A little Aloha
I've been back from Kauai for a few days, and have had time to arrange all the photos I took with my spiffy new digital camera, second-hand from my dad. I know I always railed against digital cameras, claimed that I adored processing film, and declared that I would never be drawn into an age where you can't actually hold your own pictures in your hand, but hey... it's a free camera, and it's good. And this way, you can all see them better.
I've cut it down considerably from 154 photos, but there's still sixty or so, so my dial-up friends and neighbors may want to sit back with some cocoa and sandwiches before beginning the journey. I can promise some spectacular views.
My packed bag the night before! Lily and I split a suitcase, since we weren't taking much, and you can probably see our pannies in the courtesy mesh pocket!
Suki helping me get ready.
Six a.m. wake up call.
Lily comes to fetch me!
At airport, parking disaster averted, seething tempers cooled, granola bars and grapes dispensed by me to weary travelers. We ain't dead yet!
O'ahu, my island, after takeoff. Sometimes I'm shocked that I live here.
These are the Ko Olina lagoons, where Lily and I like to play.
Hello Kauai.
We took a shuttle bus to the place where we'd rented our car, which through a shortage of compact cars wound up being a Jeep Wrangler -- this came in handy, because we did some no-nonsense off-road driving.
We stopped at one of the ten thousand lookout points along the way to check out a great view of the mountains. This is only a third as high up as we were about to get.
A zen temple.
We found a cool little dock and walked around.
And I tested my equilibrium.
We found another great roadside lookout.
With lots of roosters around.
Another great view...
... and another rooster. Honestly, these guys were like the way squirrels are on the mainland.
Hey, if we can get here, you can too.
Our rustic cabin. I kept looking for things to be creepy about it -- bloodstains, Bigfoot, ghosties, El Chupacabra -- because it was exactly the sort of place where that would be very appropriate, but no one else would entertain my fancies.
After checking in at the cabin and dropping off our gear, we headed back out to hike up to some of the other lookout points on the island. At the top of one such point, we saw this...
We were at 4000 feet elevation, and were above the clouds. The world was completely silent. I didn't hear the birds or the bugs or the wind or the traffic, there was hardly any sound. Everyone spoke in close, quiet voices, and it felt as if a blanket of snow had just fallen.
Lily said, "It looks like the entrance to heaven."
After ten minutes or so, the clouds disappeared.
That night, we went back into the cabin (and, sadly, did not tell ghost stories), built a fire and went to sleep. The next morning was a five-thirty a.m. wake up call, and a butt-ass freezing ride down the mountain with my back windows on the Jeep not closing. Our next date was with a helicopter.
Lily booked and paid for the air tour, which was my first time in a helicopter. The seasoned, saucy pilot played the theme from Indiana Jones as we rose into the air.
Lily in the front. Riding in a helicopter is vastly different from doing so in a plane. The sensation is more like floating than flying. A helicopter can maneuver so much better than a plane can; it can get closer to the mountain tops, it can turn around more easily, it can go up and down as well as back and forth.
There's a bit of glare, but these are some grand views of Kauai from above.
A rather famous waterfall, featured both in Six Days, Seven Nights and Jurassic Park, both of which were filmed on the island. I feel almost cheap and touristy pointing that out, but what the heck -- I like those films and I loved the waterfall.
The captivating Na Pali.
A lovely cove beach, also filmed in Six Days, Seven Nights.
This is a view from inside the crater of the long-dormant volcano that formed the island.
Not our heli, but one very similar.
Another lovely lookout and waterfall.
Crisp, cool water of a beach on which Dad, Lily and myself saw a small family of humpbacks in the distance spouting and actually jumping into the air to splash back into the sea. You can't see them in this picture, but they're out there. They were jumping like mad.
One of my favorite photos of the bunch. Lily and Pop roasting beachside.
One of the many gorgeous Kauai trees. Lily's shot.
Had to get a photo of Dad's hilarious thug headwrap.
The sun sets on our last day in Kauai. We returned the car and went to the airport, thn made our way home. Goodbye Kauai.
And hello boyfriend. :)
Cheers! Thanks for joining us on this Kauai Photomentary!
Off you go now, kids, off you go!
I've cut it down considerably from 154 photos, but there's still sixty or so, so my dial-up friends and neighbors may want to sit back with some cocoa and sandwiches before beginning the journey. I can promise some spectacular views.
My packed bag the night before! Lily and I split a suitcase, since we weren't taking much, and you can probably see our pannies in the courtesy mesh pocket!
Suki helping me get ready.
Six a.m. wake up call.
Lily comes to fetch me!
At airport, parking disaster averted, seething tempers cooled, granola bars and grapes dispensed by me to weary travelers. We ain't dead yet!
O'ahu, my island, after takeoff. Sometimes I'm shocked that I live here.
These are the Ko Olina lagoons, where Lily and I like to play.
Hello Kauai.
We took a shuttle bus to the place where we'd rented our car, which through a shortage of compact cars wound up being a Jeep Wrangler -- this came in handy, because we did some no-nonsense off-road driving.
We stopped at one of the ten thousand lookout points along the way to check out a great view of the mountains. This is only a third as high up as we were about to get.
A zen temple.
We found a cool little dock and walked around.
And I tested my equilibrium.
We found another great roadside lookout.
With lots of roosters around.
Another great view...
... and another rooster. Honestly, these guys were like the way squirrels are on the mainland.
Hey, if we can get here, you can too.
Our rustic cabin. I kept looking for things to be creepy about it -- bloodstains, Bigfoot, ghosties, El Chupacabra -- because it was exactly the sort of place where that would be very appropriate, but no one else would entertain my fancies.
After checking in at the cabin and dropping off our gear, we headed back out to hike up to some of the other lookout points on the island. At the top of one such point, we saw this...
We were at 4000 feet elevation, and were above the clouds. The world was completely silent. I didn't hear the birds or the bugs or the wind or the traffic, there was hardly any sound. Everyone spoke in close, quiet voices, and it felt as if a blanket of snow had just fallen.
Lily said, "It looks like the entrance to heaven."
After ten minutes or so, the clouds disappeared.
That night, we went back into the cabin (and, sadly, did not tell ghost stories), built a fire and went to sleep. The next morning was a five-thirty a.m. wake up call, and a butt-ass freezing ride down the mountain with my back windows on the Jeep not closing. Our next date was with a helicopter.
Lily booked and paid for the air tour, which was my first time in a helicopter. The seasoned, saucy pilot played the theme from Indiana Jones as we rose into the air.
Lily in the front. Riding in a helicopter is vastly different from doing so in a plane. The sensation is more like floating than flying. A helicopter can maneuver so much better than a plane can; it can get closer to the mountain tops, it can turn around more easily, it can go up and down as well as back and forth.
There's a bit of glare, but these are some grand views of Kauai from above.
A rather famous waterfall, featured both in Six Days, Seven Nights and Jurassic Park, both of which were filmed on the island. I feel almost cheap and touristy pointing that out, but what the heck -- I like those films and I loved the waterfall.
The captivating Na Pali.
A lovely cove beach, also filmed in Six Days, Seven Nights.
This is a view from inside the crater of the long-dormant volcano that formed the island.
Not our heli, but one very similar.
Another lovely lookout and waterfall.
Crisp, cool water of a beach on which Dad, Lily and myself saw a small family of humpbacks in the distance spouting and actually jumping into the air to splash back into the sea. You can't see them in this picture, but they're out there. They were jumping like mad.
One of my favorite photos of the bunch. Lily and Pop roasting beachside.
One of the many gorgeous Kauai trees. Lily's shot.
Had to get a photo of Dad's hilarious thug headwrap.
The sun sets on our last day in Kauai. We returned the car and went to the airport, thn made our way home. Goodbye Kauai.
And hello boyfriend. :)
Cheers! Thanks for joining us on this Kauai Photomentary!
Off you go now, kids, off you go!