HAWAII!!!! Day Two

Day Two was devoted to Pearl Harbor. I had reserved an Arizona ticket back in May as soon as they let me (2 months in advance). Right before they realized that the Arizona memorial was broken :( That didn't stop me!

On The Bus!

My ticket for the Arizona tour was at 2:30 so I went out that way at about 10am so I could see the rest of what there was to see! Turns out there is a LOT to see, and spend money on!! I had heard from several folks that the USS Missouri was good, so I opted to do that instead of the Bowfin Submarine or the air museum. I was super tempted for the museum because you know I love airplanes and such. But the USS Missouri seemed more appropriate for the day. So I paid and hopped on the shuttle over to Ford Island.

Arizona from USS Missouri

Steve, my incredibly knowledgeable and professional tour guide

guns up front

food

bunks

officer's office

classroom :) 

chart room

captain's view

hey, I was just up there!

The USS Missouri did not participate in the battle at Pearl Harbor, however, it WAS where the war ended!! I stood right where the surrender was signed. Pretty cool!!

From there I went back over to the main park area and got my audio tour set up. It was all fascinating but I was getting more and more tired and hot as time went on. It was also all very emotional, remembering and hearing details and such.

Arizona's anchor - HUGE!!

USS Missouri and Arizona

Aircraft Carrier docked at Pearl Harbor - it's still a functioning military base!

close up of the carrier - notice the guy for scale size!

Then I watched a video about the bombing and got on the boat to head out in to the harbor.

boat piloted by actual navy

USS Missouri from the water

Arizona Memorial

The docks were still there for all the battleships
the Nevada was the only one who got moving that day - didn't get far though

me on the boat - the bridge to Ford Island behind me

submarine Bowfin - you could tour it as well

I was exhausted, hot and grumpy by this point so I left. I probably could've seen so much more but I just didn't have it in me!

I went back to the hotel and cleaned up. I decided I wanted to see more than I could see on foot so I rented a bike and rode around for about 90 minutes. I hadn't been on a bike in years so the first bit was probably very entertaining to watch!!

I don't remember but it was cool looking and became a good shot

rode down to a marina

a lagoon/cove thing in front of some hotels

have I mentioned how beautiful it is here!?

my bike!

Day Three was my most anticipated day so I went back to the hotel and rested up!

HAWAII!!! Day One

So, in the midst of packing and such, I went to Hawaii!! I have been planning this trip for over a year, had plane tickets, etc so I took the trip and didn't think about the stress at home once!! (well, maybe once, but really, I didn't like I could have!)

Day One started WAY early in the morning. Dad drove me to LAX at about 6:30 am. That's a 4am start from Big Bear!! The flight was uneventful and after a nap and some reading, I caught my first glimpse of state #45 (on my list). I had a short layover in Kauai so I technically saw two islands :)

Kauai

Oahu

Oahu

Pearl Harbor from the air

A tree at the airport. I had no idea that just about every tree  on the island was worth taking a picture!

I quickly found the bus stop and didn't have to wait too long. The Bus was interesting, as public transportation tends to be, but clean and cheap and I always felt safe. And stopped a block from my hotel :) I checked in and assessed my choices of things to do. It was mid afternoon so I had time to accomplish something, but which thing?! I chose Diamond Head.

I had just enough time, I thought, to get there before they stopped letting people on the trail. I walked back to the bus stop and waited for the correct bus. Again, didn't take long. What I didn't know is that the bus doesn't actually go to the trailhead. I was expecting the walk up to the top, but not the walk up to the start! Oh well, it was worth it and it wasn't "too" bad ;) And I ended up getting there with plenty of time. I do tend to walk fast!

tunnel I had to walk through to get to the trailhead

trailhead

view 

different view

waikiki

can't express how beautiful

lighthouse

me with lighthouse and ocean

stairs - so many stairs

tunnel on the mountain

leading up to the tunnel

more stairs

view of the other side (part of the way up)

much of the trail looked like this - what wasn't stairs anyway

I went back to the hotel to freshen up. Then I went back out to get some food and explore Waikiki a little. Waikiki is basically the beach at Honolulu. So many names!

boards - I did not partake

another tree

hulu peeps on the beach

SOOO pretty!!!

looking the other direction

water! this is about all the beach I did

so pretty, just right there by the road

I went back to the hotel to rest up for Day Two!!