Leah and I arrived in Oahu, Hawaii on Aug. 23, after 11 hours in the air and a 3 hour layover. The flight was very uneventful--leaving on time and arriving on time--what a great concept!
We got our rental car and headed to her apartment. How nice! It's a privately owned condo that is being rented to the college kids. Leah has 3 other roommates. There is one large bedroom that they all share and a bathroom upstairs, and a kitchen, bathroom, and huge living room that serves as living/dining/desk area, along with a lanai (deck) with huge sliding glass doors. One floor down, and visible from their hallway is a huge pool and a hot tub that they have access to. This is the view looking up from the pool area.


We drove around the island one day. It took about 2 hours of actual driving time. We stopped at the Dole Plantation and had pineapple soft ice-cream---yum. Then we continued up the coast--stopped at one of the beaches and saw sea turtles. We continued on to Wiamae Falls. It's located in a Nature Preserve.


It's nice, but not as spectacular as some of the falls at home. Then we went on to find another beach along the North Shore, and we just spent some time swimming and laying on the beach. It was beautiful!


The next day we went to the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor.





Another day we spent a few hours at Waikiki Beach--this was much more crowded and commercial than the beaches at the North Shore. There was entertainment on the beach and the beach front was completely filled with hotels. Some people were attempting to surf, but the waves weren't very big.




One morning I went out early to photograph some street scenes. There are fountains and planters everywhere. This is just one example.


Tuesday we went to Diamond Head. We joined a tour group, and when we got there found out that we could have gone independently. But the tour was good. The guide gave us a lot of information about the islands and their formation, etc. Very interesting.




This is a view of Waikiki Beach from the top of
Diamond Head. The view is awesome. You can even see one or two of the other islands far off in the distance. (those hills are part of Oahu) One of the islands the guide mentioned is Molaki.

After staying at the top for about 15 minutes we began to descend. After a short walk, this is the view of Diamond Head Lighthouse that you see. It's really beautiful. I could have spent a lot more time there, but the path is very narrow and people are contstantly coming and going so there was no place to stand without being in the way, let alone set up a tripod.

Wednesday we pretty much sat around and did nothing--with no guilt, hooray. Around 3:30 the girls decided to go to a movie, so I packed the car and took off. Got lost but in the process found a great overlook. I tried to take some shots, but the wind was practically knocking me over. I even tried it with a tripod...


Then I found my way to the east side of the island which is very rocky--very beautiful. I was really looking for the second of the only two lighthouses on Oahu. In the process of stopping at various overlooks and beaches, I saw this rainbow. Rainbows are pretty common here, but it was great to see one when I had my camera in hand. By the time I found the lighthouse it was almost time for the road to close. I was only able to get a far away shot, but I was happy with everything else I got.

















Thursday, Leah and I went snorkeling at one of
the beaches on the North
Shore. It was really fun. Then we went to a beach and did some swimming and sunbathing.

Since this was my last trip to the North Shore past the Dole Plantation, we just had to stop for another pineapple ice cream.