Ko'olau sunrise

[Nords]

Our house sits up on a ridge with a panoramic view of the Ko'olau. Taking a picture of the entire sweep is well beyond my meager photo ability, and usually they're shrouded in clouds & mauka showers.

But once or twice a year it's too cold for the morning clouds and you can see the entire range. It's even better at sunrise!

 

[Nords]

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[Arif]

Beautiful pics in paradise. Hawaii is a great place for those that love the water. I've got a friend in the Navy stationed in Oahu and we're trying to go for a visit before he PCSs in 2008. He's already going crazy because he says there's nothing to do. It doesn't help that he can't swim :

 

[Rustic23]

I use a program called pix-around. Got it on line. It works real good to stitch individual pictures in to panoramas.

 

[Marshac]

We're gonna be in Hawaii next month Can't wait!

 

[astromeria]

Our trip to Oahu and Kauai 10 years ago was our first vacation without kids, so I remember it as particualrly idyllic It was my 7-year sabbatical from work, and we spoiled ourselves...catamaran venture to snorkel spots and fab views around Kauai, helicopter tour, Wrangler rental, beaches to ourselves, incredible fruit and seafood, very relaxing and fun.

 

[Nords]

He's already going crazy because he says there's nothing to do. It doesn't help that he can't swim  :

Gosh, according to the Navy's required training standards he's a third-class swimmer!

"Nothing to do."  Unbelievable.  Even if he's standing 12-hour shifts, he needs to flip through the "101 Things to do in Hawaii" guide.

We're gonna be in Hawaii next month Can't wait!

If you surf, or if you want to learn, send me a PM.

 

[Outtahere]

Nords I heard something on the news today about the problem getting foam boards and that someone was going to try using some kind of foam the goverment produces. I didn't catch the whole thing but I immediately thought of you.

 

[wildcat]

Hey man, you need a neighbor?

 

[Sheryl]

Beautiful!

 

[Nords]

I didn't catch the whole thing but I immediately thought of you.

Looks like local foam companies (all over the world) are rushing in to pick up the slack, so I think things will settle down.  As Ronin mentioned earlier, low-cost producers are starting to flood Costco with epoxy boards that don't depend on foam blanks.

Board shapers are really finding out who their buddies are.  I unloaded three decrepit starter boards by advertising them as "made from Clark foam blanks".

We have a 9'0", an 8'0", and a 6'6".  I'm 5'10" and 185 pounds, so we won't be needing a new board until I get "bored" with the short one.  Even then it's pretty much pearls before swine, but I figure that I have four or five decades to get better before I have to start shopping for a custom board.

Beautiful!

Hey man, you need a neighbor?

Ironically I was shooting across the former canefields (now cornfields) of what is already a Costco & a Seattle's Best, upgrading to become Koa Ridge Makai, 3000 homes on 750 acres coming to you in 2010.

 

[bpp]

For some reason I had previously pictured you on the windward side, but you seem to be somewhere in the vicinity of Mililani?

Bpp

 

[Nords]

For some reason I had previously pictured you on the windward side, but you seem to be somewhere in the vicinity of Mililani?

Yep, overlooking Kipapa Gulch. Best home we've ever lived in, and hopefully will ever live in.

Don't often get over to windward-- many parts are much more rainy & humid than Mililani and the bugs are a hassle in some areas, although H-3 has dramatically improved the traffic. Here it's one of the sunniest spots on the island and the trades keep the mosquitos away.

 

[Outtahere]

Nords, my assistant is leaving tomorrow for your wonderful islands, is there anything you can recommend that a normal tourist wouldn't know about but should see?

 

[Ginger]

Just beautiful! It was nice to look at your pictures while sitting here at work - A mental health break from dealing with attorneys!

 

[Nords]

Nords, my assistant is leaving tomorrow for your wonderful islands, is there anything you can recommend that a normal tourist wouldn't  know about but should see?

Lunch at Oahu's La Mariana Sailing Club by the Ke'ehi Lagoon. (Don't dress up.) Dinners are good too and I think they have live music on Friday night, but it's not necessarily the type of thing you'd see at Waikiki. It's more the locals living aboard their boats and hanging out after work.

Hiking Waimea Valley or taking a trail ride above the valley (Happy Trails).

For military veterans/enthusiasts, the Fort DeRussy & Schofield Barracks museums.

Rent a home at the Big Island's Kapoho Beach community with your own lava-heated backyard tidepool.

Thompson Ranch on Maui, although I don't know how the new owner (Oprah) is going to change the tours or the horseback rides.