Life's a Beach | Waikiki

Peter Kun Frary | Photographer

After graduating from WWU, I washed ashore on Oahu's (oh-ah-who, gathering place of cars) Waikiki Beach. I quickly realized Hawaii's balmy climate suited me better than the dark and dreary weather of the Pacific Northwest. I lived in tourist central for ten years, wandering its fabled shores and eking out a living playing guitar in Waikiki dives. At some point I had to grow up, and returned to graduate school, eventually taking a position in academia. It's many years hence, but I still think of Waikiki and, if I concentrate, can almost feel the balmy breezes and sand between my toes. Most of these images show Waikiki during the early 1990s.