Fast forward five years, we’re both married and live thousands of miles apart, seeing each other about once a year. For my birthday in Hawaii not long ago, he and his wife, Molly, served as awesome house guests and showed us what a Hawaiian lifestyle is all about… working hard, playing hard. Awesome times.

Smack dab against the mountains on Oahu, their garage-converted-gym serves as hard easy way to relieve stress at the end of the day.

My Army-tough bro, Sean:

Watching Sportscenter… then watching guy movies like Boondock Saints. What Irish Catholic brothers WOULDN’T watch that?

Eating grapefruit ranks as a favorite past-time of my little bro. Don’t understand.

The bros:

Carbo-reloading with some awesometastic fro-yo… which a bunch of toppings.

It’s a Jeep thing and I DO understand.

Here we are:

Seems like I’m the only one in the family that didn’t turn out as an MD or in the medical profession… and I wouldn’t want it any other way. He’s worked hard for this lab coat.

Comic-relief in the General Surgery Intern Call Room, thanks to Mr. David Hasselhoff.

On our final day at the beach, Nicole showed Sean some of her meticulously awesome human figure drawings on paper and iPhoned photos. Silly left-brainers.

Moonrise & fireflies.

Waking at 6am couldn’t have been easier, thanks to a four-hour time zone adjustment head start… perfect to catch sunrise on Kauai on our first morning.

Roosters serve as the official alarm clock on Kauai. Introduced to Hawaii long ago, they have no natural predators, these roosters are plain dumb. They crow all day long.

We explored one of the coolest places to visit in the world, Alberton Gardens at the National Botanic Tropical Gardens, according to National Geographic Traveler.

The ‘modern’ introduction of the purple waffle plant occurred a few hundred years ago by the Polynesians. This breakfast craze has yet to catch on in Colorado.

A favorite desktop-worthy photo of a lily pond.

Overlook of the Pacific Ocean near Poi-Pu, Kauai. According to our guide on the garden tour, every plant you see here was introduced to Hawaii as a non-native plant hundreds of years ago.

Once upon a time dinosaurs laid eggs here. Proof: Watch ‘Jurassic Park.’ Visitors, both humans and birds alike, brought introduced most of modern Hawaii’s vegatation

A favorite roadside attraction:

While Nicole hates to fly in commercial planes, we have no problem with sky diving, scuba diving at night, or trusting our lives to flying a jet-powered paper airplanes… also referred to as a flying moped, ultralight, powered hanglider, trike, or a Kiwi microlight. Wielding control over destiny defines the difference.

While vacationing in Kauai, we thought it would be a great idea to try something new: Flying in an ultralight. And it was. We’d 100% recommend Birds in Paradise in Kauai for your powered hangliding experience. Our pilots, Gene Monnier and Tracy Tomlinson, weren’t just awesome tour guides, but they taught us some basics about flying an ultralight and gave us plenty of opportunity to steer. Call it ‘continuing education.’

Signing my life away while the runway is inspected. What??? No cameras???

Nicole signs her life away.

Birds of Paradise owner Gerry Charlebois is an FAA-certified Flight Instructor and an FAA-certified mechanic.

Looks like something McNally would configure (wing-mounted camera tripod). Look closer, there’s proof Nicole is a tad nervous.

About to snap the fear of flying:

After we said our prayers, a sign of hope appeared:)

For safety’s sake, we were not allowed to take a camera on the plane. So we paid Gene the pilot to take the next nine images with his Canon XTi (deeeeep breath, RJ).

I’m sure this photo breaks a half-dozen photography rules… but I like it. How else can you contrast a flying moped with the ginormity of the Pacific Ocean?

A favorite perspective of some of the most rugged coastline in the world, the Na Pali coast. Three years ago we hiked the entire Kalalau Trail on the Na Pali coast and had an amazing experience shared a few highlights here. Viewing from the air, we realized how much we didn’t see.

For scale, check out Nicole’s plane (center).

Gotta love those flame helmets (my PT Cruiser back home was jealous):

Flying 30 feet over breaking waves gets us giddy. We saw a pair of whales migrating to Alaska, but chose not to photograph for safety’s sake.

A safe landing.

Back safe and sound!

And great way to finish off the day: a celebration glass of wine (in the rain) at the National Botanic Tropical Gardens. We learned recently water drastically changes the pH of the wine and you should never pour water in your wine glass (that’s what water glass are for).  But since we’ll drink the $2-buck chuck…. we won’t toss the wine even when pouring rain. Call us, “Rainy Day Wine Tasters.”

Tech Alert: All images were shot using the Nikon 14-24 f/2.8 and 85 f/1.4, the only two lenses packed for the vacation…all I really ever need. I hate being bogged down by gear on vacations. On paid shooting assignments… that’s another story.

PS. Ultralights rock. Reason: if something happens to the engine, you can glide for a several miles to a safe landing…. can’t say the same about helicopters. Honestly, we felt safer than had we rented mopeds and tooled around a city. However, take us out for a beer, and we’d be happy to tell you a rivoting story we won’t share here.

PSS. Hi! This is Nicole by the way…..I NEVER write on the blog, but wanted to put in my two cents. Those who know me best understand my true fear of all things high and all things flying. But from the moment I met my pilot, Tracy, I felt completely at ease. He provided me with an experience I will never forget. Flying 100 feet over blue, crashing ocean waves at 75mph is a thrill. I may even look up his sister company in Colorado Springs to have this same experience in my own homeland…..

We made a special effort to wear comfy clothes and take lots of touristy-style photos standing in front of touristy-style places.

We discovered the awesomness of Crumpler bags on our honeymoon 5 years ago in Australia. If you are a professional photog looking for a non-camera looking bag to store your camera, be sure to check out the colorful and humorous Crumpler collection. The Crumpler website says it all. Confession: we own seven Crumpler bags, including Nicole’s newest & limited release Crumpler, ‘The Quafie’ featured here:

Seems like the only time we have to shop together spontaneously is on vacations…. otherwise it’s just another errand (to RJ). But on vacations, shopping is a whole ‘nother experience. Nicole hearts to shoe shop.

The Trader Joe’s shopping experience never fails. Colorado misses out on Trader Joe’s and In-n-Out.

Fact: Beets and Cable cars rocked our party each and every day. Yes, the beet is the perfect combo between a potato and tomato. Cable cars make old school too cool.

From the moment we booked our travel, The Escape from Alcatraz quickly made the #1 Netflix choice… Nicole has a thing for jails.

Welcome to the Rock.

The library remains Nicole’s favorite place in a jail, next to the dining room.

We got our green on in a big way visiting the Japanese Tea Gardens.

Muir Woods:

‘Three-Leaf Clover”: Myth or Fact?

For all you fans of ‘The Bachelor’ Castello Di Amorosa served as the castle winery dating grounds for the Bachelor Jake Season. Honestly, the castle spectacle draws way too much attention away from the wine. You can’t polish a sneaker… I’m just saying.

Above the fog of Napa, the microclimates at Howell Mountain make great wines… but the people perfect them. Michael & staff at White Cottage Ranch treated us like family.

Near and dear to our heart lies Summit Lake Vineyards, a family-owned and operated winery on top of Howell Mountain. You don’t have to fly in on a private jet to taste world-class wines. Heather showcased several boutique wines under $25, eached named after a child in their family. Our top tasting choice: the 2006 Zinfandel.

The happiest vineyard dog in Napa Valley, here’s our friend Cody:

back to vacationing…

Photographers: If you are feeling some burn-out due to the economy, I encourage you to do two things: share your heart & talent with your peers and pursue personal photographic projects with intent. They can be an hour in duration, or a year. Just shoot.