This year our trip to the Caribbean was later than usual, longer than usual and further away than usual. En route to Hawai'i, the new Caribbean, we stopped in San Francisco where Jane and Sarah had bubble tea here as Suzanne posed with this model Scott and Jane posed and after recording the peace tower we recorded the remains of the night before for some people and then walked past Webster Street and along our way trailed by Suzanne and Sarah until we came to the corner store where this was the menu these were the girls Scott and Suzanne and me and this was the food we ate

before we headed on towards Golden Gate Park past this interesting tree passing gardens as Jane, Suzanne and Sarah posed and we stopped at a refreshment stand for water but not to water these aloes which had nice flowers already and so we walked on past the statue of Cervantes the sphinx (of sorts) a sundial and sculpture past actors doing something in the park and on towards the Japanese Tea Garden pausing for Suzanne and Sarah and Scott and Jane to pose before we made our way into the garden and admired the flowers

until we came to a little hut where Jane and Sarah headed in so that I could capture Scott, Sarah, Jane and Suzanne before we went back to flowers and fish in the pond followed by more flowers and trees

as Suzanne Scott and Jane paused and I took this selfie with Suzanne and then this photo of me and Jane was taken before we noted more flowers with an explanation followed by some beautiful flowers

including some out of focus though Suzanne, Jane and Scott were in focus before we returned to see more flowers

leading to the pagoda where Jane went to pose inside and out as we read an informational sign about the pagoda and headed along admiring the flowers and scenery

until we came to the high bridge which Jane and Scott climbed. We then headed to Jane and Scott's apartment for some reinforcements and watched some streaming video before heading to Sarah's apartment via a gruesome Uber ride to see John and Amanda as Sarah and Ed gave us a reason to toast. We went to Fog city for dinner where these were the drinks this was the menu and this was the meal consisting of many tasty and photogenic dishes.

Next morning, we stopped at a diner for this breakfast and noted that the pepper was low carb before we marched back to Golden Gate Park to the Keith Harring Exhibit where we met Sarah, Ed, John and Amanda. The exhibit was described here and these were the details

which had Jane very amused as we finished the exhibition

and considered the food trucks before deciding on the museum cafeteria as Sarah and Ed Suzanne and I enjoyed our meal before walking through the sculpture garden and catching this most interesting view of the sky through a sculpture and then walking by sculptures along the path and past the ground hog to the waterfall where we marched on past water and plants and marching further past fowl seeing a wedding in the distance and a few more fowl before we arrived at dinner with Matt Traylor and had these amazing foods at Dosa

Next we visited Larry and Janet where I admired Larry's martini making skills

The next day we began a family excursion to the Huntington Gardens. Unfortunately, no one bothered to check and see that Huntington Gardens are closed on Tuesdays. But, we saved things by stopping at the Oinkster for lunch where Janet and Paige guarded our number and this was my drink as Larry oversaw the arrival of the food

which fueled us for the trip into LA where we blocked this bus while discharging our passengers at the Disney Center where these flowers were real and this rose was a sculpture made for Lilian Disney which was quite impressive as were other aspects of the Gehry architecture and there were more lovely flowers before we walked past the statue of Abraham Lincoln as we began our trek past the place where the Oscars used to be held stopping to admire the statue of Joseph Scott, Mr. Los Angeles, and capturing the no-longer-Oscar site along with some glimpses of the skyline along with the flowers and the highway signs which define Los Angeles. We ran into Larry and Janet across from the Kirk Douglas Theater and made our way past these flowers to the downtown cathedral which was constructed of interesting materials. Once inside, it took some adjustment to go from this to this on the altar and then to capture various images of the interior including this house made of grass and this tribute to two popes.

Next we went downstairs to the mausoleum where Gregory and Veronica Peck are together forever and Jack and Chrisi Fleming tell us to smile. Walking on we came to the place where the Roasas were the spot where Los Angeles was born and statues to those who nurtured the city in its early days.

Next, we went to San Diego where we had lunch and dinner with Sylvia

After San Diego, it was time to head to Hawaii and so we flew to LAX where we met the Kramers.

On our first day on Kaua'i, we met this lovely roach while shopping and then enjoyed the sunset

as Peter and Suzanne Peter and Seva sat to watch the sunset and the sea until the sun finally went down

and the ocean got ready for its night of rest.

On Sunday, we headed off to visit Richard and Vicky stopping at the falls where we saw a rooster and then the falls in front of which Suzanne posed as I recorded the trail and the lake and the highest mountain in the distance. This is the place where the most rainfall on earth falls in a year. After looping in various directions (don't use GPS when visiting Richard and Vicky) we arrived and were greeted and began to explore their land with donkeys and interesting trees as we discussed the various plants and took pictures of flowers not to mention the owl that was trying to ward off insanity as the donkeys returned and Peter and Richard discussed the flora as I photographed it

before the williwilli berries were gathered and it was time to interact with the donkeys in various ways

with a break to study the berries collected before there were more donkey pictures with hands up to identify the humans in the photos

before we visited their guest cottage and some more flora before admiring Vicky's art work and sitting down for a snack that including caviar. We took a family photo for facebook and after some more flora

headed north to Hanalei which was a beautiful beach

that Suzanne admired as did Peter and Seva. After more exploration and noticing a coconut we continued to the end of the road and Ke'e beach which was lovely with a beautiful backdrop and lively waves as Suzanne settled in and Peter bought a coconut to drink.

I went for a walk and came across this remarkable tree at the traffic circle and saw beautiful flowers on my way back

as I recorded the neighboring beaches

with the sign that seems to be on every beach in Hawai'i (state law) and made my way along the shore

and past the roosters until I got to our hotel where the flowers were remarkable as was the beach and there I met Suzanne who had just come from water exercise class. On our way back to our unit, I recorded the flowers

including this sequence where Seva's fingers show the order in which things happen and then after this flora Seva found step 0 and there were a few more photos before the camera battery died.

In honor of my birthday, the staff invited me to a hula demonstration and so we went to see the dancer along with a group of girls who were seeing their role model. Next, we stopped at Starbucks and made our way west to a viewpoint where I took this selfie before a kind person took this group photo and we headed on our way to Salt Pond beach and onward to the beginning of the long (7 miles long, more sand than all other beaches in Hawai'i combined) beach.

I went on a long walk to see the spouting horn passing along the Koloa Trail until the horn appeared in the distance and I was able to record it's spouts.

On the way back, I recorded the obligatory phone booth picture. Later that day, we walked to Joe's on the green which had been recommended but was not serving lunch at the time and so we treked back and watched this rooster family as we ate our lunch.

On the walk back to where we were staying, we explored the remarkable gardens of the neighboring property capturing trees and flowers

and the surfers riding waves

and one more flower for the day.

Later, I observed Seva looking out to sea for her man in the tradition of old ship's captain's wives

This was our day to explore Waimea canyon but we needed to stop at JoJo's for shave ice on the way which was adjacent to the high school. Once at the canyon, we stopped at the lookout and recorded amazing views

including these pictures of me and Suzanne Suzanne Peter and Seva the helicopter flying through the canyon and this group selfie before we focused on the waterfall and the depth of the canyon. At the visitor's center, I recorded this taxidermy and the greeting sign. We traveled higher but visibility reduced to zero.

On a walk along the cliffs and back on the main road, I recorded this sacred site that is still being excavated.

This was to be the day of our excursion to the best beach we had found at Polihale and so preparations were underway with Peter manning the blender as the bag was gathering contents and it was blender bag blender

with a break to explore the rest of the kitchen including Seva's unfinished breakfast as Suzanne oversaw the operation

before Peter completed his operation so that we could hit the roads -- paved and dirt and get to the beach

where a few people were exploring

and the panorama was remarkable but unfortunately the wind was blowing the in wrong direction and to be on the beach was to be sandblasted. so, we made our way back to a south facing beach and brought our things out under a lovely sky and found a place to settle and watch the waves

as I was treated to Seva's mirage woman impression and we then watched the waves as the observant folks came to test the waters as others walked the other way and we decided to head back with a stop at JoJo's to see their awards and partake of their excellent product before recording these roosters and recorded a birthday photo where we were greeted as we made our way to be presented with mai tais which caused Suzanne to dress Hawaiian as the luau began to the amusement of the Kramers as our group photo was taken by this gentleman from Laguna Nigel who was sitting opposite us before music started and i went off to have my face painted for the occasion

with this remarkable result as the pig was brought out for inspection and i was invited to dance the hula with the birthday crowd and here I am being Hawai'ian before returning to my dinner with the ever important poi as the snow progressed through all of the dances of Polynesia

before I posed with the dancers as did Peter.

Next day, I ran into this monk seal on the neighboring beach and this lovely bird on the neighbor's porch and then flying to and landing on our porch before heading off for the day.

We ended our day with this beautiful sunset

We began a walk to the sinkhole and on to Gillan's beach stopping for the view as Peter and Suzanne admired what we saw before we continued onward and landed at this beach where we found this shell and unfortunately my camera battery died requiring further photos to be taken with my iPhone which also had battery issues

It was our next to last day and a cloudy day, so we made our way to the Allerton section of the national tropical garden where the flowers were remarkable and speak for themselves.

before we came upon this bit of environmental art -- the twig house

where we gathered for a group selfie as roosters gathered nearby and I recorded the support structures and some fronds on the ground as Suzanne oversaw the scene with the roosters before we returned to admiring the flowers and other plantings

with a break for roosters and the stream and then back to this tree and these flowers

with the bus in the background as the flowers kept on coming

before Suzanne and I posed and then the exploration of flowers continued

before we came to the Michelle Obama tree and then even more lovely flowers and trees.

All of the flower viewing made us need these drinks as this bird passed while we ate our lunch and then Suzanne spoke with her new friend.

It was our last day on Kaua'i and the skies started a bit cloudy but I took these panoramas of the beach that we had come to love before we headed to the plane for San Francisco.

First morning in San Francisco, Jane joined us for breakfast and had this as I ate my pancakes and she admired the remarkable bacon before I captured this sign for the collection. We met up with Scott and explored the route to Crissy Field stopping at this remarkable collection sign as Scott and Jane posed and then we took this group selfie before making our way past this statue and the Yoda fountain to the club at the Presidio where we had these deviled eggs and these foods ending with dessert.

Next day was the celebration of Jane's birthday and so we had bloody Mary's before the bread and potato sticks came along with a salad and my pasta. Somehow, I forgot to record the chicken which took an hour to cook and was remarkable. Maybe because I was decorating the tablecloth as dessert came for Jane's birthday. After making our way around town, we discovered that the Asian New Year's parade was happening and so we gathered and watched the police start to control the crowd as we waited for the clock to reach 5:30 but crowds gather to be controlled so that I was made a junior officer before the parade came marching down the street with flags, dragons and people, young and old as I have recorded here

along with the Jesus crowd as the parade continued

until the crecycling group arrived and we realized that our feet had endured as much as they could and so we bid farewell to the parade and sadly to our vacation.