Whew! It’s been a while since I’ve written because things have just been crazy. I had been traveling a lot for work up until my trip to Hawaii, which left little time for me. And my laptop died so I was traveling without a laptop. Not easy to do when you have work to do. So I got a little backed up with things…but I’m back and here I am! So much to catch up on.

Getting leid in Hawaii

I’m happy to say that I FINALLY visited Hawaii. I was supposed to go 20 years ago when my uncle lived there but my dad wouldn’t let me out of school for a month to tag along with my grandparents. So here we are 20 years later and I finally made it to the islands. I spent three days in Maui and 8 days in Kauai. I honestly have to say that Hawaii wouldn’t be my first choice in vacations, but I think that’s because it wasn’t really that warm and there were 40 mph wind gusts. Don’t get me wrong…I had a great time and really enjoyed my much needed vacation…but it’s not on the top of my lists.

About to bike down Haleakala

I did quite a bit on this trip. Normally most of my trips are full of time spent by the pool or on the beach if I’m in a warmer, tropical climate. But this trip I made it a point to get out and be a bit more active. In Maui I went on a 35 mile bike ride down Haleakala, which is a 10,023′ volcano. We did it in an hour and a half…the guy at the bike company was pretty impressed. Granted, the majority of it is downhill so you get going at about 30-40 mph. If it wasn’t for the strong winds we were riding against, I’m sure we would have made better time. I also went snorkeling and whale watching while in Maui. The Humpback whales spend their winters in Hawaii where they give birth to their calves and teach them how to breach and do whatever it is that whales need to learn how to do before heading back up to Alaska for the summer to feed. I was pretty impressed…there were TONS of whales everywhere! When you sit on the beach and look out at the ocean you can see spouts of water shooting up everywhere. It was quite the experience.

Helicopter ride over Kauai

I spent my first three days in Kauai down in Poipu Beach at the Hyatt Grand Resort. The Hyatt Grand has to be one of the most beautiful resorts ever. It rests on 52 acres right on the beach. My first day in Kauai we just chilled for the day. The second day we went on a Helicopter tour of the island. I’d never been in a helicopter before so it was pretty awesome to experience my first one over Kauai. They take you through Waimea Canyon, up to the Napali Cost and back across the island to the airport, all the while pointing out all the places that movies have been filmed and taking you right up to waterfalls. The day after that we went ziplining. Ziplining was definitely a lot of fun. It’s quite exhilarating to be soaring through the treetops while attached to a harness and cable. After we were done with the zipline course, we hiked over to a waterfall-fed lagoon. They have a 25 foot rope swing that drops you into the middle of the water, but it was so cold that I wasn’t about to do it. I went into the water and went up to my neck…but that was enough. Didn’t want to get my head wet and freeze my ass of!

Yup that's me on the zipline!

My seventh day there I went to my friend’s house in Hanalei, which is on the other side of the island. Poipu Beach is on the South Shore and Hanalei is on the North Shore. Aria Giovanni and Heather Vandeven were already there, as well as my good friend and photographer Ellen Stagg. Justine Joli got there later that night after I arrived. We had a lot of fun hanging out at the house and shooting. I shot for a day with Mark Daughn, who is best known for shooting for Mystique. We shot on some private land and a private beach, so all of you that are members of my site will be really excited when that content goes up on the site! I’ve wanted to shoot beach and ocean content for quite some time, but it’s never easy to do in California. So when I found out that I would have the chance to shoot on the beach in Kauai, I didn’t even hesitate! We got some really good stuff and I know you’ll love it!

Working double time...shooting behind the scenes of Aria while I wait for my turn to shoot

I also shot with Ellen on the beach. It was raining a lot the day we shot, as it does in that part of Kauai, but I was game for shooting in the rain. We unfortunately only had time to shoot a couple sets on the beach because Ellen had to fly back to New York that day, but we got some good stuff. Definitely very wet sets! I even shot a Fourth of July set for you guys!
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