This is a photo of me taken on the Big Island of Hawaii on Punalu'u black sand beach. I don't recall how old I was but it must have been near the time when we visited on vacation or shortly near the time we moved to Hawaii based on how white I look. I remember the sand being so warm and I loved to dig my toes deep into it. Punalu'u means "diving spring" because of the abundance of fresh water springs just off shore. The ancient Hawaiians would take a stoppered gourd and dive to the spring to fill it with fresh water to drink. This video from YouTube explains some of the history. This beach is not only famous for it's black sand but it's a haven for Green Sea Turtles that come up onto the shore to lay their eggs. There is a lot of culture and history in this area and I wish I had only known more when I lived there. It's been 15 years since we moved back to Colorado from Hawaii and it still is often in my dreams.
Hawaii, I miss it.
-Ian
"The ghosts in the Stanley Hotel aren't evil as in the book. Room 418 seems to have the most ghostly activity reported. In fact, the entire fourth floor of the Stanley Hotel (formerly the servants quarters) is quite active. Often, the sound of children playing in the halls of the Stanley can be heard, even when no children are present."
We actually stayed just a couple of rooms down from 418!! The night I took these photos it was very cold. The wind was blowing as it sometimes does in the mountain towns but it made for some really interesting shots and with it being so cold no one was outside so I could get as many shots as I wanted of the front of the hotel without any passer-by's, that just meant I was an ice cube by the time I was done. We have made it a tradition in Christie's family to rent a room in the Stanley near Christmas time because they have the place decorated with lights and have a very large Christmas tree in the lobby. I can't wait for this coming December to stay there again..... maybe this time I will run into a ghost!
You can see more photos in the gallery!
- Ian
It's much be church month because last week Christie posted up a church for Friday Photo from her travels in Greece. This week I thought I would share my picture of San Francisco de Asis Church (AKA, St. Francis of Assisi) in Rancho de Taos, New Mexico. It was built in 1815 by Spanish missionaries and is one of the most photographed churches in that region.
I was fortunate enough to actually spend my summers as a kid near this beautiful land mark as my grandmother, aunts and cousins live not more than 5 minutes from there. I took this photo in July 2005 during sunset. I had actually gotten in the car and taken off for 2 hours just to find things to take pictures of and got some excellent shots!! It really isn't hard to do in Taos because it is really so beautiful. I don't know what it is about that place but it is so rejuvenating and there is an energy that just flows through it. Needless to say the family was not happy with me as they didn't know where I was (forgot to tell anyone)... that is until I showed them what I had on my digital camera. :)
