We promise we’ll actually update this place when Ed is home. <3

While the fighter jets were doing their exercise, we escaped the hot sun to go inside and look at some of their equipment, including their helmets and flight simulators.

We then headed back outside to greet the landing planes and congratulate the pilots.

The pilots were greeted with a traditional hosing as they got out of their F-15s.

Afterwards, the various media people interviewed the pilots while the maintenance crews got to work on the planes.

We had some fun with the F-15s too!

Thanks to Jasmine for another fun opportunity to observe and document our military!

There have been a few moments when I wondered whether I joined the right service: the first when I stepped off the cattle truck at Fort Benning, GA in the the Drill Sergeants’ waiting clutches, and the latest when the rear hatch of a C-17 Globemaster opened to a foursome of F-16 Fighter Jets running an intercept, which was but one of many demonstrations of American air superiority conducted at the RIMPAC2010 C-17 Media Day Demonstration at Hickam AFB in Honolulu, HI.

Photo by Edward

The day started early as per MSGT Hammond’s sneaky (we only got the start time after everyone signed up) 0445 first call, which– though a series of hijinks and mishaps–Dallas and I managed to miss! Fortunately we were able to locate the C-17 Taskforce’s headquarters in time to receive all the requisite safety briefings and awareness junkets along with all our other bleary-eyed counterparts.

Photo by Dallas

Photo by Dallas

Dallas, boarding the plane. Photo by Edward.

The C-17 is one of the premier airlift platforms in PACAF, providing strategic outreach via tactical personnel movements, supply drops, medical evacuations, and relief operations. The C-17 can take off on a runway 1/3 of what is required to field a Boeing 747 and is able to make all movements on its own–including backing up by creating a reverse vortex–allowing it to be fielded in most locations around the world.

Photo by Dallas

Photo by Edward

Being in the Army, I’m no stranger to Globemasters, but I’ve never had a chance to feel the bird actually maneuver, and it was pretty novel feeling an aircraft of that size pull enough G’s to keep me glued to my seat though a 45-degree bank just prior to a lightning-quick landing on the Big Island.

The newlywed Whites' first official adventure! Photo by Jasmine!

Photo by Edward

Photo by Dallas

Photo by Edward.

The Globemaster Taskforce personnel were very enthusiastic about showing off what PACAF pilots were really capable of, and made sure to show off the capabilities of PACOM’s air assets at every available opportunity. A last-minute addition was the addition of an F-16 intercept, which amounted to an eye-level airshow through an open rear hatch. At times the F-16 fighters came so close you could almost touch them, only to bank away in unison and overtake the other aircraft in our airborne convoy.

The airdrop over the Big Island. Photo by Edward

The other C-17 on the mission. Photo by Dallas.

F-16s join us. Photo by Dallas.

F16s flying behind our C-17's open doors. Photo by Dallas

As one of their mud-puppy brethren, it was great fun to hitch a ride and see what the flyboys were really capable of, and it was a fitting end to my time in Hawaii with Dallas, and a great adventure to chronicle in ProAwesome.

The End!

For more images from our flight, check out Dallas and Ed’s separate photo galleries!  We’d also like to thank the U.S. Pacific Command and the Pacific Air Forces for allowing us this fantastic opportunity!

Ceremony starts at 6:00pm, Hawaii Time. Thank you all for your support!

Ustream Channel Link

Cameron at her campus, CSU San Marcos.

Architecture at CSU San Marcos.

Cameron and I at Torrance High School, aka Buffy's Sunnydale High!

Cameron's kitty, Cassidy.

Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Rachel (Lea Michele) from Glee performing 'Defying Gravity'.

Panda Cub at the San Diego Zoo.

In the San Diego Zoo aviary.

Tiger at the San Diego Zoo.

Studio doors in the Spanish Village Art Center at Balboa Park.

Lotus blossoms at Balboa Park.

Cameron, backlit at Balboa Park.

Rose at Balboa Park.

Old Town, San Diego.

Awesome coffee and tea shop in Old Town.

Ocean Beach, San Diego.

Ocean Beach pier.

Ocean Beach coastal view.

My friend Bryan, movie director and musician.

Cave at La Jolla.

Sunset at La Jolla.

Evening wave.

Sneaking a photo of a wedding couple getting portraits taken.

Cameron in the evening light.

Beach stairs.

Evening colors of La Jolla's coast.

Sadly, I was pretty sick by the end of my trip, but overall I had a good time! Hope you enjoyed the photos, and yes, I am open to being your trip’s official photographer in exchange for airfare/lodging.

Gabe, Randall, Reid, and I all took turns holding the plushie and photographing each other as we walked from Ala Moana into Waikiki, which was both an effort to avoid the traffic that always results from street-closures in Honolulu, as well as to burn off extra calories before we started consuming the delicious, salty food that was to be had.

Finally, once we got to Spam Jam, we met up with Kaeo, who was in possession of a press pass and covering the event.

As we all walked around together, we spotted a few familiar faces, as well as new fans of our plushie!  We even got snapped by Cheyne at the Metromix Spam Jam photo booth. (We are slide 28/36)

The food available included Spam burgers, spring rolls, sushi, yakisoba, okonomiyaki, gau gee, and more! There were also a few ‘Spam Jam Stuff’ booths selling merchandise to celebrate the day.

The boys settled on the Spam Yakisoba from Okonomiyaki Chibo while I had a classic Spam Musubi, of course!

As the evening got darker, we decided to head out of Waikiki. We usually lose patience with crowds pretty fast, so once our hunger had been satisfied, we headed out of Waikiki back toward Ala Moana. Spam Jam is always a fun time though!

Now, here’s where the awesome happened.

I wandered around the front of the store, inspecting the newer items and pondered a few as wedding dresses (though I’ve already bought my for July, after giving up on the idea of making it myself!).  However, Guess clothes at full price are still not that doable for me, so I meandered toward the sales racks with a dim recollection about some special sale that I’d received an email about.  Immediately, I noticed this short black dress with a black and white plaid corset-style top, and fell instantly in love.  I fumbled inside the dress for the price tag, and much to my dismay it was normally priced at $90, with a current markdown to $80.  Sighing, I put the dress back on the rack and began to sift through the other ‘sale’ items.  Reid wandered out of the guys’ clothing section, and I showed him the black and white dress, which he encouraged me to try on despite the price.  I thought about it a moment, then did as he’d suggested.  Once in the fitting room with the dress on, I found myself completely torn between this comfortable, perfectly-fitting, and well-made dress, and the $80 it was worth.  Having not made as much money at Kawaii Kon as I would have liked, I didn’t feel too comfortable spending that much on a dress, but in the end I decided I’d spent the last few weeks not spending money on any luxuries besides wedding stuff, and headed toward the cash register after a quick detour to grab some earrings I’d been wanting.

Standing at the register with my Guess List card out, I was wincing at the imminent debit from my bank account, when the cashier said something that completely shocked me:

“That will be $58.65.”

Uh, what?

Turns out, that email I had only sort of remembered was for a store-wide sale on all items, with 40% off the sale-priced items and 20% off the jewelry items. So, somehow I managed to get $110 worth of stuff for only $60…and because it’s quality products, they should last me a while!  As I cycle through my $5 tank tops and the like, I’ve realized quality counts for something. It’s my more expensive clothes that have lasted me years and years, while the cheap stuff often wears out in six months or less.

So, naturally, I had to celebrate my shopping victory with an impromptu photo shoot of myself to send to Ed.  Reid shot the photos with my instruction for exposure, and it wasn’t bad for his first time shooting in a while. He actually used to be one of my photo protégés a couple years ago before deciding to focus on medicine, although I’m hoping to encourage him to start doing photography again as a side hobby!  I then edited the heck out of them, mostly because my skin has been having severe issues lately, and I can never be bothered with makeup.

Please don’t mind my fake-modeling…I work with real models and I know I have no idea what I’m doing!

Here’s some of the results from our shoot:

If anything, today allowed me a little creative rejuvenation after being so burnt out from being sick and having to deal with Kawaii Kon for the last week. Also, Ed enjoyed the photos, so mission accomplished there!

Until the next time I buy some awesome clothes…

Webcam shot of me with my second Metromix cover!

The guy wearing black on the cover actually came and found me during this year’s Kon to thank me for having the photo published.  Apparently he’s a teacher on the Big Island, and several of his students brought the paper in to show him they’d seen his picture!  Fun times.

While I’ve been going to the Kon since 2007, Ed’s first year of going was last year’s 2009 convention, during which he can actually remember seeing me in costume.

In costume as Rinoa from Final Fantasy VIII. Gun not related. Kawaii Kon 2009.

I, on the other hand, have no recollection of seeing him, but that’s probably because he wasn’t in costume himself! But, this year, circumstances found me costume-less myself, and so I settled for photographing others over the weekend, especially my friend from Maui, Caleb, whose Star Wars inspired Mandalorian armor is always a huge hit at Kon.

I also got to photograph Caleb alongside my old friends in the 501st Pacific Outpost, who I always look for at every Kon!  The 501st is a great Star Wars costuming club that do a lot of charity and convention appearances.  They’ve been trying to get me into armor for years, but so far I haven’t felt it would be a reasonable investment for me. Time may change that though, because they look so darn cool!

Unfortunately, because I spent much of this year’s Kawaii Kon sick, I did not get as many photos as I did last year. In fact, besides shooting Caleb and the 501st, I only took serious pictures of the only people who wanted to hire me for photographing them in costume. (Was hiring myself out for $20 for a set of full-resolution processed photos…a good deal no one took advantage of!)

Hopefully next year, when Ed’s back, I won’t be sick, and I’ll have a lot more photos to show for my time at Kon! One of the most exciting parts of the weekend was registering for next year’s Artist Alley table and badge under what is soon to be my new name.

Yes, I was giggly with excitement when filling out my registration form!

Can’t wait until next year’s Kawaii Kon, when Mr. and Mrs. White will take the Kon by storm in all their geeky glory!

(click to see it bigger!)