ok, this is a long post, but it should be entertaining enough to follow. As some of you know, I am in the USMC and currently deployed aboard the USS Peleliu on our way to the sandbox (Persian Gulf). Of course, we are stopping in places along the way there and on teh way back. so im writing updates for our families and such back home. Here is a recent update that i wrote to share with firends/forums that i post on. enjoy the pictures!!
So there I was. Day 1 on the big island of Hawaii. Me and 2 other guys ready to go see the island, have a good time and take lots of pictures. We depart teh ship around 11am on saturday morning ans head out to find something to eat. We manage to find a nearby Ruby Tuesdays for burgers and a icy cold Bud Light (its 5 o'clock somewhere). So far so good. The meal started the day off right and we're off to find the beach. We manage to flag down a taxi and he suggests Waikiki beach. Maybe because its a $40 1 way trip on which we didnt find out till we got there. Oh well, since were here lets so see the town. So, friend #1 is ready for another beer and the start of what a non-drinker would refer to a night in hell. To make a long story short here for day 1. Friend #2 and myself end up chasing friend #1 around for the next 12 hours from bar to bar while he has the night of his life. We ended up walking about 20 miles total in the day's time and make it back to the ship around midnight. I'm getting too old for this s#1t. I'm in Hawaii and i DO NOT want to spent it in a bar.
Day 2.....
After being woke up at 8am by Friend #1 asking if I were ready to head out into town again. I not so politely refuse and go back to bed. About 2 hours after I get up, do my morning manly ritual and get dressed. I head up from my berthing to the shop where I work looking for someone to head out into town with. I meet up with AJ and learn that he has rented a nice new Dodge Charger for the weekend. Too bad it isnt one with a Hemi. So, AJ, 2 other guys I dont know, and myself head out to a place called Diamond Head Crater. I really cant tell if its a long ago asteroid crater or a volcanic crater. No matter, we are destined to climb to the top of it and get a birds eye view of the island. After about a 45 minute hike to the top, we make it to an old army lookout from the 1940's. I know, I know. 45 minutes doesnt seem like too big of a moutian when it comes to hiking terms. Well, please be reminded that there are 4 US Marines and its was a friendly little competition to get to the top the fastest. It was a trail that wasnt too rocky and somewhat clear so it didnt make much for a hard trip. At least that what we were thinking up until about half way there. Now, this trail has 12 points of interest along the way according to the Pamphlet at the bottom of the hill. I'll do my best to give you a detailed description of my trip.
#1 The restroom and tourist info building at the bottom of the mountain. (need I say more?)
#2 The beginning of the trail/concrete walkway. It was a gradual and pleasant climb for about 300 yards. I'm thinking to myself "I can do this s#1t all day" and "this is weak. Wheres the fun in this?"
#3 Ok, now this is a little better. The concrete ends and its a somewhat rutted out dirt path. I can only assume its condition is from rain water running down it daily. It's getting a little steeper. Now this is hiking and what I'm here for.
#4 The first concrete landing/lookout point. Not a lot to look at here. Just a birds eye view of the parking lot and inside walls of the crater. Not a bad view, just not a lot of scenery.
#5 The first of 2 stairways that were built on the steeper parts of the mountain. The pamphlet says this particular one was built in 1908 so you can imagine its appearance 100 years later. Not a bad climb of 74 stairs. I would say its on par with the average staircase in your house when talking how steep it is and the distance between steps. Once to the top, slightly winded and I can see the top of the mountain so im in good spirits and still thinking to myself " its not a bad climb, typical tourist attraction."
#6 Passage through a 225 foot lighted tunnel. Ok, now, when they say lighted, they mean LED lights that are putting out about 1 candle power every 20 feet or so. just enough to see the 1 or 2 ahead of you so that you dont hit the wall. Holy crap, can it get any darker in here and when are the vampire bats gonna come suck my blood? In the center of the tunnel, you can barely see each end. Now, knowing that this is a tourist attraction and only 1 hand rail to hold and follow. you kindly bump into just about everyone in the tunnel trying to make their way out. of course the occasional blinding camera flash being strategically planted 6 feet in front of your face didnt help from the other people in the tunnel that didnt see you. (yes i blinded a couple of them myself. vengeance is so sweet)
#7 At the end of the tunnel is the second of the 2 stairways. This time its 99 steps of pure hell. In the name of everything holy, could they make these any damn steeper? Ok, we have now been going for about a mile in a constant uphill climb and they expect me to now climb the "stairway to heaven?" Once at the top, its the feeling of your heart pounding out of your chest and by looking around a the other tourists some were 60+ years old I could easily see myself having to preform CPR on a heart attack victim at any freakin moment. All im thinking about is looking up for the life flight helipad somewhere at this point.
#8 and 9 At the top of this flight of stairs... holy hell!!!! Another set of stairs. This time a nifty early 1900's spiral staircase straight through the mountain. Its rustic look and cool breeze flowing through brought a glimmer of excitement and awe while looking up through the center of the staircase. The mix of awe and anxiety from the climb gave me quite the rush to keep pushing on to the top. (it cant be that much further, right?) at the top was another lookout point with a pretty nice view of the ocean and Waikiki beach.
#10 Ok, heres a cool spot with a nice old man sitting up there all by himself selling $2 certificates that prove you made it to the top of the mountain. How neat, here I am thinking to myself that theres no way on this green earth that I would EVER apply for a job that I had to walk up this mountain every day just to sell $2 pieces of paper with someones name. My handwriting isnt good enough anyways.
#11 MORE FREAKING STAIRS!!!!!! 54 of them to be exact and on the same grade as the stairs on the ship. Almost completely vertical. It is good to know that the original stairs were replaced in the 1970's with these fancy dandy metal stairs due to "hiker safey". Now with that in mind, here on the ship we call these things a "ladderwell" because its a blend of stairwell and ladder. Not completely vertical so it cant be called a ladder, but not a gradual 45 degree climb like a regular set of household stairs either. Somewhere around 80 degree climb would be about right.
And finally.... #12. The view from the top. There are no words to describe this view of the island. You can see ocean in 3 different directions, mountains that touch the clouds, and if you look far enough into the horizon you can actually see the curvature of the earth. Pictures do not do this justice at all. All the pain in your legs and knees go away, the shortness of breath subsides and the thought of the recent climb to the top is nowhere in your thoughts. You are completely consumed by the view and never want to leave. If there is such a thing as "Zen" this would be it.
I know its a long read, and my typo's run rampart throughout. but this was truly and amazing experience that i just had to share with you all. Thank you for taking the time to read this and maybe even laughing at my lack of creative writing skills. I have sent my wife pictures of these points of intrest and they should be posted soon. Either at the bottom of this or maybe added to the post between paragraphs. hopefully i described each point clearly enough that she can decipher the pictures and place them in the right order.
until next time, in the next port....
So there I was. Day 1 on the big island of Hawaii. Me and 2 other guys ready to go see the island, have a good time and take lots of pictures. We depart teh ship around 11am on saturday morning ans head out to find something to eat. We manage to find a nearby Ruby Tuesdays for burgers and a icy cold Bud Light (its 5 o'clock somewhere). So far so good. The meal started the day off right and we're off to find the beach. We manage to flag down a taxi and he suggests Waikiki beach. Maybe because its a $40 1 way trip on which we didnt find out till we got there. Oh well, since were here lets so see the town. So, friend #1 is ready for another beer and the start of what a non-drinker would refer to a night in hell. To make a long story short here for day 1. Friend #2 and myself end up chasing friend #1 around for the next 12 hours from bar to bar while he has the night of his life. We ended up walking about 20 miles total in the day's time and make it back to the ship around midnight. I'm getting too old for this s#1t. I'm in Hawaii and i DO NOT want to spent it in a bar.
Day 2.....
After being woke up at 8am by Friend #1 asking if I were ready to head out into town again. I not so politely refuse and go back to bed. About 2 hours after I get up, do my morning manly ritual and get dressed. I head up from my berthing to the shop where I work looking for someone to head out into town with. I meet up with AJ and learn that he has rented a nice new Dodge Charger for the weekend. Too bad it isnt one with a Hemi. So, AJ, 2 other guys I dont know, and myself head out to a place called Diamond Head Crater. I really cant tell if its a long ago asteroid crater or a volcanic crater. No matter, we are destined to climb to the top of it and get a birds eye view of the island. After about a 45 minute hike to the top, we make it to an old army lookout from the 1940's. I know, I know. 45 minutes doesnt seem like too big of a moutian when it comes to hiking terms. Well, please be reminded that there are 4 US Marines and its was a friendly little competition to get to the top the fastest. It was a trail that wasnt too rocky and somewhat clear so it didnt make much for a hard trip. At least that what we were thinking up until about half way there. Now, this trail has 12 points of interest along the way according to the Pamphlet at the bottom of the hill. I'll do my best to give you a detailed description of my trip.
#1 The restroom and tourist info building at the bottom of the mountain. (need I say more?)
#2 The beginning of the trail/concrete walkway. It was a gradual and pleasant climb for about 300 yards. I'm thinking to myself "I can do this s#1t all day" and "this is weak. Wheres the fun in this?"
#3 Ok, now this is a little better. The concrete ends and its a somewhat rutted out dirt path. I can only assume its condition is from rain water running down it daily. It's getting a little steeper. Now this is hiking and what I'm here for.
#4 The first concrete landing/lookout point. Not a lot to look at here. Just a birds eye view of the parking lot and inside walls of the crater. Not a bad view, just not a lot of scenery.
#5 The first of 2 stairways that were built on the steeper parts of the mountain. The pamphlet says this particular one was built in 1908 so you can imagine its appearance 100 years later. Not a bad climb of 74 stairs. I would say its on par with the average staircase in your house when talking how steep it is and the distance between steps. Once to the top, slightly winded and I can see the top of the mountain so im in good spirits and still thinking to myself " its not a bad climb, typical tourist attraction."
#6 Passage through a 225 foot lighted tunnel. Ok, now, when they say lighted, they mean LED lights that are putting out about 1 candle power every 20 feet or so. just enough to see the 1 or 2 ahead of you so that you dont hit the wall. Holy crap, can it get any darker in here and when are the vampire bats gonna come suck my blood? In the center of the tunnel, you can barely see each end. Now, knowing that this is a tourist attraction and only 1 hand rail to hold and follow. you kindly bump into just about everyone in the tunnel trying to make their way out. of course the occasional blinding camera flash being strategically planted 6 feet in front of your face didnt help from the other people in the tunnel that didnt see you. (yes i blinded a couple of them myself. vengeance is so sweet)
#7 At the end of the tunnel is the second of the 2 stairways. This time its 99 steps of pure hell. In the name of everything holy, could they make these any damn steeper? Ok, we have now been going for about a mile in a constant uphill climb and they expect me to now climb the "stairway to heaven?" Once at the top, its the feeling of your heart pounding out of your chest and by looking around a the other tourists some were 60+ years old I could easily see myself having to preform CPR on a heart attack victim at any freakin moment. All im thinking about is looking up for the life flight helipad somewhere at this point.
#8 and 9 At the top of this flight of stairs... holy hell!!!! Another set of stairs. This time a nifty early 1900's spiral staircase straight through the mountain. Its rustic look and cool breeze flowing through brought a glimmer of excitement and awe while looking up through the center of the staircase. The mix of awe and anxiety from the climb gave me quite the rush to keep pushing on to the top. (it cant be that much further, right?) at the top was another lookout point with a pretty nice view of the ocean and Waikiki beach.
#10 Ok, heres a cool spot with a nice old man sitting up there all by himself selling $2 certificates that prove you made it to the top of the mountain. How neat, here I am thinking to myself that theres no way on this green earth that I would EVER apply for a job that I had to walk up this mountain every day just to sell $2 pieces of paper with someones name. My handwriting isnt good enough anyways.
#11 MORE FREAKING STAIRS!!!!!! 54 of them to be exact and on the same grade as the stairs on the ship. Almost completely vertical. It is good to know that the original stairs were replaced in the 1970's with these fancy dandy metal stairs due to "hiker safey". Now with that in mind, here on the ship we call these things a "ladderwell" because its a blend of stairwell and ladder. Not completely vertical so it cant be called a ladder, but not a gradual 45 degree climb like a regular set of household stairs either. Somewhere around 80 degree climb would be about right.
And finally.... #12. The view from the top. There are no words to describe this view of the island. You can see ocean in 3 different directions, mountains that touch the clouds, and if you look far enough into the horizon you can actually see the curvature of the earth. Pictures do not do this justice at all. All the pain in your legs and knees go away, the shortness of breath subsides and the thought of the recent climb to the top is nowhere in your thoughts. You are completely consumed by the view and never want to leave. If there is such a thing as "Zen" this would be it.
I know its a long read, and my typo's run rampart throughout. but this was truly and amazing experience that i just had to share with you all. Thank you for taking the time to read this and maybe even laughing at my lack of creative writing skills. I have sent my wife pictures of these points of intrest and they should be posted soon. Either at the bottom of this or maybe added to the post between paragraphs. hopefully i described each point clearly enough that she can decipher the pictures and place them in the right order.
until next time, in the next port....
