March 1 - Drive to the East

     Following along with "Let's not make any plans, let's just pick a place to go" planning we've fallen into lately, we decided to drive past Waikiki and Diamond Head, which we'll explore when we give up our car and move into our Honolulu Airbnb, and check out the east end of the island.

This was our route for the day.

Closeup of map for sites visited.

We drove along this lovely tree-shaded street on our way out of Waikiki.  

A beach just east of Diamond Head

Ocean conditions are much calmer on this side of the island.  But like just about every where else, surfers are out waiting for a wave to ride.

This tyke is already showing good form.  He screamed with pleasure the whole ride into shore.

Our guidebook told us about a place called Spitting Cave, so we parked in this cul-de-sac and took the narrow access trail down to the cliffs.

 That's Diamond Head on the horizon.

The Spitting Cave doing its thing.  Pretty cool.  As a bonus, Diana spotted this fellow while looking down at the sea:

He/she is a Hawaiian Monk Seal, endemic to the Hawaiian archipelago, and a critter we've been hoping to spot for weeks.

     We headed out to Makapu'u Point, the easternmost bit of land on Oahu.  There's a great hike up to the lighthouse.

There are the remains of numerous bunkers on the headlands thrown up soon after 12/7/45.  Diana protects her cap from the fierce wind blowing in from the ocean.

A Great Frigatebird soared overhead.

Approach to the lighthouse.

We climbed past the end of the trail to the top of the hill, where this bunker has been decorated by graffitists.  Incidentally, Hawaii is one of the most graffiti-free places we've ever visited.

I don't know why.  There are fairly strict laws banning it.  But there's also a Hawaiian pride movement asking kids not to mark up property.  Maybe that has something to do with it.  You do see some graffiti, but not as much as almost any other place we've ever been, (Berlin, I'm looking at you!)

      The view from the top was spectacular.  The approaching storm didn't hurt the setting.  We ducked into a bunker when a brief shower passed over Makapu'u Head.

Wow, two selfies in one posting!  Aren't you lucky.

View of Windward Oahu all the way to Kanoe'ohe Marine Corps base.

On the walk back down to the car we saw a lot more whales, some only a few hundred yards offshore.

I was taking pictures of this guy slapping the water with his tail ...

... when this guy got into the act.

This pair was swimming just below us.  Cool.