Preferred method of transportation... A bicycle

Ridin' on a Train

This past Sunday we took the kids for their first train ride. They both had a blast, and our daughter even fell asleep in the last 15 minutes of the ride. The train we took in a historic train that takes its passengers on a 90 minute ride around the west side of the island. At the 3 o'clock ride they stop at an ice cream shop to allow the passengers to purchase ice cream and enjoy it on their ride back to the station. The ride started out bright and sunny, then as we went around the island the gray clouds started coming in. We were even misted with some rain. This is a nice experience for kids and adults alike.

Perfect Timing

While on the train, it was a challenge to get good shots since the train wasn't slowing down for us. However, it was fun and we learned a lot about the area along the way. The shot above is one that was captured quickly. I liked the mountain behind these trees. It wasn't until I got the image on my computer and went to process it that I saw I had perfectly captured a bicycle under one of the trees. At first I thought about removing it from the image, but I decided that I actually liked it there.

Traffic Trouble

An interesting thing about life on the island is that traffic is a nightmare. There is only one road that takes you where you want to go, and Oahu is so populated that there is a traffic jam twice a day. It's pretty bad, and there's no way to avoid it if you're going to be on the interstate at those times. A lot of people ride bikes to avoid the traffic, and some might think that it would take longer to get where you're going. That's true, but when you're talking about this kind of traffic jam it's actually faster. Electric bikes are big here. They're motorized bicycles with a battery that assists the rider as they pedale. Some of these bikes go up to 20mph without the rider pedaling. They're efficient, and are nice for those who want to avoid the traffic on the commute.