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.

The tale of Trade Winds and TP

As new residents here in paradise, we learn something new just about every day. For example . . . Our apartment is on a pretty high floor of our building. The trade winds keep our place pleasant just about every day. The winds can be pretty strong. Recently we came to the realization that when the wind blew it not only kept us cool, it also unrolled our toilet paper. In both bathrooms we found the complete roll on the floor! Thus you see a photo of our "new" TP holders. Thank heaven for the WEB!

We continue to work on our new home - one bit at a time. Then again. . . . that is what makes this an adventure. Maybe we will finish - but I hope not too soon.

What do we do in Paradise?

You put furniture together! Yes people, haven't made it to the beach yet but we're working on it.


A small put-it-together yourself cabinet. It was in pieces but so heavy we had to take it out of the box in the parking deck and tote it in by parts. Here is John working his fingers to the bone. It wound up taking the two of us to complete it together.

When living in a small apartment - space is at a premium. On the left side of the MBR closet John installed two stacked sets of drawers. He now has 10 drawers to use inside of the closet that otherwise would have been unused space.

My wonderful, patient spouse then put together a drawer unit on the right side of the closet so I have 6 drawers to use for my stuff as well as two open shelves. (Notice my lovely orange night stand with a lamp on it to the right - an upside down paint bucket.)

Stay tuned for exciting updates. ;-)

A Little Bit of Organization

It is amazing what some furniture can do to a formerly empty space.

Furniture delivery here on the island tends to be item by item. We seem to still be missing a love seat, some night stands, a mattress and box spring, a bedframe, a LR table, countertops, a sink, etc. But here you can see that we at least have somewhere to sit and watch TV. The futon in the photo will be moved into the 2nd BR and used for guests once we get a bed for ourselves.


The dining table was scheduled to arrive in September and the chairs in middle August. We were pleasantly surprised when the entire set showed up late last week. As you can see, John has figured out the table is a good place to set up a laptop. We move forward!

One interesting aspect was to find out that we do not live in the United States. Trying to order anything from the WEB has proven to be a real challenge. Many, many sites offer "free shipping". However, when I would place an order (for the bed headboard for example) it goes through just fine. Then several hours or a day later an email pops up telling me the order has been cancelled. I call the toll free number and learn that I do not live in the United States so no free shipping. "OK" says me. . . I will pay for shipping. Answer: "No, you do not live in the United States and we do not ship overseas." I offered that I am a registered voter and have a US passport but they were not impressed. One site brags they deliver to Canada but consider Hawaii overseas. Thank heaven Google helped us find a web page called "shiptohawaii.com". We get the "free shipping" to a warehouse in California that then puts your order on a boat to Hawaii. Although the second phase involves a fee it is so worth it to us.

Our First Dizzying Month in Paradise

It has taken a long time and we have travelled a long, circuitous route, but we finally arrived in Hawaii and began to settle down. Settle down? Is that what this July has been? That's a new definition in my book! Settling down means relaxing, taking it easy for awhile, getting into the swing of things in the local area, playing a little golf. Sorry, it wasn't in the cards.
It is almost too hard to believe! We started our new adventure unburdening ourselves and getting down to just two suitcases each - mostly clothes and meds. Now first, we needed wheels. Transportation for the last 18 months has been walking, bicycles, and busses, but here as in most of the country we had to get back into the groove of having a CAR. On this first day of having a rental car the stars alined and we found a new Toyota Prius. Now I can tell you, driving at fifty-one MPG is soooo satisfying.
The first two weeks were filled with one errand after another in preparation for setting up housekeeping as well as for making choices for remodeling a 25-year old apartment. Then, on July 13th, the Dynamic Duo hit Honolulu. Suddenly, life took off like it was in a whirlwind. Their names are John and Terri. Ever watch one of those home makeover shows on the Home channel? John and Terri put them to shame.



We were greeted by this, our first rainbow, since arriving.



Here they are just before they went home to Atlanta. This is actually at the end of their stay. They are both a bit like Bat Man. They look like Bruce Wayne, but turn into the masked crusaders of apartment renovation. John designs and builds fantastic contemporary luxury homes in the Atlanta, Ga. area. Terri is at his side the entire way. They graciously offered to come in and help us do magic on our apartment.



Nope! This is not our place in Paradise! It's someone else's 6000 sqft. tease on the other side of the globe; it is an interior shot of one of John's works in Atlanta. He designs them right down to the ornate scrollwork on the bannister and front door. The next two photos were also taken in homes by John and Terri. What more can I say?



Every house they build has a uniquely designed swimming pool.







The wall-to-wall carpeting in the two bedrooms, living room, and dining room (seen here under the "wood pile") was torn out, cut into manageable rectangles, and disposed of. This stack of materials portends 5 to 7 days of hands and knees labor to put in the new flooring. Getting it early allows it to acclimatize for several days prior to installation.



The two Johns hard at work installing the floor.



He looks handsome even when wearing knee pads.



How do you do a complete apartment renovation when you have virtually no tools? You have to improvise! An upside down bucket becomes a workbench. A person becomes the counterweight needed to saw wood to the desired length. Have you ever seen a happier counterweight?



Terri paints like a pro. I tried to keep up with her, but it was difficult to impossible. The light fixture seen here is one of three new ones that John installed. They are all of the same design but large, medium and small.



The second bedroom is directly off the living room. When visitors come we plan to provide privacy via a pair of new sliding French doors (seen here). Terri spray painted the inside white and I stained the outside to match the new floor. A lot easier said than done. Terri also spray painted a new louver door for the bath as well as four bifold doors in all. She is amazing!


John routed cable through the walls then mounted two TVs - the one shown in the living room and the other in the master bedroom.



The early stages of the kitchen demolition. Those cabinets are in the first stage of "going, going, gone." We designed and ordered them while in NYC back in the spring.


The original tile in the foyer and kitchen. We believe it was installed in 1983.


After chipping out the white tile it took my sweetie and Terri 3 days to chisel all of the thinset off of the concrete floor. Then John began his installation of the new porcelain tile.


The new cabinets are maple. John installed them too!

We promise more photos as the apartment develops. Before she left Terri helped pick out furniture, lamps, accessories, etc. She has quite an eye!