We started our trip on a fabulous note: free personal movies on the 9 hour flight! YAY! And yes, we watched the movies together by saying "one, two, three, PRESS PLAY" and listening in on our individual ear phones.. needless to say, these movies made the flight seem much shorter.
We spent 3 nights in Waikiki on the South Shore of Oahu and then 2 nights at the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore. All I can say is PARADISE has been found. This is truely a place that every American should make it a priority to see.
Waikiki was to me the "Disneyland" of Hawaii: tons of tourists, high end shopping (Coach, Hermes, etc), and "fine" dining (Cheesecake Factory.. haha). Not really my idea of what Hawaii would be like, but never the less, the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets that I have ever seen. The public beach was beautiful and a popular surf spot for the South side of the island. Our home for the 3 nights was the Queen Kapiolani, an older hotel undergoing a much needed renovation, but clean and comfy nonetheless. We were only a couple of miles from the famous Diamondhead National Park, an extinct volcanic crater turned military base, so the first morning we jogged the two miles to the base of the crater, then hiked to the top for some spectacular views. Here are my fav pics from the Waikiki visit..
Day 2 in Waikiki meant Pearl Harbor or bust... we were already up at 4am, so why not get our morning jog in and then head to the Pearl City for an awe-inspiring, live in person, history lesson. By 730am local time, we were standing on the very spot that those brave men and women were standing when the Japanese planes began flying over and destroying American ships, subs, and lives. I can't tell you the eerie and nostalgic feelings that swept over me and I watched the introduction video before we made our way out to the USS Arizona Memorial. We had the opportunity to talk to the daughter of a Naval DR who was only 5 years old on that fateful December day. She said she remembers hearing the planes (their house was less than 1 mile from the actual attack) and bombs and smelling the fires and explosions for days. Her father was not injured but stayed on base to help care for those who were. Her father wrote a book about his feelings of the days and weeks leading up to the actual attack as there is TONS of evidence that the US govt knew that the attack was bound to happen. Anyhow, I'm sure it's interesting reading and I've written the title down as a "must read", one day. Here are the amazing pictures (not so amazing because I'm not a great photographer, but amazing because of the history) from our visit to the Pearl City. I must comment about this first picture. This is a really zoomed in shot from the Memorial to Freedom Island (lots of water in between were I was standing taking this picture and the island where this sailor is standing). What you are looking at is a sailor (I think... he's got the right uniform for it) who was at the Pearl Harbor memorial on Freedom Island. He was kneeling at the Memorial and then as soon as I clicked he stood up. I can only imagine what he was thinking while kneeling at this moment. My romantic heart and mind wants me to think that he was praying for those souls/fellow sailors gone before him and buried under the sea. Who knows...
These photos are of the USS Arizona in all of her glory under the water. The oil is still rising to the surface of the harbor from the main tankers in the vessel. Estimates say about 8L of oil leak out everyday, but this oil is as pure as it gets because in the 30s and 40s no additives were put in it. The sailors giving tours that day say that these oil droplets are actually "black tears" from the fallen soldiers entombed in the ship below.
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