This lighthouse is below Diamond Head and is the home of the Commander of the Coast Guard forces in the Pacific.
And these are the estates of some of his neighbors...bet the snorkeling is great on that reef!
The trail up was very crowded as there were several large Japanese groups, one that looked like a high school group that were heading up the same time as we went. The trail is .8 mile and climbs 560 feet from the crater floor. It's pretty steep in places and on uneven rock with lots of switchbacks. Then you go up 74 concrete steps leading into the first tunnel which is 225' long. Then 99 steep steps and your at the lowest level of the old US Army Coastal Artillery defense system. Then a 52 step spiral staircase takes you to the 3rd level where mounts for the observation equipment are still present. Then you exit to the exterior of the crater through slits once covered with metal shutters. Then up another 54 metal stairs to the summit. There are bunkers all along the rim of the crater. The view was great! We were up there for probably 45 minutes or so, took lots of pictures of people with their camera and then headed down so we'd be on time to pick up Ryan at school. It was a great hike for the morning!
Jill and Mom heading down.This afternoon John and Jean went to the swap meet to buy John a new butt pack! When we got back Jill and the boys were at playgroup across the street with about 8 other families. We got cleaned up and relaxed a little and before we knew it it was time to take Colin to Soccer practice. Dave met us there and this time Riley got to go along too. Came home and had beer balls for dinner and the boys crashed early and everybody else will soon follow! Busy day!
