Today at Foster Gardens in Honolulu.. I have never macro'd a bug but this preying mantas was fun... ok well interesting at least. But when you view it in Photoshop it feels like they are crawling on you... Kind of icky!! :) :) It was a rainy overcast day and not a lot of flowers.. so I thought I would post something totally different. :) :)

Sunset clouds over Diamond Head, Sunday Evening.

Makapu'u Lighthouse, Oahu
The lighthouse was built in 1909 and automated in 1974. A 2-mile paved trail leads to the lighthouse and a fantastic view of the entire coastline and the island of Molokai in the distance.
The Kaiwi Channel (26 miles Molokai to Oahu) runs past Makapu'u Lighthouse and is an excellent spot to watch Humpback whales as they travel the channel between December and April. (info from Hawaiiweb.com and other sites) Have to admit I just couldn't come up with all of these facts!! :) :) It is a wonderful, fun, easy hike and the views are awesome.

Hilton Hawaiian Village Rainbow Tower and Waikiki Beach lights.. :)

Flower that I found when I was in California. I know I had better start taking photos around home again!! :) :) I haven't been out and about since I returned to Hawaii but perhaps tomorrow if it is not storming. :) :)

This is another morning in California. Rainbow Bridge, Folsom, CA. shot with my favorite fishy eye lens :) :) That lens is tons of fun to play with. :) :) The Rainbow Bridge was built in 1919 across the American River.

Since there really are no fall colors here in Hawaii I went out looking for some in California on my recent visit. This was about all I could find. :)

Found this interesting pokey weed/flower? in Colorado. I have no clue what it is but I think fresh fallen snow can make just about anything amazingly beautiful... :) :)

When I was in Denver everyone was celebrating the Rockies making it to the World Series. Downtown at night they put the Colorado Rockies Logo on the building across the street from where I was staying. Too bad they lost tonite. Guess there is always next year. :) :)

Last nite was a huge full moon. Kind of hidden in the clouds just around sunset, but was fun to watch rise. Annie and I stopped near Sandy Beach and was it windy!! Tons of salt spray in the air!! Which means not real clear images and major camera and tripod clean up when you get home. Oh well it was worth the stop. :)

Up above Golden Colorado at Lookout Mountain. Amazing weather. 70 degrees and clear on Saturday and freezing , windy and snowy on Sunday. It is a beautiful place.

Today was a walk around Chinatown afternoon with Annie and her friend Elizabeth. A quick shot of a bunch of flowers from one of the many lei shops in Chinatown. It was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. :) :)

I am finally back in Hawaii. One month off to take my daughter to college at Univ. of San Francisco... sniffle sniffle... :) :) Staying in Calif for the month was lots of fun but not much for photos since I was busy with my parents and of course visiting with my daughter and her dorm friends.. But I guess like everything have to get back to the routine.... maybe I can find a shot to post... Thought I would just say HI!!! Aloha, Renee :) :)

Lilies with a busy bee... :) :)

Thought I would post a hula image since it is Friday.. :) :) Hope everyone has a wonderful Aloha Friday and a great weekend!!! :)

Taiko Drummers from the Manoa Bon Dance. :) :) They are a little loud but tons of energy and a great crowd pleaser.. :) :)

Bon Dance this evening... As you can see it is a come as you are event.. anything goes even jeans and a t-shirt. Main thing I learned at the bon dance... You have to come to have fun, which they all do... and they line dance to "Elvira" How funny is that!!! :) :) :)

The DOG Signing!!! Ha ha ha ha ha :)

"You Can Run but You Can't Hide"... A catchy name for a book.... LOL LOL LOL .. :)
Oh my gosh... I never go to events like this so sorry to bore my blogging friends with this story. As I sat this evening chatting with my mom on the phone (she is on the mainland) I was laughing at an article in today's paper which said Dog the Bounty Hunter wrote a book and would be doing a book signing this evening at 7pm at the local mall!!! I couldn't believe it... I mean really a guy that calls himself "DOG" oh please.... My mom on the other hand thought that was way cool... I couldn't believe that either.... So she said that she would love a signed book.. I told her she was crazy and why would you want that book... well it seems that Dog the Bounty Hunter is a big hit on TV... I knew that really I did... :) :) He is occasionally on the front page of our local paper since he does live here in Honolulu, but have never watched his show I must admit... So just to make my mom happy and to satisfy my curiosity about this Mr. Dog off to the mall I went.. and to my dismay so did hundreds.. I mean hundreds of other people. I was stunned, amazed, couldnt believe it... (I don't think Dog could either.. Bet he wished he was out tracking down criminals vs signing books for that crowd.. I wouldn't have blamed him at all).. But he hung in there for 2 hours....Anyway, I went to purchase a book for signing...... the bookstore said they were sold out!!! Can you believe it!!! But... maybe... perhaps they might have a few copies left downstairs where the mass of humanity stood flashing their cameras and awaiting a signature from Dog.... When I finally located the portion of the mall that was selling the books they were SOLD OUT, but I could purchase one of 3 DVD's... Hmmmmm I pondered a moment and thought Nahhhh.... Sorry mom.... so I went and did the next best thing that you can do at the mall.... Go shopping!!! :) :) So after I purchased a new outfit .. darn mom see what you made me do...... :) :) :) SO, then... I figured on the way back to the car I would wonder back to middle of mall to see how many people where left.. OH MY GOSH.. there was still quite the crowd.. but I figured I could perhaps, just maybe, get a shot of him and send that to my mom to substitute for the book!!! A poor substitute I know!!! :) :) Well, as I was slowly creeping my way towards the stage that he was set up on, I was stopped almost right in front of him,, that was as close as I was getting since of course there is always those who tend to push you aside...Anyway,,, as I stood there and waited for someone to move the girl that works for the bookstore stood right in front of me blocking my view and said: "I have two copies of the book left"... I could not believe what I heard.... How amazing is that!!!..... I said, I would love one for my mom and the guy next to me gobbled up the other copy.. I was stunned to say the least but had to laugh.... So, I got my mom her signed copy... By the way he signs.... THE DOG....... I will be mailing it off to her in the morning. Have you heard of The Dog??? His real name is Duane "DOG" Chapman. (Not sure that the Dog part is real but that is what the front cover of the book says)!!!... He seemed like a nice enough guy but looked totally exhausted. I know I would have been after all of the books that he signed!!! It turned out to be a fun evening after all.... :) :)

A fish eye view of Waikiki from Ala Moana Beach Park, Magic Island. I still love playing around with that fish eye lens. One of these days I will just have to break down and get one of my own!!!

An overexposed moon... Oh well I took it super quick from my lanai... :) :) Saw the moon from the kitchen window and ran out to the lanai, darn the tripod was in the car.. Shucks... :) :) Then snapped a few shots before it went up into the clouds.. :) :) Have a great week..