More of Oahu

The reason we went to Hawaii was to honour my husband Doug, who was awarded a fellowship in the American College of Dentists "for meritorious work" and contributions to the field of dentistry. The ACD is a non-profit, honourary organization of dentists who exemplify excellence by demonstrating leadership, ethics and professionalism, and who have made other contributions to society as a whole.

The American College of Dentists, non-profit and apolitical, is known as "the conscience of dentistry" and no one represents this ideal better than Doug.

Congratulations, honey. We're so proud of you.

We attended the ceremony together followed by a huge dinner dance (picture hundreds of dentists in Aloha shirts and leis dancing to the golden oldies...no, I'll wait while you fix the image in your head...) then we staggered off to our room to recuperate. Doug attended various workshops and events, and while I could describe them to you, which would you rather see - highlights of dental workshops like Gadgets and Multitasking - 150 High Tech Dental Products You Need Today! or more photos? Thought so.

These birds-of-paradise bird-of-paradises pretty flowers grew everywhere. I saw a gorgeous clump in full bloom growing outside a seedy looking video store surrounded by cement. I guess they're hardier and more prolific than the florists here would have you believe.
Sunset beach, home to the big waves and big sissies like me.
Fish getting in my face in Shark's Cove. Seriously, every time I had the camera on, this fish was right there in front of me. He was Not Shy.
Sunset beach. The shore breaks were pretty wicked and we didn't go in. I had no desire to get my face smashed into the sand although plenty of people did. That part was fun to watch.
Recognize this cove? This is where Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster got down and dirty in From Here to Eternity. I'm sorry, did I hear you say you don't know this scene? Stop reading and hie thyself to the nearest video store and rent the movie.

I'll wait.

Hot diggety dog. She "never knew it could be like this." Oh, baby. Boom shakalakalaka boom.










Some of my new friends.
I want to feel like this every day.
For your entertainment, here we are, snorkeling in Shark's Cove. There weren't any sharks, but lots of fish, sea urchins and the odd octopus. I was completely and totally freaked out. There was quite a strong current so I was buffeted by waves and constantly thrown against chunks of volcanic rock and columns of coral. Not to mention all the sea creatures all around me. I waited on shore for as long as I could stall Doug, then once in, I was afraid to risk the shore breaks to get out again. But I did it. Next time, somewhere a bit more calm methinks.

And that noise in the first one isn't me. I think it might be a dolphin. Or Doug. Or the strap on the camera. I'm going with dolphin.

And who says a snorkel mask can't be a damn sexy fashion accessory?