Oahu Lighthouses

(clicking on the photos will increase size and resolution)

 Over the past couple of weekends, I have taken some hikes to Oahu's lighthouses.  Although there are a some beacons, the basic scenic choices are three (well actually 4) that I had an interest in seeing.

The Aloha Tower Lighthouse, or Minor Light of Oahu, which has had it's beacons moved to a tower is still a landmark that greets cruise lines.  During WWII, it received hardly any damage during the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  However, it's glowing white surface was painted in camouflage so that it could not be seen at night.

The most difficult thing in getting to this lighthouse is finding a parking spot down near the end of Bishop street.  The shopping area around it controls the paid parking lot.  Yeah I know, I'm cheap.

 

 Another is the Diamond Head Lighthouse.  A lot of people choose to see it from atop Diamond Head itself which requires a little hike.  Instead, I opted for parking on Diamond Head Road and popped over a little stone wall and make my way through the weeds (there are no snakes here) to find a nice location not blocked by trees so I would have access to it and the setting sun.  One tip I'd pass on is don't go too deep into the brush because there are some homeless encampments hidden in there.  While they may be on public land, there is no need in antagonizing them and risk a confrontation.

 

 Makapu`U (Makapuu) Point Lighthouse built in 1909.  If you're paying attention, you can get a slight glimpse of this lighthouse if you're traveling southwest on the Kalanianaole highway between Sandy Beach and Hanauma Bay but you have to be really looking.

There is a parking lot below the Makapuu overlook where you begin the 1 mile hike up a 10% grade.  Fortunately, the trail is actually paved which makes it nice.   The trick for me is to stop and take pictures often to catch my breath and not let the other visitors hear you wheezing.  Plus, you do get some magnificent shots after your heart stops shaking your hand with the camera in it.

 

Anyway, this hike does take on quite a few visitors, some kinds you expect to see such as the casual hiker with the aluminum walking sticks or couples taking their time strolling hand in hand.  I admired the tenacity of a young woman who was pushing a stroller full of baby and maybe a 3 year old in a backpack style child carrier.  

One guy in particular had his own fitness quest I found amazing if not somewhat crazy.  He had made his way all the way to the top of this hike and on his way down while carrying a 200 pound bag of sand.  Even on his way down, he had to drop that bag of sand every couple hundred yards and catch a breath.  I admire a man's resolve and determination but It's not my (pun intended) bag.

 

 So another quarter mile to the top where the state has blocked access for repairs, I was at least able to get somewhat of a shot at this lighthouse.  On a good day, you can also see a faint sight of Molokai, the smaller island just east of Oahu.

The Makapuu Lighthouse trail was closed up until a month ago so that accounted for a lot of people on the trail.

 

Named after Captain Henry Barber who shipwrecked near this point, the Barbers Point Lighthouse on the southwest side of Oahu, is just a short walk from a beach park.  The sand is deep and the little trail is bordered by private property and a rocky sea edge that is even more narrow when the tide is up.  As I understand it, like the others, it is totally automated and does not have a person living on the property.

 

This was in the middle of the day but from this direction, I would bet it makes a dandy sundown shot.  Maybe I'll get a chance to try that out one day.

You can't stay there forever.

My Washington stay was about to end so instead of coming home, Ms Darlene flew up for a few days.

I pretty much took her to the sites that were reasonably accessible, such as Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle, the skyline view from West Seattle, Gig Harbor, Mount Rainier and a lot of really neat places.

I had not been north of Vancouver British Columbia so that was added to our quick agenda as well.

Here's a few pictures.

The Seattle skyline from west Seattle

 

Then there's Pikes Place Public Market with peppers 

 

Ruston, Washington with Mount Rainier

Traffic is almost as bad as Baton Rouge

 The trip would have been incomplete without taking her up to Sunrise on Mount Rainier

Part of our plans were to ride up to Vancouver but after arriving, we decided to move on up the coast to Whistler, he home of the 2010 Winter Olympics.  Along the way we hiked around the coast.  The sites were stunning to a pair of bayou drifters.

There were waterfalls along the way.  Not much of a hike.

 

Probably the most interesting thing we enjoyed was the Sea To Sky Gondola ride.  We watched for a while to make sure that's exactly what we wanted to do.  You know, it's a long drop if one of those cables break.

 

Longer and higher than we thought.

At the top, there was a suspension bridge we negotiated.

Although signs warn people not to run on these things, it never fails finding some dufus who thinks it's too scary to walk and decide to run causing the whole thing to swing and shake.

Ms Darlene was certainly not ready to come home but time was limited.  So, back to Seattle for the last day.  Here's one of the nice restaurants we tried; Anthony's on Pier 66.  Good seafood here.

I put her on the plane early Monday morning and made sure she was on the right side so she could see Rainier one more time as she flew back to Louisiana.  I followed a couple of days later.

Still in Washington

After a whirlwind trip back home for a family reunion, I'm back in Washington and probably will be for another 5 weeks.

Although it's a long flight out here and you do get sorta cramped up with the ride, it's still nice to look out and see landmarks like Mount Rainier as you come in.

Some days when I drive in to Enumclaw, it's not visible at all but for the past few days, it really has been nice here so I'll post a lot of pictures of Rainier while the sun is still shining making the flowers (weeds) in the fields really glow.

The cattle seem to be OK with it too.

Further up the mountain, bicyclists, sports car enthusiasts and motorcyclists can't resist a sunny day either.

In 1889, Seattle was mostly a harbor town built from the abundance of wood available.  The streets had problems with flooding and when they dumped the sewerage into the Puget Sound, the tides would bring it back in.  On June 6 of that year, a cabinet maker was making a vat of glue which overturned and ignited which spread and destroyed the town.  At least that's what I got out of it but you can read about it here.

Immediately, they set on a plan to rebuild, this time with brick stone and mortar.  Realizing they would eventually have the same problems with flooding they commanded that all new buildings should be built with no less than two stories.  With that in mind, as finances came available, they built up the streets one story higher than the ground floors.   So now, there is an abandoned underground portion of the city that is open for tours.

The original underground sidewalks had a series of skylights that illuminated the subterranean sidewalks.  It should be noted, some others on the tour also had a "dim" view of my "earthquake" quip.

Eventually, the below ground store entrances were abandoned.  Today, there are a couple of tour companies that will take you down (for a modest fee) and deliver an entertaining experience which ironically ends (of all places) in their gift shop.  Imagine that.

Another great attraction is the downtown Public Market.

Here you can find fresh produce, fresh salmon and several restaurants.

Also, along Pike Place is the original Starbucks which always seem to have a folk band outside to entertain the very long line of people are willing to wait to get into the place.  It's not like you can't find a Starbucks on every other corner.

In a vain attempt to get away from the maddening crowds, there's also an option of going over to West Seattle to check out all the people who have the same idea as you.  It's never ending a parade of traffic attempting to find a place to park.

Great sundowns looking across at Bainbridge Island.   Before I leave I hope to get up there.

At this time of the year, you have to wait pretty late for it to be dark enough to see the city lights.

On yet another island I checked out just this weekend is Worden State Park on Wilson Point which has a decommissioned lighthouse.  You can see Mount Baker behind it probably 50 miles to the north.

This is definitely an interesting place with plenty to see and do, at least for some.  This is a place with a huge homeless population.  Old downtown common areas smell like urine, many neutral spaces have homeless encampments and you'll even see tents under the overpasses.

West Michigan Autumn

West Michigan isn't really in it's autumn color peak just yet
but since I'm a short timer here, I thought I'd get out and see
what was available.

All of these are on the west coast of Lake Michigan from
Ludington on up onto the Mission Point Peninsula north of
Traverse City.

(click on the photos for increased size and resolution)

Ludington, Michigan Courthouse

Pumpkin Patch, near Manistee, Michigan

South of Onekama, Michigan

Highway 22 north of Onekama, Michigan

From Sleeping Bear Dunes

Motorcyclists on Hwy 22 north of Sleeping Bear Dunes

Vineyards, wineries and orchards - Mission Point Peninsula

Grapes yet harvested

Orange and gold

While I was out, I managed to find three more lighthouses.
The Mission Point lighthouse is a few hundred yards from
45th parallel.  It's the point halfway between the north pole
and the equator. These are just a fraction of lighthouses on
Lake Mission but time doesn't allow tracking them all down.

Old Mission Point Lighthouse

Point Betsie Lighthouse

Big Sable Point Lighthouse north of Ludington, Michigan

Redundant Sundown and Lighthouse photos

Yes, it's redundant but I'm still drawn to a pretty sundown, especially with something like this Ludington, Michigan lighthouse in it.

This one was taken with my HTC Android cell phone.

Same place but with the Badger Auto Ferry coming in from Wisconsin.

Yet another one

and finally, this one.