Naialani

These pictures were taken by a gentleman diver by the name of John Cooke. He has one of those cameras they shoot surf shots with. Big, long mega lens attached to the front of the camera. He took these pictures while I was swimming with the dolphins. I had no idea he was taking them.. LOLOL I wonder often why my neck is so sore when i come in from swimming with this guys. This pictures shows my head out of the water while the rest of my body is flat..LOL Talk about a kink in the neck!! These pictures for me are priceless. I never ever get to see the dolphins this way since I am in the water. Thank you John! For me these are priceless! I am an island gal...

A Human Kind of Human from her fabulous blog Just I and Myself, has graciously given me a Sugar Doll award... I must tell you ten things about me. 1. I am adopted. 2. My birth mothers family was from England, my birth fathers family from Java. 3. I am an island girl from generations of island people =0D 4. My birth fathers family came to the Hawaiian islands, married Hawaiians and walla here I am. 5.I can talk your ears off! =0) it is called ad nauseum..lolol 6. The only time my feet are truly happy is when there is sand underneath them! 7.Bringing home big pieces of driftwood from the ocean is one of my favorite things to do. Talk about ridiclulous, me dragging BIG trees up the beach! 8. I get so irritated when my adult children tell me to turn my radio down, stop driving so fast, and watch how deep i swim! sigh 9. I ADORE my blogger friends! 10. The Ocean is my LIFE! I am an island gal.....

After ALL day Saturday riding around the island in the car, I was more than ready for the water on Sunday and Monday! I hit the water running, ahhhhh beautiful ocean... first thing i noticed? My camera DID NOT fog up! I was not breathless from the cold of the water either! HALLELUJAH!! Divers everywhere in the water.. the dolphins out there surrounded by boats! The water so clear in places it made me smile from ear to ear.. I called to the dolphins but they were not interested.. maybe next time.. It is going to be an amazing summer underwater! Again I say HALLELUJAH .. SPRING is here! I am an island gal....

I found myself on the east or Windward side of Oahu on Saturday...... A friend had come to the islands so we took a ride.... The Windward side of the island is the WET side of the island of Oahu. It rains alot on this side of the island.. it shows in the land.. Green green green! The ocean here on this side of the island is not clear because of all the little rivers that run into it. Those little rivers flowing into the ocean make this side of the island home to many sharks. I don't swim here but i LOVE the green green mountains! This little island off the coast is called "China mans Hat" and is a much photographed island.. No one lives there, its just a landmark. . It felt good to get back to the blue blue waters of the south shore ! Its amazing how many faces one island can have!

The water is so cold, that when i get in the water, my camera immediately fogs up! that's fog on my lens in this picture. I know i am extremely spoiled with the waters here in Hawaii but FROSTED LENS!? lolol.. There were two tourist at the little beach I have come to call heaven. They heard about this place from people who live nearby. I gave him and his wife a little tip about the turtles that were swimming nearby and then stood back and watch this man and his wife have their first experience in meeting a wild turtle. I watched in glee as these two people became joyous children. It is this joy, the joy of nature given to us as a gift, free of charge that i am so grateful for! I am an island gal....

I stood looking at this tree. Several years ago I would of set a tent up under it on Friday and not taken it down till Sunday night. I miss those days. The fallen pine needles that rest under this tree make it a great place to set up camp. The ground softened from their cover, the rocks warm from the sun, the ocean whispering softly make sleeping at night a delight! Camping is no longer allowed here on the island of Oahu without a permit at specific areas. Oahu has become so crowded that the no camping rule protects our beaches from permanent residents. The water has been so cold this week that a warm tent and a nice camp fire would be ideal! There is just no easy way to explain it. The suns out, the ocean calls, I hit the water and it feels like a shock going thru my entire body! The water is COLD! Okay I'll swim around awhile that will warm me up! NOPE! I'm freezing! I'm swimming furiously and talking into my snorkel," ITS COLD, its cold, its cold!" After awhile...

The One thing I like about swimming is that your body is basically weightless. I love it so much I spend alot of time upside down in the water, just my feet sticking out of the ocean. I realize with glee that I must of been a beluga whale in a past life.=0D On Sunday morning i also realized that walking can leave your leg muscles tired and sore! The small amount of walking I did over lava rocks on Saturday, had made my legs and ankles sore on Sunday. I hobbled to my beach mobile and headed North.. I stopped at the top of Waimea Bay, my beloved beach and I stood silent and joyous. I could feel the excitement building as I stood there and realized it is MARCH! The BIG, HUGE thrashing waves are over and day by day this Bay which i love so dearly will calm down and clear up and she will invite the dolphins back into her waters! Every year I go thru this and every year I am equally excited by the understanding that the dolphins will soon be back! I stopped by the TURTLE ROCK on the North S...

Saturday..I parked my car at the hotel Ko Olina on the West side and started walking the shore line.. The shoreline so beautiful, my goodness we live on an amazing planet! BUT .. i am human there is going to be a BUT... lol The lava rock I walked over on this stunning west side shoreline was BRUTAL! oh my goodness! Ponds and little pools surrounded by lava rock dotted the shore line. AND THEN... an amazing sight A HOLE in the lava.. a small little beach were only my footsteps were present! Not a piece of garbage left by humans anywhere! I jumped in.. and it was heaven! What a wonderful way to end a lava walk! I am an island gal......

I woke on Sunday, the day after the tsunami to rain and wind. I thought " if it doesn't stop raining I'm going to be a very cold swimmer"! I headed west. The west is the dryer side of the island of Oahu, so i thought i would see if the weather was better there. It was... The nice thing about the sun and rain playing together are the rainbows. The rainbow that greeted me in the west on Sunday morning was magnificent! I stood quite awhile and watched this rainbow. This past year 2009-2010 has been a joyous year, but a year with change. Change is never easy and some days i find myself tired beyond reason. Looking past my reason into the greens and blues, reds and yellows of this beautiful planet helps me to balance the things in my life that need balanced! When i finally entered the water I noticed immediately that the ocean was very shallow! I was bumping my toes on rocks that on any other day were far beneath me. The ocean was still adjusting its self from the tsunami ...

We had a Tsunami here in the Hawaiian islands on Saturday. The Ocean graciously touched us gently. No huge wall of water, just the ebb and flow of the tide...... . After the civil defense cancelled the warning I headed west. The Ocean stood there magnificent. You could see her still churning , so I did not enter the water. Respecting the Ocean and her power is the foremost responsibility for all of us. It was the sun that made me smile on this Tsunami Saturday, all day long the sun shone brightly, and then she set in the west as if she was throwing an all clear party! I had to smile, ALL DAY long amidst the panic and chaos here in the island, the sun shone brilliantly! The sun after all had a Birdseye view of the tsunami and if the sun spoke its brilliance was a sign to us that all was well in the Hawaiian islands! I am an island gal....