The summer of Hawaii

This summer I was incredibly fortunate to visit the rainbow state twice.  Once for an inspection of their safety program and the second for a radiation safety officer course.  One of the things that struck me the whole time there were the clouds.

One evening we walked down on Waikiki Beach after dinner.

Although we did get out a few moments, for most of the inspection we were out all day then writing reports in the hotel room in the evenings over dinner.

On the way to the big Island we took a local flight on the HI ARNG plane. It was a nice ride.  I was suprised to find that everyone travels from Island to Island via air.  Inter-island ferries are non-existent.  This is so different from Greece where the major inter-island traffic is via ferry.

On the way to one of the maintenance facilities inside the caldera of Diamond Head we got ot go through one of the lesser used tunnels into the volcano.

 The evenings in Waikiki get a little crazy :p I miss living within walking distance of Mill ave.  It is nice  being able to walk out to restaurants and nightlife and walk home.


 The last day I managed to get in a surfing lesson while my compatriots went snorkeling.  This was my third time up on a board. I am hooked, Surfing is so much fun, but much harder than snowboarding.  I am hoping I can get out to San Diego more and get a lot more in this year before the fall hits.

The second trip I actually had some time in the evening when I finished my homework to get some hiking in. The lighthouse hike was reminiscent as I remembered doing int during the military academy about ten years before. It caused some reflection on how much I accomplished since then, how much I've seen.

The Manoa Falls hike was really cool. The Arch of he trees was really cool.  The bamboo trees were amazing.

I thought this was a good representation of Waikiki. Off the strip things get rural and a lot o folks use scooters to get around the city.

The Japanese Temple in the Valley of the Temples was amazing. The whole place was very meditative.