Capturing the Moment

  Even on misty rainy days Lanikai can have its own batch of sunshine. The weather turned beautiful and sunny as soon as we started the hike.    The pillbox hike heads into the brush back behind the luxurious neighborhood of Lanikai. A bright pink sign tells you that you are on the right path. After a steep climb the hike emerges on the open ridge line. Beautiful views of Lanikai beach and the offshore islands greet you at each new stopping point. It's important to keep an eye on the trail though as a false step could lead to long tumble down the mountain.   Three old military pillboxes are set on the high points of the ridge. Colorful graffiti lines the concrete structures. It provides a lot of color to an already colorful scene. I've taken a picture of Heidi sitting on top of this structure before but the lighting today was perfect.   We continued on past the second pillbox where the ridge line turns away from the coast and heads back towards enchan...

  The entrance to this popular east side Oahu hike can be found near the private golf course just up from Lanikai town. A bright and colorful sign post points you in the right direction and away from private driveways. I have often looked up from Lanikai beach and seen people working their way up this ridge line to a series of old military pillboxes. We finally had a windy, rainy day with no chance for surf of scuba so we decided to tackle this hike.   It turned out to be a relatively short hike, with some steep uphill sections, but overall not too tough. I think at a slow pace even families with small kids could do it. There are some very steep drop offs to one side of the trail but luckily the wind was blasting onshore and pushing us away from the dropoff. The view of Lanikai beach and the Moke Islands just offshore was breathtaking. It also looks like it would be a perfect spot for watching the sun rise. Hold on to your hats, its gonna be windy! Living on the ...

Sunrise and surf at Eternity Beach Halona Blowhole   I have been working on learning my new island home here in Oahu since the start of the new year. My plan is to add island photography tours to the agenda so I want to find the best places for differing light throughout the day. For sunrise the East coast of the island is the obvious choice but there are lots of potentially great spots for sunrise photos from Hanauma Bay to Lanikai. I stopped at a few of these today and had a wonderful time. The woman on the cliff adds some perspective to the blast   The first stop on the tour was the Halona blowhole. There is a popular scenic overlook here but I am always looking for new and different angles. Heidi and I found out about a secret beach down under the scenic overlook called Eternity Beach that is a great scuba dive spot so I headed down to the beach. The sun came up right in the middle of the channel heading out between the cliffs. That was what I was hoping for. ...

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 thems...