Snorkeling Tunnels

September 25, 2016 ~ tomadaonline ~ 1 Comment

My wife and I are fond of Tunnels. The last time we were here our 28 year old son, Matthew, was two. We remember him padding along the water’s edge with fins on his hands, a snorkel and mask on his face. He was blonde, tan, and ever so cute. He’s still cute. He’s still tan but the blonde is gone. If he was here, he’d be surfing Tunnels.

Yesterday we parked at Haena park and walked to Tunnels. We had two sessions and found sea turtles as the sun sank low in the sky. The water was an aqua marine color we hadn’t seen all week. Maybe due to the onslaught of trade winds that’s had the ocean choppy and rugged since the day we landed.

With just a few days left, we have more to pack in, including a hike out the Napali Coast, and another paddle boarding session at Hanalei. Check out the two minute video if your gills are dry.

Donna and Tom Snorkel at Tunnels from Tom Adams on Vimeo.

Kauai Roosters

September 22, 2016 ~ tomadaonline ~ Leave a comment

There are roosters in Kauai. If you’ve been here since Hurricane Iniki hit in 1992, then you may know that it blasted the island with 170 mile per hour winds and did some $1.8 Billion in damage. I heard a stat yesterday from a Taro Farming Tour that the wind meter, mounted on the mountains above Hanalei Valley, broke off when the wind registered 200 mph.

Most locals agree that wild chickens proliferated after Iniki destroyed chicken coops, releasing domesticated hens, as well as roosters being bred for cockfighting.

The Roosters are bright and colorful. Startling in their beauty with iridescent feathers. They strut around town with the contenance of a king. They seem to sleep from 9 p.m. until 3 a.m. Other than those hours they are active with their loud cock-a-doodle-do. Some of them sound like rooster imitations; like me imitating a rooster.

While the NeNe is the state bird, the Rooser is clearly the most widely recognized. During a visit to Lydgate Beach Park we saw a new family of chickens. The chicks were fresh from the egg, tiny, and following mom in a nice neat line.

The birds have total range of the island. Restaurants, shops, parking lots. Check out the short video of Roosters on the prowl.

30th Anniversary SUP

September 21, 2016September 21, 2016 ~ tomadaonline ~ 2 Comments

Donna and I celebrated on the eve of our 30th. We paddled around Hanalei Bay on the north shore of Kauai. We rented 10-6 Laird Hamilton SUPS. They are big and heavy, but I caught my share of waves at the reef and Donna paddled to the end of the Hanalei River. I took a little break, ate a cookie, then paddled up the river to find her. That’s what I do. Find Donna.

There were fish, turtles, herons, egrets, flowers, rain, and DONNA. I found her just below the bridge. We paddled back in the rain to another stunning sunset. Even caught a few outrigger canoe teams working their stuff. Check out the scene with this 1 minute video.

30th Anniversary SUP from Tom Adams on Vimeo.

CEE’S COMPOSE YOURSELF PHOTO CHALLENGE: WEEK #14 Symmetry

January 13, 2016 ~ tomadaonline ~ 7 Comments

While getting our tickets for a fast train to Provence we spent a bit of time wandering the Gare de Lyon station in Paris. I shot this as a panorama then played with it in Snapseed as the French countryside flew by at 300 k/h.

symmetry-1773

CEE’S COMPOSE YOURSELF PHOTO CHALLENGE: WEEK #14 Symmetry

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Any Kind of Bricks or Stone Walls, Walks or Roads

January 4, 2016January 5, 2016 ~ tomadaonline ~ 6 Comments

SUP days are be better than others, but Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge is pretty fun too.

While traveling in Provence’s Luberon Valley we found stones everywhere. The village where we stayed, Saignon, was built in the 12th century from local stone.

These images were shot with an iPhone 5 and edited with Snapseed.

stones-1845

stones-1909

stones-1956

stones-1825

Happy New Year

January 1, 2016January 2, 2016 ~ tomadaonline ~ Leave a comment

We finished the year in Point Reyes National seashore. The Photo is at Drake’s Estero. We saw so many birds and met lots of people. Now onto The Station House for dinner.

Stand Up In Victoria B.C.

December 29, 2015December 30, 2015 ~ tomadaonline ~ 2 Comments

Victoria British Columbia left its prints on me. I was only there once, back in 1973, on the return leg of a leisurely jaunt through B.C. and Alberta. The place seemed magical. I saw my first Belted Kingfisher in Victoria. It was on the west coast. There were Bald Eagles too, but the Kingfisher is the bird I remember best. There were two and they sang. They danced in the air. They flew high, and turned hard. It was a courtship of sorts, and it brought the coast alive.

We spent the late afternoon and evening at Buchart Gardens touring the grand landscape while waiting patiently for the sun to set so we could bask in the garden’s luminous evening light. It was as promised.

I hadn’t been to England yet, but in retrospect, Victoria reminds me of the quaint bits of London. Very proper, yet ever so enchanting. And they have Stand Up Paddleboarding, from flat water to surf.

Today, I’d stay at Ultimate BnB on the West Shore. Within two blocks you can SUP the lagoon or the ocean. The BnB is gorgeous, and the owner loves the water. There are board rental shops at several locations including SUP Victoria and Ocean River Sports.

And there’s great surfing up the west coast at Tofino. You can rent gear at Tofino Paddle Surf. Check out the Tofino SUP Surfing video.

If you have 8 minutes, check out the Naish SUP trip into the northwest. They paddled in flat water, SUP Surfed in Tofino, and paddled by bears. Naish has a full line of stand up paddleboards for flat, surf, downwind, and more. You can s

Naish SUP-tripping up the Pacific Northwest from Naish International on Vimeo.

CEE’S BLACK & WHITE PHOTO CHALLENGE: FARAWAY

December 17, 2015December 18, 2015 ~ tomadaonline ~ 3 Comments

We visited Peru a few years back and made two stops in Cusco. At 13,000 feet it takes your breath away. Then there’s the mountains above Cusco; higher and mightier. At the end of our stay we had the lungs to hike the hills and got above the city.