Hawai 2010

Hawaii, a place I never thought I'd ever go, but thanks to a co-worker I won a trip for two to Hawaii recently and of course I brought my two kids so they can share in the experience. This may be the only chance any of us will ever get to go.

Well as I said I won a trip to Hawaii, which was through a local (K-Earth) radio station. I actually got the call I won while I was driving to a Friday night football game. Needless to say I wasn't sure what to think. I've never won anything like this and have never been to Hawaii before, so I didn't really know what to expect. When I told my wife and kids about it they were very excited. My two kids were looking forward to going and being on a plane for the first time.

Now to the trip, which we took during our kids spring break. We left LAX at 8am arrived in Hawaii at approx 11:30am. I made prior arrangements to be picked up at the airport and transported to our hotel (Marriott Beach Resort & Spa) in Waikiki Beach, so as soon as we got off the plane we had someone there waiting for us with our Lei greeting. After our arrival and check in at our hotel we went to our room, which was on the 16th floor. These first two shots are from our balcony.

After getting situated in our room we went for a walk along the Waikiki strip and went to the International Market, which had various stores and shops. After having some lunch we walked back along the beach, which is shown in the following two shots.

The following day we made arrangements to attend our first luau at Paradise Cove. We weren't going to leave for our luau until 4:30pm, so we took a short walk to the Honolulu Zoo. Here are a few shots I took during our visit to the zoo.

After our stay at the zoo we went back to our room to freshen ourselves up for our 4:30 luau departure. After a 30min bus ride we arrived at Paradise Cove where we received a shell lei. Prior to the luau there were various displays and crafts set up where you can have hands on participation. One of these were making a traditional head band. This first shot is of the making process followed by my daughter wearing the one she made, with the assistance of her mom.

This was followed by a celebration of unearthing the pig and what better way to watch then with a few drinks.

During the luau there was a show, which was outstanding. The show concluded with their traditional fire dancers. The lighting was rough, but I did bring my 70-200 f/2.8, which came in very handy for these low light shots.

For our second full day in Hawaii we made arrangements to go to the Polynesia Cultural Center for the day. This included a tour of the various Polynesia islands with displays and participation, a luau, and a great show. It was a long day, but a great one. We all had a wonderful time enjoying all of the demonstrations and ate too much great food.

For our last day we decided to the Diamond-Head State Monument, which was approx 2 miles from our hotel. We took a taxi to the monument and after a quick picture began our trek up the crater.

This shows the trail to the top.

Here is a picture showing part of the trail and view.

This was taken along an overlook just prior to the stairs. Stairs, what stairs am I referring to. See below.

Just after the overlook this is what you find. 99 stairs leading to a 250' tunnel through the top of the crater. For the second shot I waited for the stairs to clear before taking the picture.

At the end of the tunnel you find yourself looking at some spiral staircases, which lead to the top.

And finally the view. The top gave you a 360 degree view around the crater and Honolulu area. I was also able to get some nice shots of Waikiki Beach. Although the hike is only .8 miles long, the stairs really take a lot out of you as you reach the top, but it's well worth the view and I highly recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to go.