Waikiki Beach, Hawaii

I had a two day stop here on the way out to Japan and stayed in the Hilton at the Hawaiian Village. Grand total for two nights - $400.00. Of course the Navy paid for it. Go Navy. Despite being here for two days I didn't get a chance to see very much of the surroundings. Between the plane I fly being on display at Hickam Air Base and flight planning for the trip from Hawaii to Japan, I had about eight hours off.

Here's a view of the beach and Diamondhead in the background

Palm trees. Non-existent in Washington.

View from my hotel room of a passing storm

The Hawaiian Village

Here's a somewhat common occurrence. If these birds are nearby, making weird noises attracts them. Trying to catch them makes them fly away though.

That's about it. I didn't do anything here except take pictures of scenery so there isn't much to say.

Wake Island, United States Territory

Wake Island, A.K.A. middle of nowhere. This is by far the most isolated place I have ever been...and probably will ever be. It is approximately 2,000 miles from Hawaii and 1,500 miles from the nearest significant land mass - Guam. The island is known for the Battle of Wake Island. During World War II a small American force defended and eventually lost the island to the Japanese only after inflicting over 700 casualties.

As you can see, the first picture (taken on takeoff from the plane I was flying), pretty much resembles this picture taken in 1972. The runway takes up half the island. Also interesting to note: during World War II the island was cut off from the supply route and the starving inhabitants hunted the indigenous Rail Bird, a local flightless bird, to extinction. That's what happens when you're a flightless island bird.

My plane being refueled with the lagoon in the background. The stop here was brief so I didn't have much time to explore the island, despite how small it is. Below is a picture of the beach on the Eastern most side. The distant mound in the right of the picture is an old World War II bunker.

Northeast view

Memorial dedicated to the Marines who defended Wake Island during World War II

Here is a better view of the Bunker

The island now has a population of approximately 150 persons, of which only a few are female. I'm not sure if this is true or not. During my trip here I saw about five people total...but all were male. Because the island is so remote, some days there are no visitors at all which means no work. The locals pass the time by taking their fishing boat out in the middle of nowhere (which isn't far) and catching Tuna. What a hard life.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Being twenty degrees warmer than Washington, Las Vegas was a welcome change of temperature for a spring destination...in addition to having a nightlife, gambling, things to do, a population, etc. The trip from Los Angeles took about six hours due to traffic since we decided to go on the first official weekend of spring break for most colleges. Well worth it.

Saturday day was spent sightseeing. Here's the MGM and a giant coke bottle that some giant finished drinking.

The Aria hotel viewed from the pool of the Monte Carlo adorned with native palm trees.

Water tornadoes inside the Aria mall / shopping area

Run! The bees are attacking! Only the lady in the blue shirt seems startled. This is inside the Bellagio.

Also inside the Bellagio.

Inside one of the newer clubs in Vegas - XS. When we showed up there were about two hundred people walking around and paying fourteen dollars for Long Island Iced Teas. By the time we left we couldn't move...but people were still paying fourteen dollars for Long Island Iced Teas. I don't know this guy but he seems content. Or drunk.

This club made clubs in LA look puny. It was amazing.

Every day is Saturday here. I turned twenty dollars into sixty in five minutes...and then sixty into zero in one minute. Can't wait to go back.

Doha, Qatar

Doha is the largest, and basically the only city in Qatar with over 80% of the country's population residing here. You wouldn't know it by looking at the downtown area though since all those buildings are empty. On closer look they aren't even complete. The city is rapidly expanding and attempting to host the World Cup in 2022. Good luck attracting the entire world to your 140 degree summer days, Qatar.

The Fanar Islamic Center. I didn't go inside.

This is one of the alleys of the Souq, basically a massive maze of street vendors and permanent small shops. The two ladies in the picture are dressed in the traditional fashion. The one with her entire face covered is adhering more to the custom than the one with her face showing. The female population here is a mix of no face showing, some face showing, and dressed in what we consider normal.

Here is a policeman and his patrol car.

This is inside one of the shops. The man is selling authentic silk rugs made by distinguished families throughout the Middle East. The one on the floor is made by a family in Iran. The larger silk rugs run about four thousand dollars. The small red one on top costs seven hundred. Buy one and indirectly fund terrorism!

Away from the Souq and more towards the downtown area we have a gigantic mall. Does it look familiar? Doha combined the world famous Bellagio with the world famous Venice to give you the lesser known Villagio. If you pretend enough, the ceiling actually looks like an evening sky - much more picturesque than the brown haze found outside.

This is another mall and not quite as fancy as the Villagio. It still has an ice skating rink at the bottom floor however.

This is a hotel on the outskirts of the city, complete with several pools, a hookah bar, and cigar bar. When we visited, the Hookah bar was closed and the pools were deserted. Maybe they heard we were coming.

The Doha skyline viewed from the hotel's private beach.

Limerick, Ireland

After landing in Shannon, Ireland we proceeded to board a bus and drive for forty five minutes to Limerick. All the speed limit signs were in kilometers and all the roads were narrow...making us narrowly avoid hitting oncoming traffic. We arrived at the Clarion Hotel around 4 am, just in time for the sun rise.

The hotel ended up having one of the best views in the entire city. Unfortunately we arrived right as one billing day was ending and another was beginning...so for a total of fifteen hours in the city, we were billed for two days at the hotel. A grand total of 404.00. That equals 27 dollars an hour...2 of which I spent in the room.

Walking around aimlessly through the city led us to a river and a good view of this castle. This is the same castle that the Disney castle was modeled after. Just kidding.

In case you forgot...

Across the river, where according to a bartender, you die.

Limerick's noteworthy qualities:
Best / Freshest / Cheapest Guinness
Getting to stay in the tallest building in the city
River of Death

The fifteen hours spent here were short considering what awaited us - endless desert full of bomb-crazed cave dwellers.

Using the time travel mode on my camera I was able to take a picture of what Ireland looked like in the 1940s.