Hawaii Day 4
Hawaii
Day 4 - Monday - May 17, 2004
I set the alarm but did not turn it on. But we were up in time, showered, went across the street and had breakfast.
We were at the Tapa Tower bus parking about 10 minutes early, 6:50. But we became concerned when we did not see our transportation that finally arrived at 7:20. We had not been told that we were almost at the end of the pickups and the other people had to be picked up beginning at Diamond Head and moving into the city.
It was a nice morning so we were able to see the mountains that are the backdrop to the city. Our driver Ben told us to notice that there are some very individual things about the island.
There are no billboards, no graffiti, and license plates are all Hawaii - I have seen one from California and one from Vermont. We were also told that every branch of the military is in Oahu, with several having multiple posts.
Once we were on the bus we saw that there were going to be a lot of people. Finally there were 63! After picking up the last of our group, people who had just flown in from other islands, we went across Honolulu to the National Park Service Arizona Memorial.
The Arizona was sunk when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. At 8:30 we were escorted in by our driver and given tickets #9 that required us to wait until 10 AM for our tour.
We walked around the grounds of the Visitor’s Center, saw the museum, used the facilities, spoke to a ship load of sailors from the Chilean Navy and took photos.
We were surprised there were that many people as the United Airlines representative told us this was a low season. Ben told us the wait could be up to 3 to 4 hours during the summer months.
We were glad we came at this time. They called numbers every 15 minutes, so at 9:45 we were called to get in line to enter the theater. At 10 we were ushered into a large auditorium (150 people) where we watched a film explaining the events leading up to December 7th. The 20 minute film was made up of American and Japanese footage so it was quite realistic.
After the film we boarded the navy launch that took us into the harbor and across to the Arizona Memorial that sits above the ship. What was distinctive was being able to see the ship below the surface with colorful fish swimming and the oil from the old boilers is still seeping to the surface, giving the water that rainbow color.
We only had 15 minutes to be at the Memorial, but it was enough time for us to take pictures and see the monument. We got back in another launch for the trip back to the Visitor’s Center.
Once there, Ben rounded all 63 of us and we made our way into the Pearl Harbor Naval Base on an open air trolley. We had to leave our backpacks, fanny packs, purses, camera cases, etc. on the bus because of the heightened military alert. We could not take pictures as we drove into the base for security reasons.
Once we arrived at the battleship USS Missouri, it was getting hot - near mid-day. We were divided into two groups to tour the ship. This ship is important as it was the place where the Japanese surrendered to the Allies and brought an end to WWII.
It was interesting seeing the large guns that could fire 22 miles, the cramped quarters for the enlisted men, and the modifications made as this ship was activated for the Gulf War in 1991. The US does not have battleships anymore, it is now the aircraft carriers that are the premier ship of the fleet.
We rode the trolley back to the bus which was an oven after being closed up in the hot sun all morning. Ben tried to cool it down with the A/C but it took over 30 minutes to be bearable.
We began a sightseeing tour of the city of Honolulu along with the Punchbowl Cemetery, constructed in the crater of an extinct volcano. Ben told us that prices for property in Hawaii are exorbitant.
Many Hawaiians are leaving the islands and going to the mainland after selling their homes for very high prices. We saw the government buildings, old palaces from the Kings and Queens and the central business district.
We were one of the first to be dropped off and we returned to our room to process the pictures and then we went out on the balcony to enjoy the late afternoon sun.
From our balcony we saw a small wedding on the beach - bride, groom, minister and the witness who may have been a mother in law. What a nice, short, simple ceremony.
We also saw kids playing on the beach, adults catching some rays and in the water several outrigger canoes were flying across the water - seemed to be school age children. Out to sea, people were parasailing, surfing, and fishing. Perfect day in Hawaii.
At 5:30 we took a shower, dressed, and took a long walk toward the center of Waikiki. We found a whole new area of activity (our hotel area is very sedate) with restaurants, high end shops, and more hotels.
We ate at an excellent Italian restaurant, the Trattoria where Gennie had Eggplant Parmigiana and I had linguine with tomatoes, black olives, garlic and anchovies. I ordered a side order of sausage and it was excellent.
After dinner, we continued to walk around, seeing the young and old going into and out of stores, restaurants and bars. Through all of this, people are walking down the sidewalk carrying their surfboards. By the time we got home at 8:30 PM it was still quite warm but we have the room air conditioner working fine now.
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