This is our last full day in Hawaii -- we leave late tomorrow night. :( So I went out on the balcony and enjoyed another sunrise. And wanted to make the most of our day.
another paradise sunrise
hum, should we stick around the hotel and beach???
Again we went to breakfast on the lanai, (this will never get old) after visiting and planning our day -- we separated. Angel wanted to hit the beach and shops. Princess, Lily and I were off to explore the Pearl Harbor Memorial. Angel had already visited there and didn’t think she could handle another visit, as it is a sad place.
As we collected our minivan at the valet, our good looking attendant asked where we were headed. He asked us to pull forward and to wait on him, he had something for us -- he brought us leis with the string cut so we could toss them at the memorial -- what a classy hotel to have such thoughtful staff.
The drive out to the Memorial area was quick with no traffic. The sky was awesome with few clouds. We could tell it would be getting warmer out. At 9:15, the huge parking lot at the memorial area was already filling up.
security was out in force
When you go you can’t have any bags with you - you have to check them at a little trailer off to the right. The memorial area is a National Park and staffed by Park Rangers. We got tickets to the 10:15 movie and boat to the Arizona Memorial. They had great audio tour guides that were narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis.
At the entrance there is a global map, you grasp the magnitude of World War when you see it all laid at your feet. And to think that this was the location that finally put the U.S. in the war and drug our country out of the Great Depression.
it was even impossible to get a picture of the whole thing
There were a lot of people milling about, surprisingly lots of Japanese tourists with their tour guides. It was a little disconcerting, but I reminded myself that they were not responsible for their forefathers' actions.
We waited in a long line under the shade for our timed entrance. A large group of Tennessee folks were in front of us. It had been over a week since we were around a lot of other Southerners -- comforting to hear a familiar accent.
The theater was huge - it was stadium seating and cool. When the lights went out, I almost lost my favorite lipstick when my pocket contents fell out -- you never know the necessity of a purse until you don’t have one. A camera, wallet, phone, etc, all in your pockets - no wonder guys travel lighter than we do. Minimalist, I am not. I won't complain when they ask me to put something in my purse again. Lily and Princess were smart and bought something and had little shopping bags.
The movie was great -- a park ranger came on first and explained the “rules” of the memorial area and prepared us for what we would see on the Arizona Memorial. Then wartime news reels gave us a history lesson on world events that led up to the attack at Pearl Harbor. Financial crises, depressions throughout Europe and Asia, German expansionism, Chinese revolution, Russian revolution, etc., it’s a wonder war didn’t erupt before then. Politics at it’s finest -- send in the ships and bombers.
Then the movie had clips of Hawaii pre-attack, the actual attack and aftermath, explaining what happened and where, and how the people of Hawaii, military and non-military, reacted. As a history buff, I have watched many many history shows and read numerous books about WWII, but it’s a whole other story when you are sitting where they actually flew over and attacked. Even in this cold modern movie theater you could feel the presence of something unexplainable.
After the movie, it had gotten cloudier and we went out the opposite door, very Disney-ish -- the anteroom waiting area, the theater and then “the ride”. The movie set the tone, the ferry ride had a female sailor at the helm. She dictated the rules of when and where we could take pictures and what we could do in our 15 minutes allotted on the Arizona Memorial. (FYI no bathrooms after you enter the theater.) Thankfully I did not get ill on the short boat ride over.
When we got off we were not allowed to take photos of the entrance, but could on the way out. The Arizona Memorial is like a little island built over the Arizona’s wreckage. After passing through the entrance that had a volunteer and flags, you entered the open air memorial. Yes, there was a line of people to the left, my first impression was not the crowd in a small confined space but the smell of oil -- it hit you hard when you walked in.
Leaking from the Arizona was 50 year old fuel -- oil, petrol, gas, this is said to be the tears of the buried sailors. Not a lot of talking here. It was solemn, very peaceful and calming, in a weird reverent way. At the opposite end, there was the memorial wall, with the names of the dead and the survivors who were interred here since then. People placed their uncut leis on the poles. We tossed our cut leis on the water.
the ship that still weeps
you really don't notice the people
After taking a few more photographs, we were the ones lined up on the left and taking pictures getting on the ferry to go back. Yes, on the ride back the crowd was even quieter than on the ride over there.
Princess and I used our audio guides and explored the two museums -- of course we started with the last one first. “Attack” had torpedoes, the “purple” decoding machine, the messages showing where they knew something was going on but failed to investigate or do anything. Photos of the attack and the aftermath were graphic. Recordings of survivors describing in their own words what happened. The museum was small but very effective. At the end was an exhibit of what happened to survivors and heros of the attack.
The “first” museum we should have visited was the “Road to War”. Its exhibits have what was happening in Hawaii prior to the attack. You have to remember that Hawaii, aka the Sandwich Islands, wasn’t even a state then. But it was a huge military base for the U.S. protecting our entire Western Coast, not a lot has changed in that regard. At the end was a letter that FDR had written to the Japanese Premier on the day before the attack -- ie the ships were already on their way.
Also at the memorial site was the Remembrance Circle, Aloha Court, and the big anchor from the Arizona. There was a topographical map of Oahu showing the path of the planes and the timing of the attack waves.
fyi that guy stood about 6 foot 2
After a few hours here, we hit the gift shop and got a great signed coffee table book and decided it was time to leave. It was a very sad place, I couldn’t stay all day and see the rest. Something else to see the next time.
A friend from home, Hunter, was in the Navy and has a great friend, Sailor, who lives on Oahu and works nearby. Hunter told me about him and I had been in contact with Sailor before we got to Hawaii and while we were here. He gave us great tips and suggestions for our adventure. Getting to meet him and hang out with him the rest of the day was our greatest treat of the trip and proved to be one of my top lifetime travel experiences ever.
He recommended Schooners, a marina side restaurant near the memorial. We got there and ordered for him also. Seating was upstairs, open air, and overlooked boats and the harbor area -- I so love Hawaii.
read carefully -- substitute starch --- fries or onion rings? who taught them nutrition class?
I love the pirate motiff
Our sweet waitress had a beautiful ring on -- a sunshine shell ring, she said she even surfed with it on. Men sometimes have perfect timing -- Sailor showed up as his hamburger was set on the table.
Hunter gets major brownie points for this day and he wasn’t even here. I have lots of friends who are treasures to me. I can see how Sailor is one of Hunter’s treasured friends. He has a great smile, an infectious personality, and a good heart. (Also I was duly impressed that he had been to over 63 countries.)
He worked with the military here and his wife is a nurse. He is a master scuba diver, a real estate investor and a jack of all trades. They travel a lot. He is originally from Chicago (one of my favorite U.S. cities). While we ate he told us lots about Hawaii and his adventures.
Before he arrived, my beach goers -- Lily and Princess -- were not too enthused at first about spending the day with Sailor and not at the beach, but once they met him, they were as entranced as I was. Let the adventuring begin. I hated it that Angel wasn’t with us, but “she was happy” -- shopping along the boulevard and hanging out at the beach.
Sailor, a retired chief, drove us in his Prius with the windows down around the real Pearl Harbor Naval Base (which is still a major navy base) and Hickam Air Force Base (where my great uncle’s brother was stationed during the Korean War). I cannot tell what I saw on this adventurous day in detail too much for ya’ll, as I don’t want to reveal any national secrets but lets just say that those Navy Boys know how to show a girl a good time. Also, it never hurts your ego to have a bunch of hot young men checking you out like you were a cupcake.
We saw the “House that Jack Built” which was a 1932 silo structure formerly used as a dive tank for training submariners. We saw submarines and battleships. We hit the PX and got some goodies (no tax -- love it, now do they have a mall on base too?).
We didn't take a lot of pictures due to the security concerns and we didn't want to get busted and kicked off base, but we saw different things. Lots of ship equipment scattered about and areas for scuba diving and large boat repair.
On Hickam Base, the grounds seemed much more residential and upscale. We got a little turned around, but it was fortuitous because we ended up on the street I had seen in a documentary -- about underground spaces and bunkers at Pearl. Wicked, we were on the actual street from the show where there was an underground bunker under officers' homes. This was where the show said they took the officers’ wives and children and other civilians during the attack. Remember, this was the age before cell phones and rapid communication -- they didn’t know what was happening or how long it was going to be.
There is a building that is still damaged and riddled from the attack in 1941 -- he said that they were not going to fix it as it’s a reminder to be forever vigilant.
As we drove around he told us tons of stories about his Navy days and some encounters with the Navy Seals. This guy is definitely not boring. He showed us, Southern Belles, a great time and we had a truly amazing Naval experience. Glad to know our tax dollars are being put to good use ;)
Thank you again Sailor, I will be sending you another package after I visit my favorite Southern city and birthplace soon. I hope to hook up with you again next year on my trip and maybe your sweet wife can come out with us too. Thank you Hunter, you have a great lifelong friend, who is a truly good man. I can say I have a totally different insight now about Hunter and the life our Navy boys lead. I have always helped out our servicemen in my profession and I will continue to do so.
We ended up back at Schooners late in the afternoon, and Sailor swindled the manager into taking our picture. The manager led us around to different places. He was trying to be a professional photographer -- on the lower deck, in front of the sign, on the stairwell, with the flower beds -- and I thought my mom was bad about taking photos.
He had warned us traffic was going to be a hassle, and he was right. It took us forever to get back to the hotel and we barely had time to change for our “fancy” dinner. We had made reservations at the Beach House Restaurant located in the Moana Westin Hotel (right down from our hotel and another historic Hawaiian Hotel).
It is always a treat for me to wear my Hawaiian dress, with my flip flops and a flower in my hair -- but it is a bigger treat to get to walk to that restaurant along the beach with sand underfoot.
The Beach House was an AWESOME place to have our last official Hawaiian dinner. They seated (super cushioned chairs) us early on the porch -- everything is outside here. We were given menus and instead of a wine list - a wine iPad -- how new age. On the iPad, it told the history of the joint and the islands. Also you could select the wine by color, region, price etc. I really don’t need that much information, as I am not a connoisseur. I know what I like and that's about it -- so the Ben Marco Malbec it was.
Our choices make my mouth water -Yummy-- Hamakua tomato caprese, Nalo field greens with pears and nuts, chicken, steak, creamed spinach, whipped parmesan potatoes, onion rings and my favorite - Khuku corn with garlic cayenne butter -- and our Big Island Waitress wouldn’t let us order the mac and cheese but it looked really really good. She said wait for the desserts.
Though we did fill up on the above mentioned delicacies, we still made room for dessert - I might not be fitting in that Hawaiian dress nor red polka dot bikini again for a while but who cares - when in Rome..... Maui pineapple upside down cake, Coconut lemon Haupia cake, Kona coffee spring rolls, and Hawaiian chocolate volcano cake -- volcano cake in Hawaii, how funny and ironic --- I love good food.
Let’s just say there is a reason this is one of the top 10 restaurants in Honolulu, that I would love to return to. Princess said Uncle's from our first night would be a repeat too with their excellent Mahi.
The Moana Hotel is also one of the oldest hotels along the beach and still very upscale, but they don’t have the same lei greeters (or hot valets) like the Royal Hawaiian.
A lobby grand pianist, a museum upstairs and a little covered alcove with rocking chairs were some of the highlights.
yes, we had a slight sarong problem - we bought way too many
After overeating, we took a constitutional -- walking up the shopping boulevard --
car shopping hummmmmm, I have seen them test drive them at the factory
And our obligatory stop at the Hard Rock Cafe -- earning a shot glass anyone? (This time we didn’t earn it, we just bought it - we were too stuffed from supper.) I did like the orange jeeplike “I got lei’d” vehicle at the front door.
love the coconut trees out front :)
Our last night in paradise...... Honolulu, I will be back.
another great sunset/moonrise even from the minivan window
