Kiteboarding at Kailua Beach

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After the Pillbox Hike we went to Kailua Beach to just hang out. This is were we saw a lot of kiteboarding.  

I was not sure if this picture was better with or without Topher so you guys can decide. (Move mouse over picture)

 

This is just a little river that flows to a pond which I guess sometimes reaches the ocean. 

So that's why they call it flat island. 

After watching people kiteboard  for so long I think I have become a pro at the sport. As such I have compiled a simple 9 step instruction guide for kiteboarding.

1. Find a spot where lots of other people are kiteboarding.

Make sure they are actually kites and not just tents on the beach.

2. Inflate the front of your kite and carry it to the water.

3. Find some nice person to hold it for you until you give the thumbs up.

4. Give the thumbs up so the kite will take to the wind.

5. Bounce across the sand toward the water to get your board.

6. Oh yeah, make sure you already set your board out where you can get to it with a giant kite attached to you.

  Or just carry it with you

7. When you're in the water, put the board on your feet.

8. Take off into the water

9. Do cool tricks!

Extra Bonus Tip: Don't let your kite hit the water.

But it's okay she got right back up because...

...she was wearing her pink floaty inter tube.

Well that's all you have to know. So get out there and catch some air.*

"I got my toes in the water".

Another picture of Topher "enjoying the beach". Wait, where is the beach in this picture? 

There was also some windsurfing happening, but not as much.

* I am not responsible for any accident or injury that is cause by only following these instructions.

Pillbox Hike

Today we drove to the North-ish side of the island for a hike and to hang out at the beach. 

Driving on the Pali Highway and going through a tunnel to get through the mountain range.

The trail head for the Pillbox Hiking Trial.

Manana Island and Kaohikaipu Island State Bird Sanctuary. We plan to kayak out to them sometime.

Here is a picture of Topher. He is sad because he forgot to bring an SD card for his camera. 

In this picture you can see flat island. (It's the one that is flat.)

Topher in one of the bunkers (pillboxes) standing at what I think is an old gun turret. 

Since he could not stop to take pictures of the roses, he did not stop to smell them either.  (In this case the roses were cactus.) 

That's one of the bunkers in the mid-ground. 

This is a seven picture panorama I took. However when you take ~300 degrees of rotation and make it flat it does not look right at all. I don't real know how to describe how warped this picture is so I included a video for better perspective. On an unrated note, if anyone knows the two in the picture let me know because if someone had a picture of me like this, I would want  a copy.

This is a picture of an old Volcanic Bomb. I know this from my many years studying rock formations while I was getting my degree in geology.*  

There are golf courses all over around here.

 I did said we also went to the beach after this hike but I'm making that a separate post. (Because I take too many pictures.)

* That's a lie. Really I just think it is a Volcanic Bomb because I did a quick Google search, compared it to other pictures, and I thought Volcanic Bomb sounded cool to put in my blog. If anyone actually knows anything about it, please leave a comment below.

Sun Set At Waikiki

We went to Waikiki Beach in the evening and I took a few shots of the sunset. Well really I took 62 pictures but lucky for you I condensed it down to 16 pictures for the blog. 

Don't worry, although this might look like a nuclear explosion, it's just the sun. I know you were worried. 

They teach kids how to surf early out here. I watched these two surf in on a wave. 

This is how you will usually see Topher "enjoying the beach". Notice he's not wet, he's not even in the sand. 

I know I have a lot of pictures of Diamond Head but it makes for a great background.

Just be glad I didn't put all the sunset pictures in here.

I tried to take another panoramic but as you can tell, it did not work. However I was able to make a better panoramic from Koko Crater. 

P.S. For anyone who came here from Topher's blog looking for pictures of the Pillbox Hike and Kite Boarding, it is the next thing on my list to post.