My wife and I moved from Seattle to Oahu in early 2010 for a job opportunity for me. We bought a house on the windward (east) side of Oahu in a tiny town called Ka'a'awa. It's next door to Kualoa Ranch and Mokoli'i (Chinaman's Hat) if you know where those are. We both worked in downtown Honolulu, about a 45 minute drive from home. The place we bought was a small "beach cottage" home just a 3 minute walk to the nearby beach and with ocean views from the raised deck above the lanai. We were far enough away from the city lights that the Milky Way was very visible as well (clouds permitting).
My wife later worked for a couple years in Pearl Harbor on the historic USS Missouri battleship. That was a very interesting ship to explore and photograph. I always thought of Pearl Harbor as having the two "bookends" for America's involvement in WWII - the USS Arizona where it started with the Pearl Harbor attack and the USS Missouri where Japan surrendered at the end of the war. Lots of history there.
Long story short, we moved back to Seattle in mid-2013 after we both got laid off from our jobs. But while we were in Hawaii, I do have to say it really re-inspired me in photography, especially taking sunrises and sunsets. It's a beautiful place to live. We loved the weather and the lifestyle, but it was challenging in many other ways. We certainly don't regret living there, but honestly the only way we'd move back is if we won the lottery ;-)
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