I took a break from the projects last week, and we went off to Hawaii for a pretty awesome vacation. We split our time between the Big Island and Maui and I was a little wary of Maui, to be honest, imagining it to be pretty touristy and that everyone there would be couples on their honeymoon. There are touristy parts for sure, but it’s well-traveled for a reason — it’s gorgeous!

Maui coastline

We did stay a bit off the beaten path, and had a lovely time relaxing, as well as taking a great kayak/snorkel trip and driving up to the summit of Haleakala (at 10,000 ft.) for sunrise.

Sunrise clouds at Haleakala

On the Big Island, we really enjoyed our time in Hilo. It’s a chill little town that’s far from touristy, with great restaurants and some nice galleries & shops. Miyo’s — homestyle Japanese — and Suisan — a lovely little fish market with amazing (and inexpensive) poke — both stood out in the food department. We explored some waterfalls from here, and also went up to the visitor center at Mauna Kea (sadly, we were clouded out from seeing the stars, but it was fun nonetheless). On our last day there, we splurged (on Rif’s recommendation) and took a helicopter ride around the island, with spectacular views:

Kilauea lava flow

Helicopter view of Hilo waterfalls

All in all, a fabulous trip!

Dave and Dina

The rest of the photos (we took quite a few!) are up here.

posted January 18, 2012 – 10:05 pm

Spent a bit more time in the shop yesterday and today, and along with some good progress on the dining room table, I sealed up my table saw to improve dust collection, with excellent results. You can read more here.

posted January 6, 2012 – 7:48 pm

I was almost home this afternoon, walking from the hardware store and a feather floated by. A little one, white and downy. And then another. I looked up to see where it was coming from, but couldn’t see anything. And then a few seconds later, another fell. And then I saw the hawk in the pine tree, devouring some hapless songbird or pigeon (couldn’t tell which). And I watched for a while, the bird’s head occasionally popping up to check on me or the rest of the world, otherwise lost in the meal. I’m transfixed.

And then some obnoxious guy walks by with his dog and his friends, yelling out “It’s a tree!” No, idiot, it’s a hawk that would eat you for lunch, if your body were scaled proportionately to your brain, and I went upstairs to get my camera.

Hawk in a tree

I hung around for a while, hoping to get a better look at the bird, and when it had finished its meal, the hawk (seemingly happily) obliged.

Hawk

A few more photos are up here.

posted January 3, 2012 – 5:09 pm
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