Capturing the Moment

Surfer's Yoga Hut Misty Mountains of the North Shore   Winter is here and that means the surf is up on the famous North Shore of Maui. When I moved here I told myself I would become a better surfer since I have some of the best waves in the world on my new island home. So far I have been amazed at the conditions here. The wind has been almost nonexistent, which never seemed to be the case on Maui. Also the sheer numbers of waves seem to be keeping the crowds down a bit. I do hear that these first few swell can be pretty special since all the winter surfing vacationers and pros are not here yet. But while surfing is definitely at the forefront of winter season, Heidi and I decided to spend a little time just relaxing at a secret getaway on Malaekahana beach. Malaekahana beach sunrise North Shore cabin   Our little beachside cabin turned out to be a 3 bedroom, hang out on the lanai, grill up some brats kind of place. Small waves made the ocean very inviting just out

Kahuna nudibranch  After our first successful nudibranch search at Honolulu's Magic Island dive site we decided to head back to see what else we could find. The water viz is usually pretty low at the entrance, around 15ft, but opens up to 30-35ft as you round the corner. We explored the Ala Wai boat channel, which you can see to the right of Magic Island in the aerial picture, on our first dive. This time we skipped most of that and jumped in almost all the way out of the channel. Indian Nudibranch Kahuna Nudibranch ( Thorunna kahuna)   Before rounding the corner of the breakwall we stumbled upon our first nudibranch finds, a Kahuna nudibranch. This beautiful nudibranch is white with a brilliant purple fringe. We have found it a few times already here on Oahu, however it was very rare to see on Maui. It's funny how shifting 80 miles away can have a noticeable impact on wildlife. Heidi spotted an Indian nudibranch shortly after. These are one my favorite nudibr

     A romantic view of nighttime Honolulu from the Tantalus overlook.

It was a beautiful day for an adventure. A big north swell is showing up tomorrow so we decided today would be the day for kayaking. I visited Lanikai a long time ago with a good friend from the Big Island and had not been back until today. I remember walking out to the beach and seeing the most beautiful turquoise water and two offshore islands just waiting to be explored. It is a scene that has always stuck with me. The picture above is that scene! It felt great walking out onto the beach and seeing this tropical vision in front of me.   We launched the kayak and headed out towards the two islands collectively called Na Mokulua. A tiny turtle swam up beside us at one point but quickly darted off after noticing the kayak. The islands got bigger and bigger as we paddled out farther. By the looks of it the north swell may have started wrapping around to the east side of the island already. A couple of stand up paddleboarders and even a kayaker had the small waves all to themselve

While the adventure continues the awareness begins! In all of my travels I have come across amazing underwater encounters. Sharks have always been my favorite. I have been lucky enough to swim with great white sharks in Africa, thresher sharks in the Philippines, whale sharks in Mexico, and hammerheads in Hawaii to name a few. Unfortunately seeing these sharks has become a rarer and rare treat. A lot of conservation has sprung up to help conserve shark species around the world. Raising awareness is going to be a huge part in saving the sharks so I am doing my little part. Check in from time to time at protecttheshark.blogspot .com for the latest updates on shark conservation. -Dai Mar

Hilton Waikiki Village Resort Penguins in Hawaii View from our Room  Penguins in Hawaii!? We pulled out all the stops this past weekend for some anniversary fun in Waikiki. Thanks to my Hilton rewards credit card Heidi and I had a free weekend at the Hawaiian Hilton Village Resort in Waikiki. It is a pretty incredible complex reaching over 22 acres on the west end of Waikiki beach. 8 swimming pools, jacuzzis, and water slides played a big part in our "stay-cation". There is even a penguin rock pool exhibit there. Molokai Royalty    I think we were the only people there excited about the weather being overcast and a little rainy. We would jump from the pool to the hot tub, out to the ocean, and down the water slide into the pool again.    I can't say that this is our normal adventurous weekend but what a way to mix things up. I was pretty excited about seeing the Friday night fireworks show but it turned out that our room was perfectly blocked from view