Hawaii From My Car

Some of you many know that I drive a lot, probably a lot more than you might think for someone living on an island.  The driving can get old, but at the same time, it gets me out and about so that I can actually see the island; and even after 8+ years here, I'm still wowed by the beauty on a regular basis.  So, here's what it's been like driving around Oahu during the last month.   

Here are our lovely Ko'olau mountains peeking through a veil of rain and fog.  All the wind and rain we normally get from about November-March, has finally decided to show up just in this past month.  Don't worry, I wasn't driving for this picture.

Driving on the H-3, headed over the Ko'olau mountains from Kaneohe toward Honolulu.  Aren't the waterfalls amazing?  I'm telling you, when the rain hits, it hits hard!  Don't worry, I was driving, but I promise I was paying very good attention to the road.  There was a lot of editing that had to go on to get this picture presentable.  

Here is the view I had on the H-1, driving from Waianae toward Honolulu.  Again, I promise I was being a very careful driver.

This was the view earlier in the week as I was heading into Honolulu on the H-1 with the setting sun behind me.  I liked that I was able to see the sun setting behind me as well as see it reflecting off the buildings in front of me/next to me.  Again, very careful, lots of editing, I promise!

Here's what the Ko'olau mountains look like on a sunny day-the tops are almost always obscured in clouds, but that's part of what makes them so pretty.  This is the view looking from across the street toward the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park.  Don't worry, I wasn't actually in my car for this one, but I was standing next to it in the parking lot, waiting for the novocaine to wear off from my somewhat unsuccessful filling.  (Long story).  

Okay, this was not actually taken from my car, but peacocks are pretty!  

Seriously, I know the driving and taking pictures thing probably makes some people a little nervous (and Oprah would probably kick my ass) but I promise I'm not one of those people hanging out the window, using both hands to hold the camera.  If anything, I probably pay more attention to my driving when I'm taking pictures because I don't want to be one of those dumb-asses who gets into an accident because she was playing with her camera.  If I can, I will pull over or wait until a stop light, but if not, I keep my eyes on the road and I just point the camera in the general direction of what I want to get and I click and hope for the best.  

In case you're curious, here's the driving that I did to get all the pictures above:  (You should be able to zoom out to see the whole island, or click on the "View Larger Map" link below the map to open up a link to the map).

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