Pearl Harbor

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Woke Up In Paradise this morning – How about you? Okay. Just kidding. Today was a loud wake-up from Kamie’s mom at 5am with a text saying his 101-year-old granny had passed away in her sleep overnight. We took showers and left for our 8am reservations at Pearl Harbor. Our Uber said 12-minutes from Hilton Hawaiian Village to Pearl Harbor Memorial Center. We grabbed an Uber in a stinky vehicle with a guy bumping his stereo speakers for an hour through congested rush hour traffic. Why are these people not working from home? Hawaii needs to get the memo that WFH is here to stay. By the way, Hawaii has a major littering and soil erosion problem. Typical island sites but you would think because it’s an American property, the Hawaii DOT would clean-up the sides of the roads and under the bridges but no… it looks like people just throw their trash out the window all day long. It’s disgusting. We missed the 8am boat out to Ford Island to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial but they let us on the next boat. It was a somber visit with a volunteer/retired Naval guy telling several stories. He said there were 39 sets of brothers on the Arizona (78 guys). 16 men lived. Only one set of brothers walked away. Over 700+ from the Arizona are still entombed inside the ship but over 1,000 “bodies” are laid to rest in that area because several hundred men were basically blown to pieces and no remains were ever recovered. Also, in 1982 a survivor of the Arizona left a request in his will to have his ashes left in the Arizona with his former comrades. The U.S. Navy immediately agreed and started a program for all the remaining survivors (if they so choose). Since then, 44 men have requested their remains be placed in a small hole in the ship. As of today, one remaining survivor still lives. His name is Lou and he is 102 years old. As we were being told stories of what happened in this place, I saw grown men with tears in their eyes. It is almost difficult to imagine how this attack must have changed so many families. We walked through the museum and then watched a 15 minute video of actual footage from the day of the attack. I think this is an important place to visit. It is, after all, a day which will live in infamy.

After our time at Pearl Harbor, we took an Uber to the Wal-Mart by our hotel. It was 11 minutes to get from Pearl Harbor back to the Waikiki area. Unbelievable. Talk about the difference in a driver who knows what he is doing and one who doesn’t! We had to buy a new suitcase and the handle on my carryon broke so we found a deal on a two-piece set. Strange how the Wal-Mart luggage always outlasts the “designer” pieces from TJ Maxx or Amazon.

We came back to our hotel with the clouds lifting and the sun shining so I put on my swimsuit, grabbed my beach gear, and away to the ocean and the lagoon I did go! It was great. The Hilton has this 5-acre lagoon that is basically wave free and is still full of fish and it’s saltwater. I’m not sure how it works but it’s great for kids and adults. We are in Hawaii at the slowest time of the year so nothing is crowded and there is plenty of beach and water space. I snorkled. I swam around. I floated. I watched a Japanese wedding party taking pictures on the beach for at least 30 minutes in the 86 degree heat. All the girls looked about 12 years old and weighed probably 70 pounds each. I called Kamie and he wanted something from a food truck parked by the lagoon. I picked-up a pineapple Dole whip and a chicken quesadilla. The Dole whip was sweet-sweet. The quesadilla was yummy and we liked the salsa that came with it. I don’t remember what I did after that but I think I fell asleep for a little bit and then Kamie was waking me up because we had a 5:45pm reservation for dinner at House Without A Key. During high time in Hawaii (the summer), you can’t get in a restaurant without a reservation. This place is pretty much that way every day. All the food is locally sourced from the Hawaiian Islands. There is a nice view of Diamond Head from the outdoor tables. It’s a great atmosphere with the former Miss Hawaii, Miss USA, and Miss Universe dancing a hula dance every 45 minutes and a group of guys playing ukuleles and singing. They have the meal by candlelight so you can’t see what you overpaid for and they push the $22 shot-size cocktails fairly heavily. I mean, it’s a vibe and all but I wouldn’t go back. It was super expensive and neither of us really liked our meals. I even ended-up throwing out the leftovers we had saved (the next day). We walked back to the Hilton Hawaiian Village in the cool evening breeze. Kamie reminded me how much he hated Hawaii and I wonder what is happening in this world and who is this man.

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Photos

this bird
...was at Pearl Harbor both days and I liked it's weird feet.

USS Arizona
The white memorial building was built across the right side of the ship

This was the ACTUAL speech
it even had where they had changes or added some words. Pretty cool to look at. It was the original typed (like on a typewriter) and then edited with a pencil speech.

Bridge going across to Ford Island
We would take a bus over on this bridge in a couple of days when we go visit the USS Missouri

A view of the USS Missouri from the USS Arizona memorial
Kamie saw people walking on the USS Missouri and so we added that to our trip later

THe only part of the USS Arizona out of the water
When the tides are low, a section of the right side pops-up too

Picture of the burial service
The US Navy has since buried the remains of 44 comrades inside the ship (there is a hole where they drop the remains).

Wall of those who are inside the ship
Over 700...

Ford Island Bridge
It was a breezy and gloomy morning - kinda perfect for this somber visit

US Navy personnel
that took us to the USS Arizona on the boat. The driver was hilarious. He accidentally skidded into the Pearl Harbor visitor center on the way back and had to sorta back-up and retry. When we stopped and they usually announce "Please exit the boat now" instead, he said "And that folks, was a perfectly normal landing" Everyone busted-up laughing

USS Arizona Memorial
This is a must see if you are in Hawaii

Pearl Harbor visitor center
You can access several different areas from this one center

This is the line at Starbucks at 6am.
...it moved super fast but was this long every morning from 5am until at least 7:30am...

Comments

[Stacy]

I HATE that he got that news while on vacation. I wish it could've waited until he got home so he could enjoy his vacation AND I am beginning to realize most men become cranky old men the older that they get!

[Eeda and Jahn]

Well, that's his mother for you...

[Stacy]

LOL! i LOVE that you went on to enjoy as much as you could! I would've done the same thing. He is the ONLY person I know who doesn't like the beach!

[Eeda and Jahn]

Thanks for all your comments Stacy! I like that someone reads these. I know my dad does but I like that other people do too. :) Sometimes, it's good to read and laugh or just feel the memory again. :)