A Week Off!

I spent a wonderful week off
on Oahu with my family and am still basking in the "tropical glow" of maitais, sun, sand, and the pleasant natives we met along the way. I brought along my camera most days and captured as much of the experience as I could.



On one rainy
day, I traveled to the northern part of the island to an enchanted place called Waimea Valley (on Oahu, not to be confused with Waimea Canyon, on Kauai). Here there is a botanical garden sheltered by high cliff walls. The feeling in primeval with strange plants and flowers adorned with small droplets.



The light rain kept most of the other tourists away making this an experience that was very personal and profound. The garden path beckoned us to move onward up hill to the falls, strongly flowing. There will be no swimming today.



On the way down,
we were greeted by a pleasant native woman who offered to teach us how to make a small fish form the leaves of a coconut tree. My wife and I followed her careful instructions and were pleasantly surprised at how well our fish turned out.



The valley will remain one of the outstanding memories for us. the peaceful and serene surroundings along with the gentle rain and bright native smiles will be some of our fond memories from this trip.