El Toilet Mexicano, Iowa City

I get the restaurants often like their bathroom to reflect their theme, but sometimes it goes a bit over the top.

Cold geese, Iowa City

Cold geese, huddled up on a shallow icy pond.

Sunset, Iowa City

Just another lovely complex-cloud sunset.

Sunset tower, Iowa City

Tall radio tower at sunset.

Bulgy metal building, Iowa City

Close-up of the not-quite-regular patterns of the bulgy metal building.

Bulgy metal building, Iowa City

Near my younger daughter's daycare, an ordinary multi-tenant commercial building with a quite unusual surface, gleaming around its port-hole windows in its bulgy metal surface in the highlights of a sunrise.

Eagle after takeoff, Iowa City

Eagle spreading its wings, having just leaped into the air from the branch to the left.

Hawaiian Alaskan

Alaskan makes sure you know that this airplane is doing runs to somewhere much, much warmer.

Tropical sunset over Waikiki, HI

Saying goodbye to Waikiki in the gleaming golden tropical sunset.

Cargo ships off Waikiki, Hawaii

Cargo ships, out to see but slowly coming into port at Honolulu.

Sailboats in silhouette, Waikiki, Hawaii

Another shot of those sailboats in silhouette.

Sailboats in silhouette, Waikiki, Hawaii

Sailboards past the breakwater in the gleaming late afternoon sunlight.

Spiderman greets his fans, Waikiki, Hawaii

Spiderman hung out for just a few minutes, waving at fans and doing a brief photo shoot before heading back on shore again.

Spiderman at Waikiki

I have on idea why Spiderman was at Waikiki beach, but he was happily waving and greeting folks as he nonchalantly strolled down the beach and out onto one of the protruding breakwaters.

Surfboards, Waikiki, Hawaii

Great stacks of surfboards for rent at one of several Waikiki beach stations.

Surfer and seal statue, Waikiki, Hawaii

Statue by the Waikiki beach, of a surfing boy and a seal curiously inspecting one another.

Palm trees, Waikiki, Hawaii

Palm trees overhead against the perfect blue, blue sky.

Waikiki Mermaid

Mermaid, plying her photogenic trade by the beach in Waikiki.

Whale bus, Waikiki, Hawaii

Many of the buses going around Waikiki have colorful whale tails up above their backs.

Forest of masts, Waikiki Beach, HI

Dense forest of silhouetted masts in a Waikiki marina.

Shaka Hawaii

The "hang loose" forming the W is apparently properly known as a shaka and has a surprisingly unclear origin.

Cheeseburger in Paradise, Waikiki Beach, Hawaii

Obvious song reference here.

Condo balconies, Waikiki, Hawaii

Another rippling pattern of condominium balconies.

Condo balconies, Waikiki, Hawaii

Perfect patterned uniformity in the nesting niches of condo balconies.

Reflections, Waikiki, Hawaii

Warping reflections off the glossy surface of a Waikiki high-rise.

Circular top, Waikiki, Hawaii

Circular top on a Waikiki skyscraper, probably with a rotating restaurant inside.

Skyscraper, Waikiki, Hawaii

Skyscraper in Waikiki, with a nice rippled shape along its outside wall that maximizes balcony space while preventing adjacent balconies from seeing one another.

Downtown Waikiki, Hawaii

For all that it's on Hawaii, Waikiki is just as dense and brutal a cluster of towers as one might hope to find in any good-sized city. The only difference is that most of these are not office buildings, but instead hotels and condos.

Judgemental Hawaiian eyes

The native Hawaiian in this mural does seems to be passing judgement on all of the haole passing by their gaze.

Obama Mural, Waikiki Beach, HI

Hawaii never forgets that Obama is one of its children too.

Bell Hibiscus, Waikiki, Hawaii

I love this old phone booth's distinctly Hawaiian branding.

Strange cylindrical fruit, Waikiki, Hawaii

I have no idea what this fruit is, but I groove on its long blobby cylinder shapes.

Rough seas off Diamond Head, Hawaii

Complex patterns of waves in the rough seas off Diamond Head light, perhaps from underwater reefs.

Diamond Head Light, Hawaii

Looking down onto the Diamond Head lighthouse.

Hillside developments over Honolulu, Hawaii

A steep straight shot up a hillside amidst the swarms of dense-packed houses.

Hillside developments over Honolulu, Hawaii

Dense developments crawling up the flatter surfaces of the hills over Honolulu

Lower crater bowl, Diamond Head, Hawaii

Another view onto the crater bowl, emphasizing the lower sea-size rim.

Crater bowl, Diamond Head, Hawaii

A look across the near-perfect roundness of the bowl of the Diamond Head crater.

Curving volcanic bowl, Diamond Head, Hawaii

From the peak, the bowl of the crater curves off incrementally lowering toward the sea.

Danger Keep Off, Diamond Head, Hawaii

They really don't want you doing into the other old bunkers, though.

Old bunkers, Diamond Head, Hawaii

Although the hike goes only to the highest and biggest bunker, several others decorate other points on the seaward face of Diamond Head.

Spiral staircase, Diamond Head, Hawaii

Looking back down the spiral staircase, aswarm with other hikers rising up.

Spiral staircase, Diamond Head, Hawaii

Old rusty spiral staircase inside the old observation post, connecting multiple layers of concrete bunker together.

Steep ascent, Diamond Head, Hawaii

Out of the tunnels, one is offered two choices for the loop at the top of the hike. One of these is ascent up a long flight of abnormally steep stairs into the main observation post.

Diamond Head tunnels, Hawaii

The rawness of the tunnels makes sense when you understand them not as part of a natural wonder and park, but as the remains of an old military installation. This path was the route up to observation stations from which the artillery in the crater was to be directed.

Diamond Head tunnels, Hawaii

Near the top of the short, steep ascent up the inside of Diamond Head, the trail dives into tunnels carved through the rock, continuing to ascend through darkness spotted with raw electric lights.

Hiker swarms, Diamond Head, Hawaii

Another view of the swarms, from higher up the bowl, looking down into the crowded fenced in switchbacks.

Hiker swarms, Diamond Head, Hawaii

Diamond Head is not a place for quiet contemplation of the wilderness: the trail is physically packed with hikers to an almost amazing degree. All the way up and down the mountain, it's like walking in a crowded shopping mall.

Peaks of Diamond Head, Hawaii

Looking up from inside the bowl of Diamond Head, the peaks above form a lush green bowl with an irregular-height rim.

Tourist restroom, Diamond Head, Hawaii

The restrooms of Diamond Head are very clear in communicating that they are for tourists.