Hello all, been away for a month or so. My wife and I got back from Kauai/Big Island last week. We were there for two weeks and what a two weeks it was. Our best trip to date. In the two weeks we were there, we went to the Beach twice(to take pictures of course). We spent the vast majority of the time hiking to some amazing places on some tough (muddy, slippery, lava rocks, hot lava rocks) trails. If you like to hike, Hawaii is the place for you.
In regards to photography, I took a ton of photos, so many things to see. I bracketed alot to insure a proper and even exposure when I got back to a computer as it would be tough to take some of the shots again. I bought a Lowepro Dryzone 200 for this trip and I am really glad I did. This bag is super tough, weather proof, holds lots of gear, and is comfortable to hike long distances with. I brought a 1DsMII, 1DMIIN, 24-105L, 16-35L, 70-200 F/2.8L IS and 15 fisheye with me. The 1DsMII and 24-105L were used 90% of the time. Its such a versatile lens. Alot of the times it was raining heavily, so changing lenses was not an option. I am also glad for the weather sealing of the above combo, I took many a photo in pouring and blowing rain. The 1DsMII never gave me any problems despite being used in the above conditions. My wife used her 350D in drizzle once and it stopped working for a few hours (worked after drying).
The highlights of the trip were: we hiked out to the bluffs overlooking the Na Pali Coast on Kauai. It was a 14 mile round trip hike with 2500 feet of elevation loss and gain. But the views of the Na Pali coast were absolutely amazing, we will never forget the sights from this hike. I am still working on the pics but will post them asap. The hike took us 10 hours.
The other thing that will forever stand out was our hike out to the flowing lava on the Big Island. Though the flow was underground in lava tubes, we got to see the ocean steam/glow plume from real close. The hike was eight miles round trip over hardened lava. The terrain was so bad that it killed my hiking boots(ripped them open), left them in Hawaii to forever rest in peace. We started at 3:00pm so we could see the lava entering the ocean at sunset and at dark. We hiked back in pitch black darkness with flashlights and beacons to guide our way. Again, pictures to follow as soon as possible.
Well, thats all I have for now, thanks for reading this far, I know some will be turned off this by all the words, but not you 
As mentioned above, pics will be up on my site and shown here asap, converting 4000 raw files takes time 
