Location: Hubbard Glacier, Alaska

Time of Year: June 10,2009

Other Info: Perfect conditions. I was worried that it was going to be blue skies and sun at this point of the trip, but ecstatic joy came to fruition when I saw a grey overcast sky. The overcast skied allowed the blue, in the compressed ice, to pop put beautifully, in my eyes. The weather was overcast and cold at one point during shooting my hand physically could not press in the trigger on my camera. Now come to think of it cold and 400+ shots might have something to do with the fatigue. The ship was able to manouver us to less than a mile, 0.7miles, from the glacial face. This shot is cropped out from 16 shots which were then stitched together by a random program from HP. So enjoy the largest tidewater glacier in North America.

Good...Bad...and the Ugly

Location: Laie, Hawaii (Island of Oahu); Polynesian Cultural Centre

Time of Year: July/August 2008

Other Info: This was found at the Easter Island display at the Polynesian Cultural Centre. Yes Easter Island is part of Polynesia, another random/ interesting fact that might come in handy during a trivia game. I took these pictures at random and then later on found that I could make a series out of them. The Easter Island version of the Good the Bad and the Ugly's classic Mexican stand off.

Primary

Location: Waikiki, Oahu; First Hawaiian Bank.

Time of Year: A few weeks before the economic melt down during the summer of 2008.

House of Hawaiian Royalty

Location: 'Iolani Palace, Honolulu

Time of Year: August 2008

Other Info: This is the house of former Hawaiian royalty. Built in 1879, replaced the first palace which was known as,Hale Ali`i meaning house of the chief. The name 'Iolani is split up into 'Io which is a Hawaiian Hawk, lani which is a word for exalted, royal and heavenly. This Palace was fitted with all the modern advances of the time, electric lighting, seven years after Edison invented the light bulb. Other advances of the time was indoor plumbing and a telephone communication system. This palace was very up to date with the inventions of the time, which is interesting seeing how far from mainland U.S. they are.
It was an interesting tour in which Sarah and I learned where the Hawiian's take pride in being Hawaiian first and American second. This sentiment of local pride came from the American annexation and over throw of the Hawaiian monarchy. I noticed this pride during 2008 world series. During the player introductions of their home countries, outfielder for the Phillies, Shane Victorino said Hawaii, followed by a long pause, then USA. I probably would not have noticed that little quirk had I not learned a bit of history of Hawaii.
Alot of the info about the place can be found at : 'Iolani Palace website : http://www.iolanipalace.org/index.html

Image from Google Maps

Blue Circle is the general location of the 'Iolani Palace

Image from Google Maps

Red star is the place near the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific and Chinatown

The Palace Grounds:

There is a large green space area in front of the Palace with a very large Banyan tree of which you can see the branches in this shot.

The Front Gate:

The Hawaiian Coat of Arms: States: "Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono" translated to English says: "The life of the land is perpetuated by righteousness" http://www.hawaiiankingdom.org/national-coatofarms.shtml

Decorative Piece on the Gate


There are no shots of the interior well because no camera's are allowed inside a while some people were using there point and shoot camera's which are easier to conceal than an SLR.

Pearl Harbour

Location: Pearl Harbour, Oahu Hawaii

Time of Year: August 2008

Other Info: This was my second time to Pearl Harbour. The First time I was kid who did not understand the magnitude of what Pearl Harbour represents. Seeing the names on placards listening to Parks Ranger choked up in his speech before the movie telling of the events that occurred Dec 7th 1941 was not something that should be praised but remembered for the sacrifices of those who fell. One thing that really struck home was that Fathers and Sons fought and died next to each other forever changing family dynamics. The presentation reminded me that soldiers, any side, are human, they have souls, act, react, feel and are not heartless killing machines. The time on the monument was spent in silent, I remember feeling very Solemn, out of respect for the dead who still remain on the USS Arizona.
Our trip to the monument was spent on Public Transit, excellent system and is price friendly 4 day pass for 2 $40.00 unlimited use. I recommend for those concerned for the environment but like flying, to warm destinations, this is a way to give back. Travel may take longer by bus but it is definitely worth it.




Image: Google Maps
Yellow Circle Location of Pearl Harbour in relation to Oahu. The red circle is general location of Waikiki.

Image: Google Maps

Red star is the location of Pearl Harbour

The Grounds:

Anchor Chains at the entrance to the grounds building

This is what we were greeted with when we stepped out on to the grounds. There is still a heavy naval presence in Pearl Harbour.

The Museum:

The cramped deck of a Japanese Aircraft Carrier

Battleship USS Arizona

The Monument:

The entrance to the monument

The wall of those who gave their lives in service Dec 7th, 1941

Family members in who died in service December 7th 1941 Fathers next to Sons family dynamics changed forever.

The whole time out at the monument was spent in silence out of respect for the fallen

Oil seeping from the Arizona that rests at the bottom of Pearl Harbour.

Diamond Head Hike

Location: Diamond Head, Waikiki Oahu

Time of Year: July 2008

Other info: Wear proper footwear for this hike, I was wearing flip flops as our original destination was Kapiolani Park and then we saw Diamond head was close and decided to walk up and around to the entrance and hike to the summit. The Trail is in decent condition a lot of tourists, tunnel sections, stairs and darkness. Also water is essential as there is no source of water on the hike and depending on the time of day you can bake in the crater as there is not much shade to cool off in. In total our walk was around 10 miles from hotel to summit.
One thing that I remember from the hike is that the Diamond Head is comprise of Tuff which has a resistant to erosional forces i.e. wind and water which in essenes is not tough at all, kind of nerdy but I still remember it so it works.
Also the crater provided a home for a military base which is much smaller than the days of the mid 20th century so the trail that we walked is the trail that the military used to carve out its tunnels for strategic lookouts on the ridge of the crater.

(Taken from Google Maps)

The red circle indicates the location of Diamond Head Crater in relation to Oahu.




(Taken from Google Maps)

Point A: Location of the hotel
Point B: No significance to the trip just where we turned to move on to the park
Point C: Kapiolani Park/ Zoo (Original Destination)
Point D: The entrance road to the Crater
Total distance to this point 2.2 miles, total distance to summit 5 miles (estimation, one way)



The classic Hawaiian shot of Waikiki golden sand, turquoise water and Diamond Head in the back ground.



The summit of Diamond Head 760 ft in elevation

View from the top (NW) over looking Waikiki, Kapiolani park the beaches and the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean

View from the top (NE) over looking Waikiki's residential areas which are moving up the slopes. Also in the foreground is a hut that is connected to the many tunnels that are in the ridge created by the military as a look out.

View from the top (SE) over looking the Crater floor where the military base exists today but in a much much smaller scale. In the distance to the left is Koko Head which has a crazy seat of stairs going straight up the side. Also Hanauma Bay is located on the other side of the mound to the right of Koko Head.

This is some interesting dry plant life or former plant life as it looks dried up but it was really spiky looking and caught my eye.

Astoria Or.

Location: Astoria Oregon

Time of Year: October, Thanksgiving, 2007

Other info: Astoria is famous for the Astoria Bridge as seen in the picture which connects Washington and Oregon. Another famous fact about Astoria is that it played the home of The Goonies, Kindergarten Cop and many other movies. This shot was taken, from the Astoria Column in which you climb up 150-200 steps for a view of Astoria and the valley to the south. The decorative, history of the Pacific NW, Lewis and Clark etc..., column cost a few bones and was worth the stop. Astoria is a resource town from my observations, fishing and logging. But with the state of the fish returns diminishing i.e. salmon runs this town will most likely be going through a transition phase to diversify there economy. Astoria's geographic location does help as it is located on Hwy 30 which connects to Hwy 101 which moves traffic up the Washington coast/and down the Oregon Coast as travelers will stop in and visit some of the local attractions as they make there way to there destinations of choice.
The Bridge crosses the mouth of Columbia River, where it meets the Pacific from its headwaters which originate in B.C.'s Lake Columbia. The Columbia is a heavily dammed river and there for it resembles a chain of lakes in some parts.

If you are interested here is a link providing the glacial and geological origins of the Columbia Watershed: http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/ColumbiaPlateau/summary_columbia_plateau.html
The final destination of the trip was Cannon Beach not Astoria but we were driving through and decided to stop and check it out.

And incase you are wondering I did edit the photo made it rougher/ pixelated and adjusted some levels.

Picture Perfect

Location: Waikiki, Oahu Hawaii

Time of Year: August 2008

This was the last shot of our vacation eight days of Hawaii summed up in one shot.