Today was our Pday and so we decided to do something new! Roger was all for it, Diedra was not so sure! We went to see the Makapu’u Point lighthouse. Sounds so easy, yet it is a little over a mile hike up there with a rise of about 500 feet. The Whole path is paved, and it is only a little over a mile, so it is an easy to medium hike. But, my asthma always makes me a little hesitant to start.
But, we came prepared with water, and sunscreen and hats and took it fairly slowly. Also, there are wonderful little bump-outs along the way with markers of information and beautiful vistas…allowing me to catch my breath. Believe me, we stopped at every one!
The story is that a passenger liner called Manchuria ran aground here. No lives were lost, but it probably spurred on the construction of the lighthouse. It was built in 1909. They used a lens called a hyper radiant lens. It is 9 feet across and @2 feet high! It was shown as a brand new discovery at the Chicago World’s Fair and is still in use today. The lighthouse was originally manned by men and their families, but it was all automated in 1974.
One of the several bump-out areas along the way up has a sign that tells about how this is a great place for watching humpback whales that are moving from Alaska to here to breed. This usually happens from October to March - so we didn’t see any. But you can see a large crater and even Diamond Head way into distance between the two mountains.
And it is sooooo windy up there!
But it truly is gorgeous up there! You can see it from the side like in the above picture and you can see it from the top when you make it to the top of the path.
Then we decided to sit in some shade and have a little snack overlooking the water! On the way down we spotted an old pillbox and went to explore.
So, I was pleased that I made The WHOLE 2+ mile hike and didn’t have to take my asthma medicine once! And, since we started early it was pretty cool throughout, and such a lovely view!
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