Around Honolulu

The next morning saw us finding out the truth of rain and convertibles. If you drive fast enough with the top down, you won't get wet. Woe betide he who slows down! With the rather dreary weather, we headed to lunch first, to the world's greatest food court in Ala Moana shopping center. I of course made a bee-line to the okonomiyaki stall, a dish you just can't get in Colorado. (For those who don't know, Okonomiyaki is rather like a cabbage pancake/ pizza ish dish. You grill up the pancake, and put toppings like beef, fish, shrimp or even cheese on it. I absolutely fell in love with okonomiyaki in Japan.)



After lunch the weather had cleared a bit, so we went to the number one tourist attraction in Honolulu, The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Punchbowl Crater. The area was very sobering, with rows of graves, as well as a memorial with the many Pacific war dead whose bodies where never recovered. Among those interred in the cemetery are Ernie Pyle, who died on an island near Okinawa, and one of the astronauts on the Challenger.



From the rim of the crater we could look out on great views of downtown Honolulu.

Leaving Punchbowl, we drove up the Mt. Tantalus/ Round Top road, a panoramic jungle drive into the volcanic hills above Honolulu. Both Mt. Tantalus and Round Top are both younger volcanoes, like Punch Bowl and Diamond Head, that erupted after Oahu had left the Hawaiian Hot Spot on the floor of the Pacific.



Looking down from a state park overlook we has great, if dark, views of Honolulu, Diamond Head, and Punchbowl, seen here.



Coming down from the hills, we took a quick drive through central Honolulu, scoping out the old Palace (the only royal palace on American soil!) as well as the King Kamehameha statue that I just had to get a quick photo of!

Window Seat

I was lucky enough to snag a window seat on my direct flight from Denver to Honolulu. We flew a different flight path than I am used to, right down I-70, so I got to gaze down at high Colorado peaks like Torrey's, Mt. Bierstadt, and more. I figured my trip was off to a great start, and I wasn't even half way yet!



As we got closer in, I got views of inter-island ferries, and a glimpse of the Big Island off in the distance.



Upon arrival, I was met my Island Auntie (TM) and we made a quick stop at the last original tiki bar for some island fair and a fruity cocktail! The Mai Tai's were delicious, as was the food.



We then went to her house on Eva Beach, enjoyed the (shockingly early) sunset, and chatted away. Soon enough I was ready for bed, and my next day's adventuring.

A Taste of Lava

A hastily processed photo of one of Kilauea's two currently active vents. More will of course be forthcoming, when I get home.

Sunset over Ewa Beach

The 50th State

In just a few short hours I'm off to Hawaii! I tried to get some autoposting entries for while I was gone, but just didn't have enough time between now and my return from California Tuesday night. Rest assured, when I come back in early November, I'll (finally) finish my Italian trip, post about California, and of course blanket the blog in gorgeous photos of Hawaii!

The View from the Campanile

After ascending to the top of the Dome, we decided to get some more exercise, and walk to the top of the Campanile (Bell Tower). Between the two high spots, we climbed a ton of stairs that day. Ironically, everybody queues up for the trip up to the top of the dome, but to really see the dome itself, you have to go up the bell tower, which was almost empty.











Fillipo Brunelleschi's statue looks forever towards his greatest accomplishment.

The View from the Dome

The first thing we did after dropping off our bags was make a bee-line towards the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, more commonly known as the Duomo of Florence. How could I not go straight for the dome, after reading Brunelleschi's Dome? Seeing the dome up close, and actually walking through the structures, was amazing. The views of the city were so beautiful we didn't want to come down!

Gone Again

Everybody has four Grandparents. When you are young, they spoil you rotten and are altogether more fun to hang out with than your parents. Then, as you grow older, they grow older. And then, you start to lose them. My paternal Grandmother, Dorothy (Dot) Ekelund, passed away Wednesday morning. She was 87 years old. She had been in poor health for a while, but no matter how 'ready' you are, you are never ready. I know I wasn't. I'm off to California for the weekend, to do what I couldn't do a year and a half ago. Be there.

Falling for Firenze

Pompeii was our last excursion in southern Italy. The next morning we bade farewell to Rome, and boarded a Eurostar for Florence. I wasn't sure quite what to expect in Florence, though I knew it would be an amazing city to see.







What I didn't know was just how beautiful the city really is. Less polluted, more compact and absolutely gorgeous. Cooler than Rome and Pompeii, though still plenty hot in the July sun.



And of course, the Duomo. How could I not be drawn to the star, the greatest Dome in Italy? It was our first stop, but that is a tale for another post. (Note, since I didn't have a wide angle lens capable of photographing the face of the Duomo, I made do with three exposures and the Photoshop panorama tool)

The Rocky Mountains in High Dynamic Range

Here we have a selection of HDR images from some of the hikes I did this past summer. The first two are from a trail that head south of Berthoud Pass along the continental divide.





The next two are from a high lake just off of highway 91 near the Climax Molybdenum Mine. (Thank god for spell check)





These last two were shot from the summit of Mt. Bierstadt, looking towards Mt. Evans and the famous Sawtooth ridge that connects the two summits.

Mt. Bierstadt

In August I convinced three of the people I work with to climb one of Colorado's 54 14ers. For those not from Colorado, a 14er is a mountain that rises above 14,000 feet above sea level, and Colorado has the highest concentration of such peaks in the nation (excepting Alaska.)



Being I'm eating a lot of Chipotle and working at a desk all day, anything terribly strenuous was out. Mt Bierstadt, at 14,060 feet above sea level provided a hike that was easy(ish) and very close to home.



Anytime you go hiking above timberline is fairly strenuous, even on an easy mountain like Bierstadt, so it took our group (me) a while to get to the top. Really, we couldn't have asked for a better day, the weather was spotless, even hot, which is rare in an area that can hold on to patches of snow year round.



Anytime you go hiking you see beautiful views, but climbing tall peaks really is like being on the roof of the world. I just love being able to look out over miles and miles of ridges, cirques, peaks and valleys.



I have actually been to the top of Bierstadt several times (3 or 4?), but I never get tired of climbing 14ers, though the climb itself is pretty tiring. None of my cohorts had done a hike like this before, so despite being tail end charlie I was still the elder sage.



I even got to tell them, "back in my day, this climb was a lot harder!" Which is true, climbers once had to deal with a thick, muddy patch of willows in the drainage between the parking lot and the climb. This made for a tricky early morning, as nobody wants to get icy water dumped down their boots on the way up a mountain! Luckily, some years ago the Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado built a wonderful system of catwalks over the worst parts, making the whole thing a breeze.





It's always nice, at the end of the day, to look back at what you accomplished and be happy. Of course, any readers who have conquered one of the more difficult 14ers will now take this moment to giggle quietly. Bierstadt may not be Longs Peak, but it was a good trip, one I'll probably do again.

Fall in the Rocky Mountains

While I'm not quite finished with my epic chronicle of this year's tour of Europe, I figured I should take a quick detour to get caught up with my doings as of late.



Last weekend mom, dad and myself headed to the mountains to get a glimpse of this year's fall color. The aspen's were gorgeous along US 40, so we stopped there for a photo op.



Mom stuck around to paint for a bit, while dad and I went for hike a little further up the road. Winter is certainly coming soon, but for a while we will have a wonderful fall to enjoy.