawai'i rent highest in nation
• Hale'iwa Bridge to close for 10 days
• Actress Susan Lucci gets the star treatment
• "Lost" stars in Waikiki
• Singer Pat Benator becomes a Kama'aina
  

Surfer Slippers

This photo was taken near the surf spot called Tonggs where surfers leave their slippers tucked between fence boards and head out to the surf. When the surf is good, this fence will be stocked with a ton of slippers. The surf spot is named after Rudy Tongg, a beach front owner who graciously allowed surfers to wash off at his property. How would you like a surf spot named after you? =)