Thank goodness he wasn't armed when I first talked to him! Actually, Reuben is a Security Guard for "La Pietra: Hawaii School for Girls." He also produces replicas of Ancient Hawaiian weaponry and sells them at Waimea Falls in a booth just past the ticket booth. You can find him on Sunday and Monday, from 9am to 4pm at Waimea Falls if you are interested. I handled the "Pahoa" and it is pretty wicked! It's nice to be "The Walking Hawaiian," and to talk with another Hawaiian as I continue my journey.
Today was a perfect day of sunshine and good surf! So back to the surfing spot in Waikiki to drop off my daughter and her board and on to paths not walked yet in the area. I was able to trek 4.56 miles and found many fascinating facts in this small area.
The school, "La Pietra" started off as a luakini heiau called "papa'ena'ena. After the death of King Lunalilo, James Campbell bought the area. Campbell sold the property to Walter Dillingham who built "La Pietra" in 1883, to closely resemble the "Villa la Pietra" in Florence, Italy where they were married. Bequeathed to Punahou Schools after their demise, Punahou school couldn't use it, so they sold it to Lorraine Day Cooke, wife of the great-grandson of Amos Starr Cooke (co-founder of Castle and Cooke.) They transformed the house to a school and opened officially in the 1969-1970 school year. Talk about a "history!"
The Diamond Head Lighthouse, first built in 1899 was renovated in 1917 when cracks were found. Still using the "Fresnell len's" it's light can be seen 18 miles out to sea! Hawaiians called Diamond Head, "Leahi," which meant "wreath of fire," since Hawaiians would light a fire on the crest of the volcano to guide canoe fleets back to the Island.
The Coast Guard is now responsible for the upkeep of the lighthouses and buoys. The Commander of the 14th Coast Guard district now resides in the lighthouse keeper's dwelling that was built in 1921.
Beautiful homes line the beach fronts and I think that I should have been wearing make-up with all the surveillance cameras I came across today! Hey! Wait a minute! I think that there is an ancient drawing of Reuben on the gate here! HaHa! Check out the left side in the middle! Double click the picture to enlarge if you can't see it!
Heavily decorated near the lighthouse dwelling, this little "patch of pretty" caught me by surprise! You need to see it yourself and study the little details put together here! I don't know who did it or why, but I surely enjoyed it!
Here is a little "patch" of Diamond Head Road. The sidewalks were wide and well maintained which made for excellent walking conditions!
I didn't take a tally count of how many "historic homes" I passed today, but I'm sure that there were at least 6! This is one of them built by Earl Williams in 1932 in the English Tudor Style. I was taken back to England looking at this home, although the palm tree looked out of place! HaHa! Well, you and I may not be making history, but we all have a story to tell! Keep the story going, everyone! Aloha! (Bye!)
