Banzai Pipeline Beach Visit

Did a Google search on this beach and found some insightful info. Did not know that the high waves had a season of their own. Apparently the waves we saw today are just the beginning. This is what I found:

"Monster waves. Huge wipeouts. Hawaii is, of course, America's surfing Mecca, and the North Shore of Oahu is the State's Holy Grail. Seven miles northeast of Haleiwa is a wide stretch of beach along Kamehameha Highway that includes parks like Sunset Beach, Ehukai Beach, and Pupukea Beach. And in winter, the really big surf rolls in. The hottest place to board? Just west of Ehukai Beach Park; here you'll find the much celebrated Banzai Pipeline, a spot where the shallow water and coral shelf combine to create powerful tubular waves that resemble pipes, thus giving the place its name. When the surf is calm, this stretch of beach can be good for swimming. But if the surf's up, beware! The Pipeline at full strength is unforgiving, even for the pros."
From: http://away.com/tripideas/haleiwa-hawaii-surfing-301129.html

If you click on a photo you will be able to see the surfers and colors better.


This surfer seems to be in the middle of a double barrel wave. It is breaking into white water on both his left and right. He was not in the area of the beach where the biggest waves, and biggest crowd of surfers, were located. We thought maybe he wanted to stay away from the coral or maybe the crowd or maybe both.


Look carefully inside of the curl, and you should be able to see the surfer that is in the next couple of photos.


Here he has come out of the curl and continues to ride.


The wave crested and the surfer rides to the top of the crest. He did not fall after this but instead rode the wave almost to the beach.


Although these waves looked giant to us, they apparently were not sufficiently high to tempt the surfers waiting for a bigger one.

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds Come to Oahu

Today we went to Hickam Air Force Base; they had an open house for the 62 birthday of the U.S. Air Force. But the commissary had soda on sale, so thought we would take advantage and pick up a supply. Of course, going to the commissary was also an excuse to go on Base to get a good vantage point to see the Air Force's air demonstration squadron -- the Thunderbirds. They are awesome!


Since we arrived a little early, we decided to visit the food court for a salad and a drink. Lo and behold inside were some members of the Thunderbird ground crew. They were having lunch and watching a football game. They have readily identifiable markings on their uniforms so they were easy to spot.


These young men travel throughout the country and the world with the Thunderbirds as the team puts on demonstrations of crack flying techniques.


There were six F-16 jets in the team. This photo shows four of them in close formation. At one point they fly with approximately 18 inches of space between their wings.


Here are a pair coming back after making a turn out over the sea. At the speed they travel it takes quite a bit of room for them to turn and come back. At one point they flew low enough overhead for us to see the image of a huge black thunderbird that is painted on the underside of each team member's jet.


Scuttlebutt among some of the viewers is that the Thunderbirds now have their first female pilot. I do so hope it is true!


These four jets in a tight formation. Sorry for the fuzzy photo - we are amateurs for sure.


Four jets completing a huge vertical circle done in formation.


All six together flying really high.



Trying to follow the jets with the camera is indeed a challenge. You can't follow the sound because they are ahead of the sound. And you can't follow the vapor trail because by the time you find it in your screen they are long gone. (You can get a sense of the sounds we heard, though.) But it sure does make a body proud to see them!

People you meet on the beach!

Today we paid our first "official" visit to a beach - we even wore bathing suits! Hawaii has many beaches designated as state parks. The one shown here is Kalama Beach State Park. It is our understanding that beaches in Hawaii cannot be owned because they belong to anyone who may wish to visit. As a result, you have multiple choices for which location to visit. This beach was not very busy today. Our guess is most people were at work. But we did get to meet and spend some time with a very nice couple who are professional photographers.

We were able to see some of their work on their web sight. Pretty good stuff. I guess they must be kept pretty busy with many people who want photos taken on such a lovely island. Take a look: http://www.oahuportraitphotographer.com

This is Richard. When we first saw him he was weighed down with one of almost every type of camera imaginable. I guess the only thing missing was a video camera. If he had one of those I probably would have jumped behind a bush!

This is Richard's wife Shiyana. As a matched pair, she was also sporting a number of cameras around her neck. It was fun to spend some time with them and learn a little bit about their style in photographing various subjects.

Some Before and After Photos

We are still a work in progress but several photos below illustrate how far we have progressed to date.

Living room area before.

Living room area after. New Pergo floors and all new furniture.

Living room wall mounted TV - to save space.

Dining area after. Sorry, don't seem to have a "before"

The old kitchen. Original cabinets from 1983 and appliances of unknown age. Laminate countertops and small pass through opening.

Guess you can tell the old kitchen was YELLOW.

Opening enlarged by removal of upper cabinets. New maple cabinets, quartz countertops and backsplash, and all Energy Star appliances.

Stainless steel dishwasher, microwave and stove with matching canisters and electric teapot.

Washer and dryer of undetermined age.

Stacked Engergy Star washer and dryer.

Master bedroom - not quite finished but new paint, bed and flooring.

One of our bathrooms. It is Hawaiian style with the tub and commode in a separate room.


We had fun trying to spray paint the new louvered door. The trade winds blow in through the bathroom window so figured the new door would let the wind through.

Guest bedroom/living room alcove/office area.

We hung french doors (that I stained) and put rice paper over the windows for our guests' privacy. The futon in that room makes a full size bed.