College Crowd

In April I got together with my college roommates, Colleen and Lauren in Houston.  Here we are with William, Lee, and Colin enjoying some TexMex.

Fajitas and other goodness at El Tiempo

The following week  I was in Seattle for work and so was a college friend, Tom.  We rounded up a Seattle contingent of college friends for some northwest cuisine at Palace Kitchen.

Palace Kitchen

Courtesy of my Dad

 

Manong Gavin and Manong Connor welcoming Cici to the house. T-shirt design by Gavin. Connor taking picture of floor to commemorate the occasion.

Hawai’i Highlights

We had a great 10 days on the Big Island.  Highlights included:

• A tour with Hawaii Forest and Trail to watch sunset 15 feet shy of the top of Mauna Kea.  After the sunset we had a great star gazing lesson.
• Scuba diving in Garden Eel Cove and a night dive with eels, squids, and a giant manta ray with Kona Honu Divers.
• Kayaking with spinner dolphins
• A ranger lead tour of a lava tube that only 12 people a week get to enter.
• Watching lava glow at the Halema’uma’u crater and at the viewing area 1/2 a mile from the lava entering the ocean.
• Snorkeling in several locations including with a sea turtle
• Hiking throughout the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (spotting some nenes, the Hawai’i state bird), to the Green Sand Beach, and in the Waipio Valley (but fortunately someone offered us a ride up the 25% grade road)

Unfortunately we had two lowlights:

• Forgetting our camera was in my pocket while we were crossing a river
• Having our lava boat tour canceled because lava stopped flowing through the lava tubes.

  

  Waipio Valley

  

  Nenes in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

  

  Green Sand Beach

  
  

  

  Kilauea Iki, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

  

  Ranger in lava tube

  

  Lava glow while entering the ocean

  
  

  

  Lava stalactites in the lava tube

  
  

On The Top of the World

Sunset at Mauna Kea (13,780 feet). Subaru and Keck Observatories (L-R)