Because everyone else is doing it…
Archive for May, 2009
Kauai 2009
May 17th
After three nights on Maui, it was time for three more on Kauai. Flying between the islands isn’t as easy as it used to be. I seem to recall that you could once fly nonstop — now you have to change planes in Honolulu.
Here are all of my photos from the Garden Isle of Kauai!
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- Friday night sunset
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- The Grand Hyatt Kauai is a destination in and of itself (though it’s way overpriced, IMHO)
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- Beautiful grounds. I believe Hyatt spent a billion dollars to build the hotel in 1990
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- On a beach usually not suited for swimming
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- They do have numerous pools and a saltwater lagoon for swimming, though
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- Tons of tropical plants, as you’d expect
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- Don’t know how he got here
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- Snorkel spot of the day: Beach House
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- All the usual suspects
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- School’s out
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- This fish seems happy
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- Tons of fish
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- Lots of human-made junk on the ocean floor around here
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- Not sure what this is
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- Raccoon butterfly fish
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- Unicorn fish, I think
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- One of two famous shrimp “restaurants” on this side of the island
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- These guys are EVERYWHERE
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- And they keep reproducing
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- Spouting Horn
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- Opeakea Falls
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- Wailua River
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- Looking the other way
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- Hanalei Valley overlook panorama
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- Valley floor panorama
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- Translation: stay out of the water
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- Lumahai Beach panorama
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- Wild animal tracks
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- Hanalei church
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- Kilauea lighthouse (I took a better photo last time)
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- A type of cardinal, I’m told
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- No, he’s not setting the palm tree on fire
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- A resident of the Grand Hyatt
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- Hibiscus
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- Picked a bad day to go to Waimea Canyon
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- View of the canyon on the drive down
Maui 2009: Part 3
May 17th
Here are the rest of the photos from my stay on Maui… didn’t really discover any photo “hot spots”, like I was hoping for. Still, it was beautiful, as usual.
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- Another day at the beach (in front of my condo)
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- Panoramic view from the beach, featuring Lanai and Molokai
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- Nice little cove near the north end of West Maui
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- Panoramic version of a photo I took last year
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- I swear this boat was capsized last year too
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- Old courthouse
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- A guy can get used to the sunsets around here
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- Bye sun!
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- Some underwater shots from the day, taken with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1
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- Nice coral
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- Spotted pufferfish
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- Yellow tangs
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- Yellow trumpfish + tang (I think)
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- Moorish Idol
Maui 2009: Part 2
May 14th
On my second day in Maui I spent the morning snorkeling, and the afternoon driving around the island. The snorkeling pics were taken with the Canon PowerShot D10, one of three underwater cameras that I brought along with me. The above sea-level photos are from the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX1.
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- Church in Wailuku
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- Inside the church
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- I stayed at the Kea Lani a long time ago, after a storm washed out the other side of the island
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- There’s a nice little beach
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- And even nicer private villas
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- Maui sunsets are the best!
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- Sun peeks out from behind the clouds
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- When I saw him paddling nearby I knew I had to capture this moment
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- Goodbye sun
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- Humuhumunukunukuapua’a, my favorite fish
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- Box pufferfish
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- I think it’s a yellow tang
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- Spotted pufferfish
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- Funky coral
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- Another humuhumu
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- Nice bright sea urchin
Maui 2009: Part 1
May 13th
Aloha from Maui… yes, I’m here again, for a little working vacation. I’ve got three nights here, then three more in Kauai. I brought along a camera to review, plus three underwater cameras to take snorkeling with me.
Below are photos from Day 1, which are mostly of my drive through Upcountry Maui, which is a fun road, if not a little scary! I threw in some beach photos for good measure, though I’ll lots more of those in the week ahead.
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- Looking down the slopes of Haleakala toward Wailea, with West Maui in the distance
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- Mailboxes along the Kula Highway in Upcountry Maui
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- Molokini from a long distance
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- This narrow road was challenging and sometimes scary
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- Biggest dip I’ve ever seen. Plenty of evidence of bottomed-out cars below.
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- It passed through lava flows
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- Despite being on the large side, the FX35 is still pretty fun to drive
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- End of the road, for rental cars at least
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- Panoramic view from the end of the road
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- Lots of wind and waves on this side of the island
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- Nice flowers at Tedechi Winery
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- Yes, I took this one last year
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- My home for three nights, the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas
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- Panoramic view of what passes for an ocean view these days
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- Looking north near the beach
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- And here’s the fantastic beach in front of the resort
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- I think this one’s from last year too
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- Love the hibiscus
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- First of many Mai Tais, I’m sure
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- Cliff diver
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- jumps off
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- of Black Rock
Those last two photos are panoramas, by the way. All of these were taken with the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX1.
Time for shore excursions
May 7th
It’s only five months until my big cruise to Asia, and we’re finally able to book all the shore excursions that are available. Originally I was hoping to do the overnight stay in Beijing (so you don’t have to haul yourself back to the ship at night, and then go right back in the morning), but that turned out to cost an arm and a leg. I’ll end up seeing the same stuff, just with the long bus rides.
I booked excursions in Busan (South Korea), Nagasaki, Beijing, and Taipei — and those are only half of the ports! I posted the descriptions of which tours I picked on the following page.
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