KBay Pier

The clouds over the Ko'Olau Mountain Range looked especially mystical on this day.  I stopped at the pier on Kaneohe Marine Corps Base to snap a few photos.  Often you can see amphibious landing craft parked here, but only fishermen dotted the docks this time. 

U: USS Arizona, 70th Anniversary

How fitting that this week's letter in the ABC Wednesday meme is 'U' and that this Wednesday also falls on December 7th, the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  I took the above photo right after touring the USS Arizona Memorial, built directly over the sunken remains which still entomb 1177 service members who went down with the ship on that fateful day.  It is hard for me to imagine that on a sunny weekend morning right here on this beautiful island, 180 planes tore the harbor apart, bringing the United States into World War II.  I hope we never see the UGLINESS of war here again. 

Almost Like Camoflauge

I was at the top of Makapu'u Trail when this military helicopter passed by, at a lower elevation than me.  On this day, the aircraft and the ocean were almost the same color.  This trail is a also a great place to watch hang gliders and, in the winter, humpback whales.  It's Skywatch Friday, so click HERE to see sky images from around the world. 

Prop Shot

I got a close-up look at a U.S. Navy plane today (sadly I do not recall what kind it was, but it had four propellers).  This one was taken as I was looking straight  into one of the propellers.  It sort of reminds me of a face with the two eyes and a nose...

To see other close-ups and macros, please visit Macro Monday.  

Welcome Home!

Our friend returned from his overseas deployment today, and as is the custom in Hawaii, he was greeted at the airport by friends with leis made from flowers, candy, and yes, miniature bottles of liquor! With more than 32,000 active duty members plus their families stationed here, the military presence here on Oahu is undeniable. It is also not without controversy, but this is a photo blog, so I will leave those debates to the political blogs :) Welcome home friend!

Fly-Over

I snapped this from my front yard when the Navy Blue Angels were performing at the nearby Kaneohe Marine Corps Base Airshow.  They fly so close together that it makes me cringe - really unbelievable!  Notice that you can barely see plane 2 peeking out from behind plane 3.  It's Skywatch Friday, so click HERE to see more sky photos from around the world.