Kathy Hikes the Hill

With the start of the New Year, Kathy made up her mind that she was going to make her way up the hill behind the house. It's not a dangerous hike but it certainly is a strenuous one.


Jacob and Kui love the hike behind the house and were eager to run up to the top.


Proof that she made it! 1,510 feet above sea level looking over Waimanalo and Bellow Air force Station Beach.


I came along too. It is a great hike with incredible views that are hard to beat anywhere on the island.




Tired though she might be, we headed down because the escalator was out of order. At the bottom, she vowed to do it again.

Until the next adventure!

John

Christmas in Honolulu

Hi All,

I hope you had a fantastic and fabulous Christmas season. We awaited the holidays with all the anticipation old people like us could muster. Without small children around the house, we substituted Jacob and Majik as our children. I cannot remember who (Matt, Krista, or Tucker) woke up first but Kathy was first asleep and first awake.

On Christmas Eve, we invited some neighbors over for artery hardening foods ... and a good time was had by all! Below, Tucker prepares mozzarella sticks for consumption.


Krista kept us straight on what was getting served when ...

It was quite the colorful feast ...

In the morning, the kids (Majik and Jacob) played with their toys ...

At mid-day or perhaps even earlier, the women folk retired with the children to their naps. (check Gone With The Wind Reference) See the video clip below for the evidence.

I hope that all your Christmas dreams came true ... ours did.

Honolulu City Lights

Kathy and I decided to take a night out alone ... but where to go and what to do? Considering the financial situation of the country we thought we'd do something ... FREE! :-)

Honolulu puts on quite a display of Christmas and Holiday lights called CITY LIGHTS.



As a photographer ... (can I call myself that?) it was very challenging. The lights often overwhelmed my light meter and there was no balance! Armed with my trusty tripod and a good flash (only used when necessary), it was fun to experiment.


Above was pretty simple ... used a flash but below, I did not and then I twisted the zoom as the shutter stayed open ... kinda fun.

Ok, this might not appeal to you ... or anyone but it appealed to me ... again, slow shutter and a spin of the zoom lens.

At the end of the evening, Kathy and I found ourselves walking hand-in-hand through the night streets of Honolulu enjoying the sights, the sounds, and the tourists as they prepared for Christmas. There were horse drawn carriages lit for the holidays that looked like Cinderella might step out of one or another.

It was fun and free and relaxing.

Love

John