Postcard

I ran across this photo that I made for my sister on one of my vacations to Hawaii.

"If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child."

- Linda Sunshine

Winter Blues

This post is for all of the people suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). 

Where I live, today was an overcast and hazy day. I took a walk in one of my favorite places here, but it didn't do anything for me. I began to think about other places I like to take walks. Instead of going through "light box" therapy for your SAD treatment, I am inviting you to take a visual walk with me through one of the most beautiful places I like in Hawaii. BUT you have to promise me that if you ever go to Hawaii and stay on Oahu - you have to visit the Windward Side of the island. Yes, Waikiki is wonderful for tourist-y stuff, but I promise that a drive along the Windward Side on up to the North Shore will be well worth your time. Besides, I stay exclusively on the Windward Side because driving into the "city" (Honolulu) makes me anxious and gives me a severe case of hives.

The long narrow photographs are panoramic views. Click on any photograph for a larger, more intense view.

The first few photographs are in a cemetery. From that point, you can have a view of the ocean as well as the Ko'olau Mountain (which is over 30 miles long). Although I don't have any photographs, the sunsets are beautiful there.

Hawaiian Memorial Park Cemetery in Kaneohe, Hawaii

Ko'olau Mountain

A view toward the mountain

A view toward Kaneohe Bay

The next photographs of the Ko'olau Mountain were taken from a boat in Kaneohe Bay.

Coconut Island (Gilligan's Island) with a view of Ko'olau Mountain in the background.

"Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come along with patience and equanimity." - Carl Gustav Jung

Frangipani

Here are a few photos of plumeria I shot on a trip to Hawaii.

Byodo-In

Accompanying today's photograph I'm sending a thank you for one of my gangsta friends who surprised me by making dinner for me and my family last night. The kitchen is out of commission because of a total rehab job and I've been getting sick and tired of trying to creatively make healthy meals. RKS, the food was delicious and extremely appreciated.

Thank you so much...my for realio friend...

Remember the building in the photograph? I shot it when we went to Hawaii. It's the Byodo-In Buddhist temple located in the Valley of the Temples on Oahu, Hawaii. It is a replica of the original 900 year old Byodo-In temple located in Uji, Japan.

A New Year

With a new year, comes a new endeavor. This will be a photo blog which I can share with everyone.  (My other blog contains stuff only a few others read and could get me into trouble if it fell into the wrong hands.) 

The above photo is of one of the most peaceful places I have ever visited. It is a salt water pool that is located on a place called Coconut Island just off the windward side of Oahu, Hawaii. Movie stars back in the day used to go to this island when they wanted to get away from it all. These days, the island is owned by UH as a research facility. An interesting tidbit of info is that this island is the one that was used as the opening scene of Gilligan's Island.