Hawaii Five-O Yeah!!!

It has been 10 years since we went to Maui, and at that time C.J. was 15 and Drew was 6.  The boys remember the trip, but we really didn't do any sightseeing.  So for this trip I decided we would go to Oahu and have the full "tourist" experience.

Usually Teresa, Drew and I vacation, but this year I invited my son C.J. and his girlfriend to join us.  I booked the trip from Saturday to Friday.  Why Friday?  Well if you live in Southern California then you know about Carmageddon.

SATURDAY: We arrived at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort and Spa around 9:30 PM.  That doesn't sound late, but Hawaii is three hours behind Pacific Daylight Time.  Teresa upgraded our room and this is the view we had from the 30th floor. Drew was so excited to be in Hawaii that we went down to the beach and for a quick dip at 10:30 PM.  It was a little colder than we expected, but nonetheless it was still warm enough.

SUNDAY: We didn't have any plans for Sunday, except to explore the Resort and book some tours.  The one thing I really love about Hawaii are the clouds, and the gorgeous sunrises and sunsets.  I woke-up at 5:00 AM, pulled out my iPad and opened the LightTrac app.  LightTrac shows you the path of the sun from sunrise to sunset and the approximate times. Yes, this is another shot from our room, but this time at sunrise.  Part of Sunday was spent taking pictures around the resort exploring the many pools and lagoon, and walking to the International Marketplace.  Drew found some cool Oakley sunglasses that he purchased with his own money.

Back track -- I really didn't want to lug around my D700 and lenses, so I opted for my Olympus PEN e-PL1 and three lenses.  Also, I decided I would bring along my Nikon SB-900 speedlight, Manfrotto Nano stand, Pocket Wizards and a collapsible 43" Westcott Umbrella for a few family portraits.  All the lighting gear fit neatly in my luggage.

  Here are a few pictures taken using the lighting gear:

 

MONDAY: Teresa and I got up early and went for our morning stroll to the on-site Starbucks.  On the way back to the room it started raining and I managed to snap this picture with my iPhone.  It makes sense that people refer to Hawaii as the Rainbow State and that the University of Hawaii athletes are known as the Rainbows.  We must've seen at least 4 - 5 rainbows while we were there.

That evening we attended The Waikiki Starlight Luau at the resort, I brought my 40mm - 150mm lens to see if I could get some photos of the dancers.  the lighting was harsh and as the sun fell, I had to keep bumping up the ISO.  I finally switched the ISO to Auto mode, so these two images of the dancers were shot at 1600 ISO, but the Noise doesn't seem to bad.

 

TUESDAY: Teresa and I got up early for our 6:00 AM departure for the USS Arizona Memorial, USS Missouri and the Punchbowl Cemetery Tour while the kids went to a local Water Park to see kids closer to their ages.  LOL.  It's hard to imagine what the atmosphere was like December 7, 1941 amid all the chaos.

WEDNESDAY:  Was Drew and Dad day.  We signed up for the North Shore Shark Cage Tour, which is on the Northern side of the island.  We were up and out by 7:30 AM for our 9:00 AM encounter with SHARKS!!!  The pictures from our tour were taken with a disposable waterproof camera, specifically a Fuji 800 ISO 35mm camera.  I haven't used one of these in ages and didn't know what the field of view  was like.  Also, were weren't supposed to stick our cameras outside of the cage along with any body parts.

The weather was warm, the seas were deep cobalt blue, the swells were relatively small and the sharks were plentiful.  The tour guides had a great time joking with us tourists.  As we approached the cage, there were lots of sharks swimming around the boat.  The captain stopped the boat and the First Mate said, "Okay, were stopping here and it's a 50 foot swim from the boat to cage.  Who wants to go first?"



There were 15 of us and they split us into three groups, each group had about 20 minutes of time in the cage.  We also purchased the video of our experience.  It was a fun and exhilarating experience, and for those wondering what type of sharks we encountered, they were Galapagos and Sandbar.

THURSDAY: Our last full day and we decided to end with the LOST Tour.  That's right, a tour of the locales used filming the TV Series LOST.  It also included locations used for 50 First Dates, Godzilla, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Five-O and other movies and shows that used a tropical island as a backdrop.  We opted for the 5 hour tour, but they also have an 8 and 10 hour tour that takes you to some of the sets.  Apparently we were the only three signed up for the 5 hour tour and got to ride in a HUMMER 2, our own tour.  It was a beautiful drive, full of landscapes and seascapes.  A majority of LOST was filmed on a private ranch, so there wasn't a lot of people wandering around.

 

 

FRIDAY: Departure day - We left the hotel at 4:00 AM to catch our 6:45 AM flight back to the Mainland.  Everyone had a great time, even Drew. 

One of the main differences between our first trip to Hawaii and this trip was my photography.  I don't recall taking many pictures on that vacation, but on this vacation, we'll have plenty to enjoy until our next vacation.

Mahalo,

Alan