DEATH TO THE ZEBRA...
This is what happens when you spend a lot of money for dog toys at PETCO. Indie got the zebra yesterday and went right to work today. Dog 1, Toy 0...
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
What a wild week of seeing everything on the Island. We had our good friends from Colorado, TJ, Alex and Ava, out for 3 weeks. I took off 8 days of their weeks so we could explore the Island. Since we have been on Oahu, we have not done a lot of exploring. So this was the chance for us to get out and check it out.
We started with the Ko’olina lagoons. There are 5 man made lagoons with 4 of them being outside hotel/resorts. The 5th is known as the “local” lagoon and is not visited that much. There you can see turtles swimming and the occasional monk seal.
While out here we decided to look for filming locations of the TV show LOST. The entire show is filmed on Oahu and looking online we found plenty of places to go and see.
We ventured up to the North shore, Mokule’ia Beach. This is where the plan crash for the TV show was filmed. We spent the day up there and some of us got plenty burned.
We visited the Waikiki Aquarium too. It was smaller but was nice and had some interesting things to see.
We hiked to the top of Diamond Head. Again, this was a long hot climb but the views from the top were worth the hike.
We also decided to hike to the Makapu’u Lighthouse. The hike was warm but we got to see a scene from lost being filmed. We watched the filming for a while and while walking through the set we saw “Jack” and “Hurley”. We continued to the top to the lighthouse. When almost to the top, Hurley drove past us and hiked the last little bit to the top. On his way down, he stopped and Alex and I got our picture with him.
We also made our way to the famous Waikiki Beach. I have never been there and so this was new territory for me. It was interesting and the beach was crowded, reminding me a lot of a SO CAL beach. It was a quick day and we headed back to home.
We also took a trip out to Pearl Harbor. This was my second trip out there and again, it was pretty sobering on the events of that day. We took the boat ride out and got to look at the Arizona Memorial.
One thing that I had wanted to try was snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. This is a fish preserve so there is no spearfishing there. The fish were incredible and HUGE. I was swimming with parrot fish that were well over 12 lbs and looked so tasty (in my opinion, they are the best tasting fish that come out of the ocean). There were a couple turtles out there and other amazing large fish.
The Ha'ikū Stairs, also known as the Stairway to Heaven or Haiku Ladder, is a steep hiking trail on the island of Oahu.The trail began as a wooden ladder spiked to the cliff on the south side of the Haiku Valley. It was installed in 1943 to enable the construction of antenna cables that would be strung from one side of the cliffs above Haiku Valley to the other. A building to provide a continuous communication link between Wahiawa and Haiku Valley Naval Radio Station was also constructed at the very peak of Puukeahiakahoe, elevation at about 2800 feet. These extraordinary antennas transmitted very low frequency radio signals from a 200,000-watt Alexanderson alternator located in the center of Haiku valley. The signals could reach US Navy submarines as far away as Tokyo Bay even while the submarines remained underwater.When the Naval base was decommissioned in the 1950s the United States Coast Guard used the site for an Omega station. In the early 50s, the wooden stairs were replaced by sections of metal steps and ramps — by one count, 3,922 steps. The station and trail were closed to the public in 1987. Despite the closure, some hikers ignore the No Trespassing signs and continue to climb, contributing to the local community's misgivings about reopening the structure.Local officials have repaired the trail and the ladders, but the trail will remain closed and patrolled by security until access and management issues have been resolved.TJ and I attempted to access these. We made it through the gates and onto the stairs. We thought we were in the clear and started up the stairs. Almost to the first platform (we estimate about 1600 stairs in) we ran into the security guard patrolling. He made us turn around and told us he contacted the police and we were going to be arrested. By the time we got to the bottom of the stairs we were calling his bluff and he let us walk out. We were a little bummed we didn’t get to the top, but we at least got to make it almost halfway up the stairs.
Makapu'u Overlook - hand glider taking off
H-3 and the tunnels from the stairs
Makapu'u Lighthouse
Waikiki Beach with diamond head in the back ground
John in the walk about company - season 1
Mokule'ia Beach - North Shore
Mokule'ia - North Shore Plane Crash Beach
Kate in the Bank, First Season
First Hawaiian Bank from Lost
We started with the Ko’olina lagoons. There are 5 man made lagoons with 4 of them being outside hotel/resorts. The 5th is known as the “local” lagoon and is not visited that much. There you can see turtles swimming and the occasional monk seal.
While out here we decided to look for filming locations of the TV show LOST. The entire show is filmed on Oahu and looking online we found plenty of places to go and see.
We ventured up to the North shore, Mokule’ia Beach. This is where the plan crash for the TV show was filmed. We spent the day up there and some of us got plenty burned.
We visited the Waikiki Aquarium too. It was smaller but was nice and had some interesting things to see.
We hiked to the top of Diamond Head. Again, this was a long hot climb but the views from the top were worth the hike.
We also decided to hike to the Makapu’u Lighthouse. The hike was warm but we got to see a scene from lost being filmed. We watched the filming for a while and while walking through the set we saw “Jack” and “Hurley”. We continued to the top to the lighthouse. When almost to the top, Hurley drove past us and hiked the last little bit to the top. On his way down, he stopped and Alex and I got our picture with him.
We also made our way to the famous Waikiki Beach. I have never been there and so this was new territory for me. It was interesting and the beach was crowded, reminding me a lot of a SO CAL beach. It was a quick day and we headed back to home.
We also took a trip out to Pearl Harbor. This was my second trip out there and again, it was pretty sobering on the events of that day. We took the boat ride out and got to look at the Arizona Memorial.
One thing that I had wanted to try was snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. This is a fish preserve so there is no spearfishing there. The fish were incredible and HUGE. I was swimming with parrot fish that were well over 12 lbs and looked so tasty (in my opinion, they are the best tasting fish that come out of the ocean). There were a couple turtles out there and other amazing large fish.
The Ha'ikū Stairs, also known as the Stairway to Heaven or Haiku Ladder, is a steep hiking trail on the island of Oahu.The trail began as a wooden ladder spiked to the cliff on the south side of the Haiku Valley. It was installed in 1943 to enable the construction of antenna cables that would be strung from one side of the cliffs above Haiku Valley to the other. A building to provide a continuous communication link between Wahiawa and Haiku Valley Naval Radio Station was also constructed at the very peak of Puukeahiakahoe, elevation at about 2800 feet. These extraordinary antennas transmitted very low frequency radio signals from a 200,000-watt Alexanderson alternator located in the center of Haiku valley. The signals could reach US Navy submarines as far away as Tokyo Bay even while the submarines remained underwater.When the Naval base was decommissioned in the 1950s the United States Coast Guard used the site for an Omega station. In the early 50s, the wooden stairs were replaced by sections of metal steps and ramps — by one count, 3,922 steps. The station and trail were closed to the public in 1987. Despite the closure, some hikers ignore the No Trespassing signs and continue to climb, contributing to the local community's misgivings about reopening the structure.Local officials have repaired the trail and the ladders, but the trail will remain closed and patrolled by security until access and management issues have been resolved.TJ and I attempted to access these. We made it through the gates and onto the stairs. We thought we were in the clear and started up the stairs. Almost to the first platform (we estimate about 1600 stairs in) we ran into the security guard patrolling. He made us turn around and told us he contacted the police and we were going to be arrested. By the time we got to the bottom of the stairs we were calling his bluff and he let us walk out. We were a little bummed we didn’t get to the top, but we at least got to make it almost halfway up the stairs.
Makapu'u Overlook - hand glider taking off
Makapu'u Overlook
Quentin Swing around like a monkey
TJ Checking out the turtles in Hanauma Bay
Big Fat Parrot in Hanauma Bay
Hanauma Bay from the top
Turtle in Ko'olina lagoon
Turtle in Ko'olina lagoon
Turtle in Ko'olina lagoon
Haiku Stairs
Haiku Stairs
H-3 and the tunnels from the stairs
Haiku Stairs
Honolulu from Diamond Head
Arizona Memorial from the dock
Pearl Harbor from the boat
Makapu'u Lighthouse
Waikiki Beach with diamond head in the back ground
Pali Highway overlook - Kane'ohe in the distance
Papa'iloa Beach - Campsites
Papa'iloa Beach - Lost Campsite behind the orange fence
Papa'iloa Beach - Lost Campsites
Papa'iloa Beach - Lost Beach - Grave sites
Papa'iloa Beach - Lost Beach
Kenn and Hurley
Lost Season 10 being filmed at the Makapu'u Lighthouse
Sydney Airport - Season 1
Honolulu Convention Center - doubles as the Sydney Airport
Jin at the Byodo-In temple - Season 1
Byodo-In Temple
John in the walk about company - season 1
Right Across from First Hawaiian - the walk about company
Mokule'ia Beach - North Shore
Mokule'ia - North Shore Plane Crash Beach
Kate in the Bank, First Season
First Hawaiian Bank from Lost
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Well it has been a while since the last post. In the last 2 months this is what has happened.August: Brandon came out for a short visit. We climbed the 3 peaks again, went kayaking and went to the beach a lot.
At work Kiewit was low bidder on a 40 million dollar job on the Island of Kauai. The project, in Lihue, is going to allow us to move back. I am going to be the project manager on the project which will start in February. We anticipate a move in January. We will keep you posted and are excited to go back. The project is 18 months but there is another phase that we
hope Kiewit can get, keep your fingers crossed for a longer stay.Jennifer stayed busy at work and hanging out Quentin and Indie.
September: A lot went on this month. Quentin started 6th grade (I know we are old people now). He likes his classes and is super excited because he has a required laptop this year. He started swimming again and is doing very well with that.
Jennifer and I went to Sunriver Resort (bend, Oregon) for company business. We had some friends of the family stay with Quentin while we
were gone. While there, (hold your laughter and comments) I learned to play golf. Actually it was more I learned what not to do if you want to be successful at golf. It was a good time and Jennifer got to get pampered in the spa on a daily basis. It was a nice get away.Jennifer continues to work making jewelry and is trying to get in as many classes before we move. She still really enjoys it and is very talented at it.
I got to have a whirl wind trip back to Omaha for 3 days to help teach a class for new employees. It was nice to see Omaha in the summer when leaves were still on the trees.
In a nut shell, that is about the extent of the last two months, not much new and exciting. We will 
post more soon.
Picture 1: Joe & Jeneca - our friends from Kauai came over and went took them to the Oceanarium Restaurant
Picture 2: Top of the 3 peaks looking South
Picture 3: Brandon climbing up the ropes fro peak 1
Picture 4: Fellow employee, Matt Adams, playing golf at Crosswater Club, Sunriver, Oregon
Picture 5: Quentin at the Kapolei Golf Course driving range hitting a bucket
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