Mzbet said, “In view of my upcoming vacation to Hawaii, let’s make some tropical images. There are images in the zip files below that you can use or not–it’s up to you! Beach scenes, volcanoes, hula, etc., whatever you think I might see (remember this is a family friendly site LOL). An interesting twist would be to design a piece of Tapa Cloth (Google it to see what it is) or a beautiful Hawaiian quilt. If you haven’t seen those quilts, you’re in for a treat when you Google those. Hey! Don’t forget the Mai Tai’s! ”

I thought a beautiful sunset overlooking the ocean with a few sailboats in view would be a great treat to see. The background photo is mine, the sun was added in Paint Shop Pro and the water effect was created with a plugin filter from Flaming Pear appropriately named Flood. The sailboats are free tubes to use from Tubes by Eloise.

Mzbet’s challenge reminded me of the wonderful trip Ed and I got to take back in 1988. We flew to Honolulu on the island of Oahu. The very same island Pearl Harbor is located. Of all the wonderful sites to see, this was not the most beautiful, but definitely the most moving. To see where so many lives and ships were destroyed is almost overwhelming. We rode the boat out to the Arizona Memorial and even after all those years, oil was still bubbling up from the wreckage below. Very touching, very emotional and a trip I’m glad I got to experience.