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Day 7 (Part II)Day 8Day 9, 10 & 11Day 12Day 13Day 14
Halfway Up
Stairway to Heaven (not quite)
Day Three - Diamond Head

Got up bright and early Monday morning to make the trek up Diamond Head. Still made it there an hour after I originally planned. Is it at all possible to get someplace on time when there's a woman involved? ;-) But we still got there early enough so that there weren't too many people and the weather hadn't gotten too warm yet. The hike overall isn't too bad; hell, old people with walkers can be found on the paths and military folk and other in-shape people use it as a jogging path. The incline is mostly mild 'cept for some parts but definitely make sure you do this climb early in the morning otherwise it gets WAAAAAY hot or else you have to contend with mosquitoes at dusk. The view from the top is awesome though.

For those who don't know, Diamond Head is basically an extinct volcano crater that the military built a lookout outpost on top of. It's one of three outposts located strategically around the island so that they could triangulate the big land-based guns they used to have to bombard enemy ships with. Not used for that purpose anymore so they've turned it into a tourist attraction. You no longer need to bring a flashlight with you on this hike as they've lighted all the inner passageways that used to require the flashlight. But good walking shoes and water are a must.

Afterwards we drove all the way out west to the Ko'olina resort area, specifically Lagoon #2. They have 4 man-made crescent-shaped lagoons in the area that are supposed to be beautiful. However, winter is definitely NOT the time to visit the west shore of Oahu as it gets way too windy, leading to colder temperatures and higher waves. Even though the sheltered waters of the lagoons aren't affected so much by the high waves (stay clear of the openings leading out to the ocean though), it was still waaaaay too cold to stay out there for long periods of time. So we just took a quick dip, had a bunch of sand blown into our faces and all over our stuff and promptly headed back to Honolulu. We'll come back in the spring/summer next time hopefully.

Made it back to Honolulu in time to barely miss rush hour traffic. Had some time to clean up and relax a bit before meeting up with Kim, Rob, Jeff and Kyle for dinner at a local Hawaiian eatery, Ono's. First time I've seen those guys in 7 years. They haven't changed a bit. =) Ono's was quite good too. Big portions and cheap as well. Kailua pork was great! Still can't get used to poi though. ;-)



Entrance to Diamond Head
entrance to the crater from the inside
Parking Lot
that red car in the middle's our rental car
North View
north view behind me
Erin
Erin and the mountainside
Long Staircase
longest staircase of the climb
Fuzzy Erin
fuzzy pic of Erin on the stairs
Lighthouse
lighthouse southeast of Diamond Head
Outside Bunker
outside the bunker area
Railing
good thing the railing held
Ocean Background
ocean background
View of Waikiki
view of Waikiki
Park Shore Waikiki
view of our hotel from the top of Diamond Head
South of Diamond Head
view south of Diamond Head
Mauka view
all those houses on the mountainside always fascinated me
Mansion
some rich guy's beachfront property
At the Very Top
view from the top
Resting
taking a quick break before heading back down
Resting a Bit More
just a little longer
On the Path
on the path back down
Heading Back
back to the parking lot
Looking Back
curve in the road
Red Flowers
purty flowers
ONBAC Crew
some ancient ONBAC members
Hawaiian Food
ono!
Kim & Kyle
Kim & Kyle
Jeff & Kim
Jeff & Kim
Kyle & Rob
Kyle & Rob
Pic IndexDay 1 & 2Day 3Day 4Day 5Day 6Day 7 (Part I)
Day 7 (Part II)Day 8Day 9, 10 & 11Day 12Day 13Day 14