A View From Korea

Friday, February 20, 2009

Skydiving in Hawaii

Well it’s been a very long time since we have posted any new pictures. Just to give you an update, Krista and I are in Britt, Minnesota and have been since January 13th. We left Honolulu on Jan 12th in the morning and arrived in Minneapolis Jan 13th before 6am. After a long 8 hour flight it was time to brave the cold Minnesota winter.

It was extremely brutal considering we have been in a pretty warm climate since about April 2008 in Korea then Hawaii October – January. We know none of you feel sorry for us because you were stuck in the cold.. but we’re OK. We did manage to get a nice tan before we got back! ;)

There are a lot of posts to put up yet, many still from Korea and plenty more from Hawaii and Minnesota. Hopefully we will get to those soon. But for now, you can enjoy one of our last adventures in Hawaii – Skydiving!

Skydiving is something I have always wanted to try. I’ve always been a little nervous about it but a friend of mine told me of a place he went to in Hawaii a few months before and said it was amazing. I wasn’t able to find anyone jump with me, but I took a chance and just booked it.

So the next morning Krista and I drove to Dillingham Airfield on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day. The sun was shining, there was no wind, the scenery around the whole island was breathtaking (more pics in a future post).

Krista did not jump, however she did get to co-pilot the plane! After viewing a short intro video and signing my life away (literally) on 10 pages that had a note “Skydiving is dangerous, you could die” we made our way outside waiting to suit up.

After about a 30 minute wait I had my tandem harness on and Krista had her own little jump chute. She was told in the event of an emergency to watch the pilot, if he leaves the plane she should follow quickly and then pull the handle on her chute:)

Not long after we were in the air making multiple passes along the coast until we climbed to about 14,000ft. Two individual jumpers dove before we made it all the way up. The instructions I got were to lean my head back, hips forward and hands on my harness. When I was tapped twice I could put my hands out, two taps again hands back on the harness. Once we reached our altitude a Japanese tourist and his tandem instructor jumped out first, next up… me!

Take a look and the pics and the video below.

The instructions I got were to lean my head back, hips forward and hands on my harness. When I was tapped twice I could put my hands out, two taps again hands back on the harness.

Myself and instructor.

Time to fly..!

Bombs awaaaaaaaaaay……

It was one of the best experiences of my life! I was told it was time to go, we made our way to the door. A few years ago I probably would have hesitated to get up and make my way out, but there was no hesitation at all. I remember looking down and thinking wow.. next thing I know it was time to go.

Free falling at over 110mph, the feeling was amazing. I could see the coastline, the calmness over the ocean, the mountains and everything else looking so green. It felt so amazing to fall from the sky and watch everything else around you. Being so high up and without anything rushing passed me besides the wind, it did not feel like falling. I felt like I was flying or floating. It was peaceful, exciting, thrilling, breathtaking and exhilarating all at once.

I would definitely go again. Now that I know what it feels like, I would convince Krista to go with me next time. She’s a little jealous now that she didn’t!

Check out the video, let me know what you think!

Click here to see the video if you're reading this via email.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Snorkeling in Maui

During our weekend in Maui we went on a full morning snorkeling trip with Boss Frog’s aboard the Quicksilver. The trip snorkel gear, breakfast, a BBQ lunch, ice cold drinks, two snorkel sites, a great boat ride and $1 drinks after the snorkeling was finished. All that for about $40/person including tax and boat fees.

Playing with the features on Krista’s new camera, Cannon IXY910IS.

Jenny

Looking back at Maui

Nice Mai Tai’s Jon!

Kahoʻolawe, an uninhabited Hawaiian Island. This island was used by the navy for military training. During the 90’s the island was turned back over to the State of Hawai’i and since then there has been an extensive cleanup of unexploded ordinances on and around the island.

Snorkeling at Molokini,an offshore crescent moon-shaped volcanic crater south of Ma‘alaea Bay, Maui. The islet is a Hawaii State Seabird Sanctuary, and very popular snorkeling location.

Jon

Pink Tail Triggerfish

Lau’i Pala- Yellow Tang

Sea Urchin

Krista

Kikakapu- Threadfin Butterflyfish

Nenue Lowfin Chub

Humuhumu-Ele’ele – Black Durgon Triggerfish

Honu- Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle at Turtle Town Maui

Kala- Unicornfish

Honu- Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle at Turtle Town Maui

Black Sea Urchins

All of the underwater pictures are taken with Jenny’s Olympus Stylus 720SW.

We had a great time snorkeling around Maui and can’t wait to do it again in December. There are many different companies that you can go snorkeling with so make sure you shop around for the best deal for you!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Food on Maui

One of the first places we ate in Maui was at Cheeseburger in Paradise. This place has the hype of a great cheeseburger joint with all the fixings. It had a decent atmosphere to it as we sat next to the window overlooking the water. This place is always packed!

Instead of ordering a huge meal, we ordered mini burgers and onion rings. The onion rings were great, but the burgers were mediocre at best. For all the hype this place had, you could get a better burger elsewhere for less.

Mmmmmm big crispy onion rings :)

One of the other places we ate at was Lahaina Grille and Oyster Bar. This place had an upscale atmosphere to it and on some nights it turns in to a night club open til late.