< from waikiki, hawaii >

you know, this place is still beautiful. it might be crowded, it might have tacky stores and loopy restuarants, but it's still charming.

this is probably my 6th time to the islands, and after being here for about 4 days, i'm still overwhelmed by what i see and feel. spent a few days as a lump on waikiki beach, then took a bus to sandy beach for a day and was thoroughly rearranged by the 6 foot shorebreak. today it's off to north shore, by way of exploring the windward side. no waves at pipeline this time of year, but north shore has a special feel all it's own, completely separate from the rest of hawaii.

went to pearl harbor yesterday. after a half a day of touring around various pacific fleet military installations with a tour guide, and hearing everything about the beginning of world war ii, i became quite thrown - realizing america has gone through quite a bit, yet i've been spared from it all.

freedom isn't free; we all have much to be thankful for.