Having a rough day at work? Winter blues got you down? Maybe this will help warm your spirits. Take a break from your routine with this compilation of photos I took during my time back home in Hawaii (specifically on Oahu, where I grew up, and Kauai). Photos were taken with my iPhone, as I left my DSLR in San Francisco, and originally posted online (hey, follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook!).
I grew up on the far west side of Oahu in a town called Makakilo, a place even some of my high school friends didn’t know about. And while I spent some time in San Francisco, most of my childhood was isolated here, from preschool in the former Barber’s Point Naval Air Station to attending high school downtown.
Remember the days without computers? Remember when your evenings weren’t spent refreshing Facebook or Twitter (or even Myspace)? As kids, we would spend our ample free time exploring our hometown, discovering new swing sets hidden in residential complexes or finding grand panoramas of Honolulu from our mountaintop perspective.
With Google Street View (somehow now available for my hometown), I’m able to explore Makakilo like I did when I was a kid. Perhaps, even more so. There are areas I had never bothered visiting. And through technology, I’m able to explore my hometown even further, all while refreshing my Facebook and Twitter feeds.
Here are some Google Street View shots of Makakilo and Kapolei:
Mauka Lani Elementary School, a public school I attended for several years. Continue reading “Using Google Street View to explore your hometown like we did when we were kids”
I recently visited Disney’s new Aulani Resort in Ko Olina, located in a beachside community thirty minutes west of Honolulu. I had been coming to this beach since it first opened when I was a kid, back when the water was absolutely clear and didn’t even sting your eyes when you opened them. The addition of the Aulani Resort definitely makes this area more happening. Free parking is virtually non-existent, though the crowds aren’t anywhere near Waikiki levels. With a lazy river, water playground and a snorkel pool with tropical fish, there’s plenty here to keep kids and adults occupied. And while the Disney presence is existent, it’s not overly expressed.
Good show, Disney.
Continue reading “Exploring Disney’s Aulani Resort in Hawaii”