I have been racking my brain to remember where we went to find this amazing drive and overlook of Honolulu, Waikiki, Diamond Head, and Pearl Harbor but I can’t remember!

Our flight left at 9pm which meant our last day on the island was going to be a long one. With hotel check-out at 11am and no where to be until we hit the airport, we decided to do some driving around on our own. It was a long day of driving and I do remember this last drive was a complicated one to find. We’d heard about this 10 mile loop up the mountains that gave way to some gorgeous scenics so we took off on one last adventure. The drive was beautiful and peaceful. And as we climbed into the mountains we’d get little glimpses of Honolulu down below, but it wasn’t until we hit, almost by accident, a park toward the middle of the loop that we got the full scope of what you could see from this drive.

In short… YOU COULD SEE EVERYTHING. Yes, I wrote that in all caps. And yes, I was shouting it while I was typing. The view was such an awesome surprise for us and a perfect way to end our time on Oahu.

Do you see my hair? Do you see my logo? Do you get the connection?

I was so looking forward to our day of snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. You see, this bay has some sentimental value to me as it was the location of my very first snorkeling experience in the ocean about 20 years ago (ACK! AGE.). When I snorkeled this bay way-back-when it was amazing! The water was crystal blue, loads of fish, sea turtles, eels,  and so on and so forth. I hadn’t been back to Hanauma Bay since the 1990’s so I was unprepared for what awaited me.

As we pulled up, everything looked pretty much the same. A few things had changed, like the price of admission, there used to not be one… but that’s absolutely to be expected. There was also a 20 minute required viewing of a movie to make you aware of the bay’s natural habitats, the creatures that live in the bay, and just generally how to behave in a nature park. I quickly came to realize this movie was necessary because Hanauma Bay had become probably THE MOST POPULAR snorkeling spot on the whole island (maybe even the entire state?). Holy WOW was the evidence of Man ever present at the bay. Right down to the little bus things you could pay for to drive you down and back from the cliff to the bay.

Mike and I had planned for a full day of snorkeling so we came prepared. We rented our snorkel gear (I recommend this method whenever traveling requires you to stay light on the luggage) and anxiously jumped into the ocean! Unfortunately, the water is cloudy making visibility not ideal. There are fish… but not a whole lot else. When we met back up with each other to review our findings and decide which areas were worth more exploration we both came back with the same results; “not a whole lot out there…” In other areas we’ve snorkeled we’ve become used to seeing all kinds of various signs of life with in the first 20 minutes of the adventure. However at Hanauma Bay, we snorkeled for about 3 hours and didn’t see even a quarter of what we’ve seen elsewhere.

But, let’s not forget one VERY important thing to this seemingly negative blog post… I AM IN HAWAII. So for every fraction of a second I spent complaining about the lack of awesome snorkeling environment at Hanauma Bay there were tens of millions of seconds spent basking in the gorgeousness that make up Oahu. I gotta say, laying on the beach in the hot sun with the gorgeous ocean in front of me and the warm water tickling my toes whenever I needed a cool off is NOT a bad way to spend a day. Good snorkeling or no.

So Hanauma Bay was mostly a bust. It’s still a special place for me. And, if nothing else, the trip to Hanauma Bay in 2011 reminded me of the incredible impact Man has on the environment (oh no folks… I’m going Green in this blog entry!!). So next time I’m out snorkeling, I’ll be extra careful about where I snorkel, where I step (not that I step on the coral anyway… but it’s always good to be reminded) and what I take with me into, and out of, the water.

Okay, no more Green talk, now it’s time for the pictures!

All of these images were made with our point-and-shoot Canon PowerShot D10. This camera is waterproof, making it perfect for treks such as this!

This was an unexpectedly fun hike for us!

This hike is supposed to be a really popular one on the island. But, as we discovered, not too many people actually head out to it (making me wonder how popular Real Hiking on Oahu actually is…). Basically, you head from Honolulu toward the mountains on some local roads until you hit the jungle. And then there’s a little parking lot where you pay $5 and do your best to find the trail head. This hike was, by far, the most natural hike we did. The trail was a real, dirt trail, any steps or stairs along the way were put there just placed to sort of aid in the trekking over the mud, and there were plenty of rocks and boulders to maneuver around. In short, this hike totally rocked!

The trek is about a mile each way and the trail is very wet and muddy. This is, after all, a rain forest. At the end of the trial you’re treated to a waterfall (which makes sense, since this is what lies at the end of so many trails in Hawaii ). This particular waterfall is about 160 feet, narrow, and really sort of cute and sweet to sit at for a while.

I ended up scooting ahead of Mike on the way back and did some trail running on my own. It was so much fun! Although when we met up at the car after the hike, Mike mentioned I scared some of the other hikers. Guess they’re not too used to folks running on the trails. At any rate, the (refreshing!) run on the way back hindered me from taking photos, so this entry is rather light in the picture department. But still probably the highlight hike of the whole trip for me.

I certainly recommend it!

While I was in Hawaii for Clint and Gina’s wedding, Mike and I took some time to do some hiking, snorkeling, and exploring on our own.

Last year we spent a couple weeks on the big island, Hawaii. The Big Island is our favorite island so far (still have to visit Kauai which I hear may just change our minds). But Oahu brings out the hustle, bustle and business of the islands that is fun to observe. The nightlife is fantastic, the people watching is top notch and, hello? you’re in the 808, how can you go wrong?

As usual, we stuck to the hikes and things farther away from where most folks go while traveling. This was more difficult on Oahu because people are everywhere, but we managed pretty well. And island folks are so friendly, I love talking to everyone we met!

This trek was to a waterfall in Waimea Valley. We were totally pumped to head over to Waimea Valley because many scenes from the TV show Lost were filmed here. During our time in Waimea we tried to find different locations and match the scenes we remembered. I’m not sure how accurate we were, but we enjoyed the challenge.

This area reminded me so much of my childhood. I was having flashbacks to being 12 years old and driving the 3-wheelers down to Cottonwood Creek with my friends and tubing down the creek (pronounced “crik,” like a proper rural child).

Proper photographers will cringe at this shot. I didn’t have a tripod with me so I couldn’t do a proper timed exposure. Oh well, it was a waterfall and swimming in it was a bigger priority than shooting it.

Sorry gang, I was in an island state of mind!

The next post will be about our jungle hike. TOTAL HIGHLIGHT for me!

It’s finally here! You may remember me mentioning, oh-so-casually, that I was going to be heading to Hawaii to shoot Clint and Gina’s wedding on Oahu. Well, we did it! This last weekend I was in Hawaii photographing the memories of a wonderful couple and their family and friends. I absolutely enjoyed every second I got to spend with these people!

We could not have had a more fun time together. I think the images will demonstrate that more than my boring old words ever could. So without further ado, here is Clint and Gina’s HAWAII wedding.

I was able to tack on some extra days to this trip and do some exploring with Mike before heading home to Alaska. I’ll be sharing those images over the next week or so… stay tuned!

One of my favorite little babies is back for his third session in his The First Year program.

And, as usual, Spencer did not disappoint during his session. His smiles, antics, and excitement at being in the studio were positively infectious!

This little man is already walking! He’s a little wobbly still, but I give him about a week before he’s running. Our final The First Year session is going to be interesting!