Kauai 2012 - Day 10

Today is our last full day in Kauai - we fly home in the morning. It's been a fabulous, fun, and relaxing vacation, with more than a few photo ops.

Here's a nice sunrise photo from earlier in the trip. Love those sun beams!

Kauai 2012 - Day 9

Today was a fun day with a zipline tour!


Awww, Jennifer & Laurence in a rare posed photo


Jennifer rappelling


For those who don't know - Laurence has a fondness for bamboo


Underneath the take-off platform for the last zipline. It's a tandem (hence the 2 wires at the top of the photo) that goes for 1800 feet.....

Kauai 2012 - Day 8

Today was a lazy, 2 french press morning, followed by a drive around to the South & West portions of the island.


Waimea Canyon


Barking Sands


Shooting into the sun (usually a no-no) - to focus on the light beams coming through the clouds

Kauai 2012 - Day 7

Beautiful sunrise yesterday morning and a fun trip up north for more beaches, walking, photos, smoothies & sushi....


Pre-sunrise with crescent moon


Taro fields

Kauai 2012 - Day 6

Back to sunshine on Day 6. A great day of running (Jennifer) and walking/photographing (Laurence), beaches, and fun.


Sometimes you have to go your own way


Palmtree daydreams


Good advice


Anyone know the name of these plants? They are very cool!


We love the patterns and shadows

Kauai 2012 - Day 5

Yesterday was VERY rainy - with 50mph wind gusts. Some power outages and flooding on the island.

We drove around a bit as sitting the condo, as nice as it is, was driving us nuts. We stopped by Glass Sand Beach on the south end of the island. Jennifer was kind enough to hold the umbrella (over the camera, not over Laurence) to get a sense of the story day.


Storm over Glass Sand Beach


This is an enlargement of the bottom portion of the photo above - you can see the polished glass on the beach

Kauai 2012 - Day 4

While our hometown of Seattle braces for record snowfall (even if it doesn't break a record, it sure seems like the media hype has broken all sorts of records), we had a medium sized tropical storm hit today. It's a good thing we got our sushi & smoothies in Hanalei yesterday, as the bridge was closed today due to flooding.

Here are 2 photos from yesterday, dodging the light rain....

Palm trees in the wind

Kilauea Lighthouse

Kauai 2012 - Day 3

Stormy weather in Kauai on Day 3 - some rain, lots of wind, and rapidly changing light.


This is for all the folks who say there aren't enough photos with people in them



And finnally, this is for all the folks asking where we are staying & what the view is like from our lanai

Rainbow Eucalyptus Tree

On our first day we found a grove of Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees - which are spectacular to see in person.

This photo was delayed a few days - as it's a complilation of multiple images called a "focus stack." Basically I took several photos with different focus points and combined them together in software. This results in an end image where it's sharp focus from the nearest part of the tree trunk to the leaves and clouds.

Kauai 2012 - Day 2

Day 2 was a bit stormier on the sea - making for some dramatic beach shots



Queen's Bath - the water level inside was moving up and down 20 feet in a few seconds!



The first part of Queen's Bath - much of the short hike down is along the creek that dumps straight into the sea in a waterfall


Active surf attracts surfers & photographers!


This photo reminds us both so much of Kauai - with the endless shades of green, interior beauty to go with the ocean, and active people!

Kauai 2012 - Day 1

Arrived in Kauai just as our hometown Seattle was bracing for the first snowstorm of the year. For all of you back home, here are some photos to share warm thoughts!


Love the palm trees and blue sky


Colorful cactus


Chickens are everywhere in Kauai - the hurricane set them free, and they have taken awfully well to the "wild"


The bark of the Rainbow Eucalyptus tree - it's stunning to see in person


An abstract taken of the same shot as above, but zoomed in during the shot

New Year Day Snow Shoe

Had a great time snowshoeing for a few hours in the North Cascades today, and ran into our friends Nathan & Judy!


Trail Marker


Jennifer & Judy


Jennifer, Judy & Nathan


Jennifer


Leaf & cones trying to hang on


Beautiful trees along the hike