Surfing @ Waikiki

Something else I got to try on this trip was surfing! Colleen, myself, and our friend Jen took an hour lesson from a surf instructor on Waikiki Beach. Here are the results...
(From left to right), me, Colleen, our instructor, and Jen.

Me going to catch a wave!

Wipeout!

Parasailing

There are many extreme sports I want to try: hang gliding, paragliding, BASE jumping, snowboarding, sky diving, kitesurfing, etc. I was finally able to check one off the list when Colleen and I went parasailing! Here are some photos from that!

Submarine Tour

One day the three of us took a submarine tour, descending 100 feet underwater off the O'ahu coast. We saw some shipwrecks, sunken airplanes, and some artificial reefs. Here are some photos from that adventure!

This is a shot I took as the boat left the pier, with Diamond Head in the distance. (The boat met up with the submarine once we got quite a distance out from the shore).












Groups getting on the sub.







The sub getting ready to descend.
In the sub!
















The wreckage of a ship that we saw!

North Shore

O'ahu's North Shore is a haven for surfers who take advantage of the huge swells originating from the stormy North Pacific. The area is also a great mix of coffee shops, surf shops, restaurants, and beaches. TV's Lost is also filmed here.

Siena and I taking a walk.

This is where we ate -- Giovanni's Original Shrimp Shack!

There was one beach in the North Shore that was a basking area for giant sea turtles!! Here are a few shots of what I saw there...

Caution! Turtles may bite!! :)

Beautiful North Shore!!

Boogieboarding at Bellows

There I go!!

Me getting ready to boogie-board! Sharon and Siena!

Me and Siena!

Colleen and Siena!

The day after I got to O'ahu, Sharon, Colleen, Siena, and I headed to Bellows Air Force Station/Turtle Cove, a beach vacation resort for military personnel (both Sharon and Colleen are in the Army). Bellows is located on the eastern end (windward side) of the island, in an area called Waimanalo. We rented a cabin there overnight. The beach was beautiful and the water was fantastic. Here are some photos from our day at the beach there!

The Hawaiian Islands -- the 50th U.S. state -- is a chain of 19 islands and atolls that stretch across an expanse of 1,500 miles in the North Pacific Ocean. It is one of the most remote landmasses on earth. First settled by Polynesians in about AD 1000, Hawaii has, through the years, seen a number of political incarnations: ruled by waring clans, then by a monarch, then by a provisional government, then as a republic, then as an annexed U.S. territory, and lastly as a U.S. state. Through it all, it has retained a certain character and uniqueness that is distinctly Hawai'ian.

My visit was to O'ahu, one of the eight "main" islands (the others being Hawai'i [also called The Big Island], Kaho'olawe, Kaua'i, Maui, Lana'i, Moloka'i, and Ni'ihau).

A view of Waikiki Beach.

Seattle, Washington

After being at sea for four and a half months, I returned home to Seattle on January 6th, 2007. My friends Troy and Brian were there to greet me at the airport. And my sister Candi was in town as well. It's sure great to be home after being away for a while. It definately was a lot colder than in the Caribbean -- over the next ten days it snowed about three times! On January 16th, I flew to Honolulu, Hawaii on vacation to visit my friends Colleen, Sharon, and Siena. Stay tuned for fantastic photos from that trip!