ArtLife in Hawaii

The highlight of 2023 was without a doubt taking my wife and two boys to Hawaii for their very first time. The initial leg of the trip, we stayed in my old stomping grounds on Waikiki Beach on the island of Oahu where I had the chance to show my little ohana what makes this place so special to me. We spent the week at the beach, the zoo, local breweries, and checking out brand new spots in addition to the nostalgic ones. Our last day in Waikiki, I paddled out to finally get the opportunity to honor my father (who passed in 2020) and his wishes of spreading some of his ashes in the waves of his favorite surf spot. That night (to our surprise), we were sent off with the most amazing fireworks show we had ever seen and miraculously right over the water where my Dad’s ashes floated away earlier that morning. The next day we island hopped over to Maui to celebrate my wife’s 30th and my son’s 3rd birthdays (born on the same day). I wanted to show them the best gems the island had to offer so we spent the morning at Big Beach then drove to Lahaina Town for lunch at Lahaina Fish Market, Dole Whips, shopping, art galleries, and running around the historic banyan tree. Little did we know in the moment that in only 2 short months after we returned home, the small beach town I grew up going to with my family would be completely destroyed by unexpected fires. I’m forever thankful that they were able to experience it as I did before it was gone. Hawaii always has a way of making every single journey out there one that I (and now my family) will truly never forget. I knew I had to capture it all…

This is ArtLife in Hawaii…