Let me start this story from the very beginning. Way back in September, just as I was getting
really tired of studying and really, really starting to miss my Chris, my
wonderful Aunt Kathy asked me if I wanted to join her, my Uncle Dale, and their
daughter Hannah on a trip to Hawaii.
Dale wanted to be on Oahu for the 70th anniversary of the
Pearl Harbor attacks and they were going to make a family vacation of it.
My initial reaction was, of course I want to
go! Then the other side of my brain kicked
in and said, “Are you crazy, you’re already going on one amazing vacation while
you’re in the US and your husband is stuck Afghanistan. How can you even think of going on
another?” So, I did what I always do
when I can’t talk over something with my husband, I called my mom. I asked her if I was crazy for wanting to
go. She told me that Chris would be
upset if he knew I passed up this opportunity just because I felt guilty. She, of course, was right. Days later, when I was finally able to talk
to Chris, he said exactly what Mom said he would, “Go have, have fun.” Then he added, “Just don’t send me any
pictures. I don’t want to think about
how much better any place would be than here until I’m home.”
Fast forward a few months.
After spending a few lovely days with Dale, Kathy, and Hannah in Denver,
we boarded the plane in a Colorado blizzard and headed west to the sun and sand
of Hawaii. We arrived in Honolulu
relatively late on Thursday night. We
had just enough time to pack our luggage into the rental car and head toward
our hotel before the sun set. We stopped
along the way at an authentic Ramen restaurant for a delicious dinner. We arrived at our beautiful penthouse condo
and collapsed into bed. A 6 hour time
difference can be a real challenge!
Uncle Dale and I were up bright and early the next morning
(once again, thank you time difference).
We sat on the balcony, enjoyed several cups of coffee, and watched the
surfers tackle the waves. Our condo was
located on the world-famous Makaha surfing beach on the far west side of the
island. The beach was quiet, un-crowded
and beautiful! So beautiful, in fact,
that we spent most of the day soaking up the sun and trying not to get swallowed
up by the giant waves. We did manage to
pull ourselves away from the beach for a little grocery shopping before
returning to watch the sunset. We also
managed to catch a glimpse of our very first sea turtles on our way back into
Makaha for dinner. It was so cool to see
them just hanging out on the beach.
Saturday morning, I joined Dale and Kathy for a trip to the
local farmers’ market. We found loads of
fresh produce, and a few gifts to take back to our friends and family.
Saturday afternoon, we all loaded in the
rental car for a trip to the Dole Pineapple plantation. We took a ride on the VERY cheesy Pineapple
Express train to see the inner workings of the plantation. Then, we took a long walk through Dole’s
beautiful botanical garden. The audio
guide provided information on the native Hawaiian traditions associated with each
of the plants, flowers, fruits and trees.
This was by far the best part of the Dole Plantation. We finished up our visit with a trip through
the enormous gift shop and sampled the supposedly-famous pineapple whip (kind
of like pineapple gelato, but not quite).
We finished our day with a hula show on Waikiki beach. Who needs to pay hundreds of dollars per
person to watch a show from the back of a crowded resort when you can watch up
close and personal for free? I even took
a couple of videos for those of you who weren’t able to make the trip with us.
Sunday morning was one of the highlights of the trip for
me. I got the opportunity to use my
newly-acquired PADI scuba certification to check out Hawaii’s amazing
underwater life. We started at Black Rock,
which I found out later was in plain view of our condo. We dove down under Black Rock, a large lava
finger sticking out into the ocean, and then made our way back up the side of
the rock over the next thirty minutes. Our second dive was along the reef that
protects Makaha’s harbor. We saw all
sorts of colorful fish and coral. The
crown jewel of the day was an octopus sighting!
I can’t even describe how unbelievable it was to see the octopus change
color to blend in with its surroundings as it moved along the reef. Unfortunately, my underwater camera wasn’t
rated to go as deep as we were planning to dive, so I don’t have any
pictures. I promise there will be
snorkeling pictures later.
After spending most of the rest of Sunday recovering from my
dives (it’s exhausting swimming for that long), I was happy for an early start
to our action-packed Monday. Monday was
finally the day we would get to see Pearl Harbor. We arrived just as the park opened only to
find out they were already out of tickets for the USS Arizona Memorial. A little disheartened at having to come back
the next day, we decided to visit everything we could so our visit on Tuesday
would be as sort as possible.
We started with the USS Bowfin submarine. I now know that I could never work on a
submarine – I am entirely too tall. I
would hit my head on everything! I’m not
sure how Dale even made it through the tour.
He has at least six inches on me.
However, it was fascinating to see how everything from the kitchen to
the torpedo room was crammed into such a small space. Next, we walked through the exhibits about
the Pearl Harbor attack itself. The
historical accounts, old uniforms, and even a Japanese torpedo paint a clear
picture of what Pearl Harbor must have been like, not only during the attack,
but in the days leading up to it as well.
At some point during our walk through the exhibits, Kathy
managed to talk a park ranger out of a few tickets for the USS Arizona
memorial. I don’t know how she did it,
but she is amazing! We finished the
museum with just enough time to get in line for the short boat ride over to the
memorial. The memorial is very well
done. Gleaming white concrete
respectfully straddles the final resting place of over a thousand young sailors
and marines, allowing visitors to peer down into the water at the rusting
ship’s hull. The wall listing their
names is a haunting reminder of how many lives were lost on that ship alone.
Upon returning to the visitors’ center, we boarded a bus for
a short trip to Ford Island. Ford Island
is home to the Battleship Missouri and the Pacific Aviation Museum; our next
two stops. Our tour of the Battleship
Missouri started with thirty minutes of color commentary care of a feisty…
we’ll call him feisty… older gentleman.
He told us all about the Missouri’s huge guns (they shake the entire
deck when fired) and the day the Japanese surrendered WWII on the ship’s
deck. After our tour, I took a quick
look around under the deck of the ship.
At least it started out as a quick look around. I got lost somewhere between the library and
the kitchen. The only way out was to
follow the arrows all the way through the ship.
Oh well, it was interesting to see all the ship’s facilities. My favorite was the dentist’s office. 
Our final Pearl Harbor stop of the day was at the Pacific
Aviation Museum. The museum’s first
hanger was filled with airplanes from WWII, the Korean War, and Vietnam. The second hanger was home to the museum’s
repair shop and several more modern aircraft.
Both of the museum’s hangers sustained damage during the attack on Pearl
Harbor, and bullet holes were still visible in some of the small glass
windows. We wrapped up our evening with
a walk through China town and dinner at Cheese Burger in Paradise (seemed appropriate
given our location).
Tuesday morning started out nice and slow – coffee on the
balcony and a big brunch before hitting the road for the North Shore. Along the way, we made a stop at Schofield
Barracks to check out the Tropic Lightening Museum/ Dale was looking for information on my great
Uncle Richard. He was killed on Okinawa
during WWII and he, along with one of his brothers and my grandfather on the
other side of the family, passed through Schofield barracks during their time
in the Army during WWII. Kathy, Hannah,
and I read the exhibits while Dale talked with the museum researchers.
Our desire for historical knowledge satisfied, we headed for
the North Shore. We stopped in several
little towns to shop and stroll along the beaches. The waves on the North Shore were HUGE. The lifeguards on the beaches wouldn’t let
anyone near with water without a body board and flippers. This was not the place for a casual swim. We continued driving around the island,
stopping at Turtle Bay just in time for sunset.
On the way back to the condo, we stopped at the neighborhood shrimp
truck for the best shrimp I have ever had – hands down.
It’s a good thing Tuesday morning was a lazy morning,
because Wednesday morning certainly was not.
Dale and I boarded the bus outside our condo at 4:45am to make our way
to the Pearl Harbor 70th anniversary commemoration ceremony. I posted about the ceremony here, so I’ll let
you hop on over to that post for the details.
After the ceremony, we met up with Kathy and Hannah and drove to Hanauma
Bay for an afternoon of snorkeling.
Hanauma Bay is a Marine Life Conservation Area and one of the top snorkeling
areas on Oahu. Hannah, Dale and I took
to the water and enjoyed looking at the fish and coral. Hannah and I even got to see a sea turtle up
close! So cool.
Our final day in Hawaii started out with another leisurely
breakfast and a final day of watching the surfers and the sunrise. Then, it was time to cross the last few
“must-dos” off our list. Hannah and I
started by climbing to the rim of Diamond Head Crater for a spectacular view of
Honolulu. We rewarded ourselves for a
successful climb with a nice, big snow cone!
Our next stop was Punchbowl National Cemetery. It was, here, once again surrounded by the
graves of so many, that the hundreds of years of European history I had been
absorbing during our travels came full circle.
All the conquests, kings, and revolutions had culminated in the events
of WWII. Suddenly, history wasn’t just
happening in Europe. It had spilled over
onto American soil, and this cemetery was a solemn reminder of how connected we
all are. This cemetery, much like the
cemetery at Normandy, was meticulously maintained. Marble headstones clearly marked the
thousands of graves spread out over the idyllic hills. Huge murals depicting many of the most
significant battles of the three American wars in the Pacific (WWII, Korea and
Vietnam) circled the Court of Honor.
These murals were what really connected Punchbowl to Normandy in my
mind.
With the Hawaiian story of WWII completed, we drove east
toward Nu’uanu Pali lookout, a location recommended to Dale and Kathy by a
couple they met at a local church. The
recommendation was spot on. What a
view!! The lookout is at the top of a
ridge separating the eastern shore from the rest of the island. The narrow pass makes for VERY windy
conditions. I could hardly stand in a
few places because the wind was so strong.
Our final stop of the vacation was for dinner on the way to
the airport. We took another local recommendation
and ended up at a wonderful walk-up shop called Sweet Home Waimanalo. To say the food was amazing is an understatement. The best part - purple sweet potatoes!
All in all, this was an amazing vacation. I can’t wait to go back with Chris some day! Check out the pictures tab for the entire photo album.
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