Hawaii Day 5

We had to wake up early today to get down to Honolulu for Pearl Harbor. We’d heard that standby tickets weren’t difficult to get, and we wanted to see this cool site. When we got there, a little after eight o’clock, there was already a significant line to tour the USS Arizona. Worse, pretty much everything is changing and under construction. Still, we hopped in the line and were surprised that the 8:30 tour took about half of the people in the standby line. After another 30 minutes, we were happy to make the nine o’clock tour.  

Waiting in line wasn't too bad.

There was a short boat ride out to the ship, and then a reverent 30 minutes aboard. We walked quietly around, communicating only in whispers. Most of the folks on our tour were pretty good, but at one point, the ranger stopped some talkers by reminding them that there we were at a National Graveyard with soldiers buried below us. It was a moving few minutes as we looked down from the monument constructed directly over the ship. You could see the general shape of the ship, with buoys marking each end of the Arizona. There were even some puffer fish and a ray that we spotted swimming around the sunken ship. We really enjoyed it and were glad that we’d come.

We definitely felt reverent at Pearl Harbor.

We had no idea that we would be walking right above the boat remains.

The kids had read a ton about Pearl Harbor before we came, so it was very impactful for them.

Dax especially knew a ton about this monument.

It was such a neat experience.

When we got back to shore, we watched the movie that went with the tour. We were surprised that there is a lot of actual footage of the attack, including the explosion of the Arizona when its main armory was hit by an armor piercing missile. We learned so much, and the boys each reported three facts to earn a Junior Ranger badge, because that program is under construction, too. Finally, we walked through the museum, which gave us even more information. We were impressed with how even-handed the presentation was, with no heroes or villains, but lots of information about the individuals involved on both sides of the attack.

This ranger was one of the kindest we have met.

We ate a quick lunch in the car and then drove to a man-made beach called Lagoon 4. This swimming hole was built for the upscale hotels outside Honolulu. However, in Hawaii, private beaches are illegal, so anyone can visit. This particular cove was a nice swimming pool, but there were no waves for body surfing, and no fish for snorkeling. It was just a really large pool. Even so, we had fun for a little while.

Not much to do here, but we had fun splashing and swimming together.

After the lagoon, we headed back across the island. We’d driven on about every road on Oahu this trip, so that we could see it all, and we wanted to cross the island to Waimea Beach. We were lucky to find parking after only a few minutes waiting. However, as we walked over to the beach, they made an announcement about large swells on the North Shore. The beach certainly looked rough, with massive waves crashing into the beach, which is quite steep in Waimea. The lifeguard suggested that we move down to the far end of the beach where it was calmer. Then Dad, Dax, and Seth did some body surfing and built a sand castle, while Mom and Mark enjoyed watching in the warm sand. We spent an hour or so, and when we were thoroughly covered in sand, we loaded into the car for the ride back to the house. 

This beach was nice, but in winter the waves started to get too big.

We found the calmest place and let the kids try boogie boarding.

They preferred body surfing instead.

Dax absolutely loved being in the water.

Seth and Dad built some sand castles to be washed away by the waves.

Seth was happy to be at the beach.

Dad was good to play with the boys. And the water color is gorgeous!

We still had a lot to do, because we had to clean up and get things packed and ready to fly to the Big Island in the morning. But first, Mom had planned a nice anniversary dinner for Dad and her. We ordered pizza and McDonalds for the boys, and then set them watching a movie. Dinner was lovely at Turtle Bay with the sunset. We had a great week on Oahu.

Mom and Dad are celebrating 20 years!

It was a lovely dinner together!