PEARL HARBOR and the USS ARIZONA MEMORIAL
We grabbed breakfast first thing in the morning, and then drove out to Pearl Harbor to see the USS Arizona Memorial, the most popular visitor attraction on Oahu. Parking can be difficult at peak times and the free passes go quickly, so we wanted to get there early. There was some serious construction going on beside the harbor. We discovered that they were in the midst of building a new USS Arizona Museum and Visitor Center to be opened in early 2010. Too bad we saw the construction and not the final product. We got our free passes, but our group didn't leave for another 45-minutes. So we called home to talk to the kids, and looked around the gift shop.
When it was time for our tour to begin, we went into a small theater where we watched a 20-minute documentary with actual news footage from the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor. It left a very somber attitude on everyone in the room. I could tell because as soon as the lights went up, it was completely silent, and everyone got up and walked slowly out of the theater. Then we boarded a navy boat that shuttled us to the Arizona Memorial. The large white Memorial is suspended over the sunken USS Arizona, the final resting place for many of the 1,177 crewman who lost their lives on December 7, 1941. I read that the architect of the Memorial wanted to suggest that where the structure sags in the center, it represents the initial defeat, but where it stands strong and vigorous at the ends is where it signifies the ultimate victory. It wasn't until I was standing on the Memorial that the reality of this event finally hit me. The battleship was directly below us. You could see it just below the water's surface. It's so sad to know that the men entombed inside died in a terrible assault that stole their lives, but in return, pretty much galvanized our nation. Then, looking at the massive marble wall with their names engraved was heart-rendering. Joshua and I spent a good half-hour on the memorial before heading back on the next shuttle.
The USS Arizona Memorial
The entrance of the Memorial
Joshua looking at the sunken ArizonaParts of the ship, like this one, stuck out of the water
The giant marble wall with the names of the men entombed in the battleship
The Battleship Missouri behind JoshuaOn the deck of the "Mighty Mo", the Japanese signed a surrender agreement ending the Pacific war
We went back to the hotel, packed up and checked out. Before leaving, I stood on the lanai in our room and admired the view of the ocean once more. I shed a tear or two. I was sad that it was our last day. We had a great 8 days in Hawaii!
We drove to eat lunch at a restaurant in downtown Honolulu called "La Marina Sailing Club" that was recommended by one of our guide books. We weren't too impressed, but we sat down and ordered anyway. During the hour before lunch, I could feel a headache coming on, but I took a couple of Tylenol in the car hoping it would go away. As we sat there waiting for our food to come, a terrible, massive migraine hit me really hard. I told Josh I was going to the car to lay down while he ate. He could box up my food and I'd eat it later. I reclined the chair, threw a sweatshirt over my head (for less sound and light), and tried to sleep it off. When Josh came out, he told me he was going to drive around and sight-see as I rested. I think it was between and hour and two hours before I came out of it, and Joshua was halfway up the western leeward coast of Oahu. We pulled over to sit on one of the beaches and lay in the sand for awhile. I think we both fell asleep. My conclusion? We must've been a little bit worn-out from vigorously sight-seeing the past week.
After feeling rested, we made our way back to Downtown Honolulu. We wanted to take a tour of the Iolani Palace, the only example of a royal palace in the United States. The Hawaiian Islands were a kingdom until 1893, and in 1882 Hawaii's last king, David Kalakaua ordered this palace to be built to show the world that Hawaii had a monarchy just as grand as any other. It contains the thrones of King Kalakaua and his successor (and sister) Queen Lil'uokalani. But by the time we got there, it was already closed, so we walked around admiring it from outside.
Across the street from the palace is the King Kamehameha Statue which pays tribute to the Big Island's chief who united the Hawaiian Islands into one kingdom at the turn of the 18th century.
Iolani Palace
King Kamehameha Statue
Queen Lil'uokalani StatueShe wrote the song "Aloha 'Oe" and was a baptized member of the LDS church
It was dusk, and we decided there wasn't any more we could do that day, so we went to the airport to check in even though it was a little early. We had a few hours to kick around at the airport, so we browsed a few stores and had a nice dinner at one of the airport restaurants. We reminisced on our week in Hawaii and thought about the day we'd come back again, maybe to one of the other islands.
Our flight left at 9:30 pm on Wednesday night..... and we didn't get back into Michigan until 11:30 pm on Thursday night! We were so exhausted from the small amount of sleep we got on our flights back. We crashed at the Marriott Metro-Airport Hotel and slept until 11:15 am the next morning! My parents and our kids came to pick us up after we checked out. It was good to see them again and be back home, but we'll never forget the wonderful, amazing trip we had to Oahu for our 15th wedding anniversary.
It took us between 3 and 4 days to get back onto Michigan time again. I especially had really bad jet lag! Plus we lost a night of sleep as we flew back (I can't sleep on planes). But it was nice to be back with the kids again, and still have most of the summer ahead of us.
Our next big trip?? Don't know yet.... We've been brainstorming where we want to go for our 20th anniversary in five years. Any ideas?
1 comment:
What an awesome trip y'all had! Looks like so much fun! For your next trip check out Bermuda! Went there for our honeymoon (my mom & her family are natives so I grew up hearing such wonderful things about it). It was gorgeous!
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