Hawaii

Paula and I have had a wonderful day today. We mastered the bus system and made our way from Waikiki to the USS Arizona and Pearl Harbor. It was absolutely amazing. Have any of you ever been to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC? When you received your ticket to enter the area, there was a a person affected by Dec. 7, 1941, on the back of your ticket. Mine was a women who was a nurse and who took care of many of the casualties after the bombings.

Pearl Harbor is on the bottom of Oahu and right next to the city of Honolulu. We heard several planes flying overhead from the Honolulu Airport and I tried to imagine what it must have been like to be there on that day. The USS Arizona was completely sunk and 1177 men on board were lost. You can still see parts of the ship sticking up from under the water. I think one of the most amazing things is that about 1.5 pints of oil leak every day from the ship. There were something like 40 million gallons that were in the machine of the ship when it sunk and they continue to leak.

After visiting Pearl Harbor, we were able to take a bus over to Diamond Head Crater, which is a dormant volcano that used to be used as a battallion to protect the island. We climbed 200 something stairs to the top for gorgeous views of the city. While hiking, we also met a group of people from Nashville, TN, on a school trip. It was quite ironic!

This evening, we relaxed and did some shopping and had a nice dinner! Tomorrow, we are going to the beach in the morning and are leaving for the Polynesian Cultural Center for a full day around 12pm. There, we will learn about local cultural and go to a luau and a full buffet in the evening. Wednesday morning, we are going to have a surfing lesson and give it a try!

Luckily, Honolulu has the best service to the airport. They have an option where you can drop off your bags at two locations (luckily, across one is right across the street from us at the Hilton), and they can remotely check you in and and transfer your bags for you and deliver them to the airport! That way, we won't have to see our luggage again until Nashville!

I hope you all are doing well!