We are getting used to these late days. Maybe because we are starting to get really tired - and Delma's sinus problems are starting to take hold. We get up, pack up and check out of the hotel around 10:00am. Delma wanted to try to buy a new iPad3 since the sales tax is almost half of what it is in Oklahoma. We called both Best Buys and 3 Apple stores - no luck.
OK, so back to Waikiki we go. We still had a few things to shop for, so we headed back to the International Marketplace. We found a few things we felt we had to have and really enjoyed walked around the International Marketplace one more time.
Then off to the Cheesecake Factory for our last lunch in Hawaii. I'm sorry Delma just didn't enjoy it. She is getting worse by the hour. Getting on the plane with congested sinus's would not be pleasant. Hopefully Zyrtek-D will do the trick.
We get to the airport around 4:00pm, check in the rental car, and head towards the gate. By the time we get to security, we have 2 hours to wait. Delma stays outside security for another hour, while I go on inside. Not much to do, but I did try to copy all of the pictures taken during our trip to a 16g memory card. I didn't have much luck, so I'll ship them to Delma later on.
Finally it's time to board the plane. We knew we were in trouble when parents with 2 babies and 1 toddler sat down within 2 rows of us. In fact, the toddler sat behind me on his father's lap. Not only did we listen to crying babies all night (OK, most of the night), but I had a toddler who constantly kicked or banged the back of my seat. I finally managed to get about 1 hour of sleep. Not good. Delma was a little luckier, but we still had a rough night.
Got to Houston around 8:10am on March 24. Grabbed my bags and headed to the Cracker Barrel for a quick breakfast. Delma again didn't enjoy food much, but we tried. Back to the airport at 10:00am to drop Delma off. She had a 11:35am flight to Tulsa. With congestion, it was not going to be a good trip.
I got home and hit the bed. Slept for 3 hours. It was great. Called Delma at 2:05pm to see how her flight went. Not the best, but Chris was there to pick her up. They were just walking out of the Bartlesville Walmart with her new iPad 3. Not a bad end to the trip.
HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY, SIS! I had a great time.....I hope you did too!!
Saturday, March 24, 2012
March 22 - Ty Day and Southeast Oahu
We had another slow morning. It was fantastic. Delma called Ty (Kyce's friend) and set up a time to pick him up for the day. Yea!! We have a personal tour guide - we can get rid of the Garmin.
We picked Ty up around 10:00ish. We hadn't eaten breakfast yet, and I had read some great reviews about the island Malasadas (an Hawaiian donut). And, I had heard Leonard's Bakery was the best place to experience them. Ty said they were "OK", but off we went. Fortunately, the bakery was only a few blocks from Ty's apartment, so we decided to walk. Well, Ty was right; they were just OK. But, we could mark off our list (OK, really just mine) that we had tried them. To me, they were a doughy puffball....a little too much on the doughy side.
Now we are off to start our day. Our first stop was a look-out point over Maunalua Bay where some of the really expensive homes are. It was a great photo op for Delma and Ty.
Next stop - Halona Blow Hole.
Then on to Makapu'u Point.
Next stop, Ty and I had to climb up to that lighthouse. Delma wasn't feeling well and decided she would be really happy just people watching.
We made it to the top in 30 minutes.
Wow! Check out that hair.....and what's that stuff on my nose? Guess I didn't get the suntan lotion rubbed in all the way. Oh well, I tried - and still got a sunburn that day!!!
Back down from the mountain and on to Hanauma Bay. This is a beautiful shallow cove that is famous for snorkeling with sea life (turtles and fish) and spotting hump-back whales. It is also famous because it was where the Elvis movie Blue Hawaii was filmed.
Nice!!
Time to leave and head back to Waikiki. We had one last gift to purchase - a Harley Davidson cap for Christopher. That was quickly accomplished....now back to Ty's. We will pick up Michele and head to dinner at the open-air mall on Waikiki. We ate at a Japanese restaurant (can't remember the name) where they cook the meal in front of us. Delma had never eaten at such a restaurant, so it was great fun.
Another great day.
We picked Ty up around 10:00ish. We hadn't eaten breakfast yet, and I had read some great reviews about the island Malasadas (an Hawaiian donut). And, I had heard Leonard's Bakery was the best place to experience them. Ty said they were "OK", but off we went. Fortunately, the bakery was only a few blocks from Ty's apartment, so we decided to walk. Well, Ty was right; they were just OK. But, we could mark off our list (OK, really just mine) that we had tried them. To me, they were a doughy puffball....a little too much on the doughy side.
Now we are off to start our day. Our first stop was a look-out point over Maunalua Bay where some of the really expensive homes are. It was a great photo op for Delma and Ty.
Next stop - Halona Blow Hole.
Then on to Makapu'u Point.
Next stop, Ty and I had to climb up to that lighthouse. Delma wasn't feeling well and decided she would be really happy just people watching.
We made it to the top in 30 minutes.
Wow! Check out that hair.....and what's that stuff on my nose? Guess I didn't get the suntan lotion rubbed in all the way. Oh well, I tried - and still got a sunburn that day!!!
Back down from the mountain and on to Hanauma Bay. This is a beautiful shallow cove that is famous for snorkeling with sea life (turtles and fish) and spotting hump-back whales. It is also famous because it was where the Elvis movie Blue Hawaii was filmed.
Nice!!
Time to leave and head back to Waikiki. We had one last gift to purchase - a Harley Davidson cap for Christopher. That was quickly accomplished....now back to Ty's. We will pick up Michele and head to dinner at the open-air mall on Waikiki. We ate at a Japanese restaurant (can't remember the name) where they cook the meal in front of us. Delma had never eaten at such a restaurant, so it was great fun.
Another great day.
March 21 - North Shore and Polynesian Cultural Center
We had 3 things planned for today:
1. SLEEP IN: We got in late from the Hawaii (Big Island) trip and we needed some rest.
2. Drive up the middle of Oahu to the North Shore.
3. Check out the Polynesian Cultural Center
We were off to a great start. We didn't get up until 8:00....I couldn't believe Delma wasn't up at 5:30. She really did need to get some rest. We had a great breakfast at Denny's that morning and headed to the North Shore. We heard the biggest waves were at the North Shore and, during the winter months, they are at their peak (of course, December is the best.....and is when they have their big surfing tournaments). We stopped at the first of 3 beaches. The first was Haleiwa Beach Park. The park was beautiful. Hawaii does a fantastic job of maintaining the integrity and cleanliness of their beaches. We were not disappointed. Stayed long enough to get some fantastic pictures.
Yep, check out those matching Hawaiian shirts. We were twinkies for the day....and proud of it.
From there we drove to Pupukea Beach Park. More beautiful scenery/waves.
From there, on to Banzai Pipeline. This is were the yearly surfing tournaments occur in December (the waves can get as tall at 50 feet). During this trip, the waves were around 15-20 feet high. We caught some surfers "doing their thing".
It's amazing what these people can do. I've never had a desire to do it, but I have a lot of admiration for those people who do.
Now on to the Polynesian Cultural Center. We got there at 1:30. I bought the Ambassador Luau package, so all I knew was we would have great seats at the luau and the "Ha" show that evening. I didn't know we would have a personal guide through the 7 different villages. We walked and walked (again). Went from one village to another quickly. We were only able to see 3 of the villages given the time we had (plus the Hawaiian village was closed for remodeling). Any way, we saw some great shows, got to experience how the Tonga tribe trained their people for dexterity and wrist strength (check out the below photo), and took a great canoe ride. That was all before we enjoyed the luau at 5:00pm.
Just getting there:
As it turns out, we weren't the only ones wearing matching shirts. We fit right in.
Trying out the "lessons" at the Tonga village.
Before the luau, we enjoyed a nice canoe ride.
We had some live "hula" entertainment during the luau, which was very nice. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures. The stage was pretty much at the same level as the tables and I just didn't feel I could get good pictures. No problem. We still enjoyed it.
We FINALLY had time to do some shopping prior to the 7:30pm "Ha" show. Yea!! I had promised my granddaughters hula skirts. I hoped I would be able to get them at the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC)....and I did. Delma managed to get some shopping done as well. We were both happy.
Then, on to the "Ha" show. It was fantastic. It was a "full cycle" show that show the birth of a son, his growth into childhood, then teen years, young adult, marriage, and fatherhood. It allowed each of the 7 villages to present life in their villages. The presentation was fantastic, the stage unbelievable and the show ended with fire dancers. It was fantastic. Well worth the time and the hour drive back to our hotel. Another fun filled and LONG day.
1. SLEEP IN: We got in late from the Hawaii (Big Island) trip and we needed some rest.
2. Drive up the middle of Oahu to the North Shore.
3. Check out the Polynesian Cultural Center
We were off to a great start. We didn't get up until 8:00....I couldn't believe Delma wasn't up at 5:30. She really did need to get some rest. We had a great breakfast at Denny's that morning and headed to the North Shore. We heard the biggest waves were at the North Shore and, during the winter months, they are at their peak (of course, December is the best.....and is when they have their big surfing tournaments). We stopped at the first of 3 beaches. The first was Haleiwa Beach Park. The park was beautiful. Hawaii does a fantastic job of maintaining the integrity and cleanliness of their beaches. We were not disappointed. Stayed long enough to get some fantastic pictures.
Yep, check out those matching Hawaiian shirts. We were twinkies for the day....and proud of it.
From there we drove to Pupukea Beach Park. More beautiful scenery/waves.
From there, on to Banzai Pipeline. This is were the yearly surfing tournaments occur in December (the waves can get as tall at 50 feet). During this trip, the waves were around 15-20 feet high. We caught some surfers "doing their thing".
It's amazing what these people can do. I've never had a desire to do it, but I have a lot of admiration for those people who do.
Now on to the Polynesian Cultural Center. We got there at 1:30. I bought the Ambassador Luau package, so all I knew was we would have great seats at the luau and the "Ha" show that evening. I didn't know we would have a personal guide through the 7 different villages. We walked and walked (again). Went from one village to another quickly. We were only able to see 3 of the villages given the time we had (plus the Hawaiian village was closed for remodeling). Any way, we saw some great shows, got to experience how the Tonga tribe trained their people for dexterity and wrist strength (check out the below photo), and took a great canoe ride. That was all before we enjoyed the luau at 5:00pm.
Just getting there:
As it turns out, we weren't the only ones wearing matching shirts. We fit right in.
Trying out the "lessons" at the Tonga village.
Before the luau, we enjoyed a nice canoe ride.
We had some live "hula" entertainment during the luau, which was very nice. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures. The stage was pretty much at the same level as the tables and I just didn't feel I could get good pictures. No problem. We still enjoyed it.
We FINALLY had time to do some shopping prior to the 7:30pm "Ha" show. Yea!! I had promised my granddaughters hula skirts. I hoped I would be able to get them at the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC)....and I did. Delma managed to get some shopping done as well. We were both happy.
Then, on to the "Ha" show. It was fantastic. It was a "full cycle" show that show the birth of a son, his growth into childhood, then teen years, young adult, marriage, and fatherhood. It allowed each of the 7 villages to present life in their villages. The presentation was fantastic, the stage unbelievable and the show ended with fire dancers. It was fantastic. Well worth the time and the hour drive back to our hotel. Another fun filled and LONG day.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
March 20 - Hawaii Day-trip (Volcano National Park)
We had a really early start to the day. It began at 3:45am in order to meet the Polynesian Adventures representative at the airport at 5:30am. We got there are 5:15am. We didn't see anyone standing around with a Polynesian Adventures sign, so didn't really know what was going on. Delma decided to go find the smoking area and said to let her know when we found out anything.
About the time she left, I saw this really OLD guy and he asked if we were taking a day trip to the Big Island. He noticed us standing around, but didn't know if we were on the tour or not. Delma and I had both noticed this old guy walking in, but there wasn't anything distinct about him. Oh well, I had to text Delma to come back because he was taking us to the ticket counter to get us checked in. Got the check-inn done, then we went back up to the smoking area one last time before going through security.
Everything was going great. We got to the gate, boarded our plane, and, boy were we surprised. We were in row 26.....which is the LAST row on the plane. It was horrible; no window and couldn't recline our seats. Fortunately, it was only a 45 minute flight.
We got to the Big Island, met up with the tour guide and climbed aboard the bus. We found out we had to wait for 5 more people flying in from Oahu. We went to this really pretty park where we waited an hour for these people to show up.
So we are finally on the road. I couldn't wait to see the volcanoes. Well, I was going to have to for a bit longer. We first stopped at this little beach area so we could see the famous 'black' sands on Hawaii. That was actually pretty cool. It wasn't a very big beach, but it was really beautiful.
We probably stayed at this location for 20 minutes; not long. We then drove a bit further and stopped at Rainbow Falls Lookout. That was really beautiful as well.
Check out the falls.
We may have had 30 minutes are the falls. Then back in the bus for a stop at the Mauna Loa macadamia farm. We took a self-guided tour (which consisted of looking through windows) at the various production stages. Not bad; actually rather interesting. We may have had 40 minutes at the macadamia farm. Again, not long at all.
It is now around 12:30, and we are stopping for lunch at a little resturant in Volcano, Hawaii. Isn't that a fabulous town name? Anyway, we had preordered lunch, so it shouldn't take up much time. On the way into the restaurant, Delma and I noticed a quilt shop --- a QUILT shop!! Oh boy, I knew I would be eating a quick lunch and to the shop I was going. The bus driver gave us an hour, so I was set.
After about 20 minutes, off to the little quilt shop I went. I was happily picking out some patterns and checking our some other merchandise, when a fellow passenger told me the bus driver was wanting to leave. Everyone had finished lunch and he wanted to move on. WHAT!!! Fortunately I had picked up a couple of patterns and was OK with that. Who was I to keep an entire bus from leaving early. Delma had a couple of choice words for the bus driver, but we left anyway.
It's now 1:00pm and we are finally heading to the Volcano National Park. Yea!!
We went to Kilauea Mountain, which has an active volcano crater - Halema'uma'u. Check out the steam in the background.
We left the active crater, then drove past a couple of old lava flows (from 1969 and 1974). It's really amazing to see the aftermath of the major volcano eruption. I hope the pictures do it justice.
Our next stop was at an actual lava tube - which we would be able to walk through. It was fantastic. Delma elected to skip this part, but I had to check it out.
It was the best part of the day. I loved it.
We had one more stop to make.....and a local orchid farm. We had probably 20 minutes there, but, wow, saw some gorgeous flowers. Here's my favorite:
That's it for the day trip. We got back to the Hilo, Hawaii airport at 5:30pm. Remember those people we had to wait for (an hour)? Well, apparently they had an early flight back to Oahu. They had a 6:10pm flight; we had to wait for a 7:45pm flight. We were not happy campers.....and my AAA travel agent will be getting an email from me!
Oh well, all-in-all, it was a terrific day. It was a good flight back to Oahu and we made it back to our room my 9:30. LONG DAY!
I'm calling it a night.
About the time she left, I saw this really OLD guy and he asked if we were taking a day trip to the Big Island. He noticed us standing around, but didn't know if we were on the tour or not. Delma and I had both noticed this old guy walking in, but there wasn't anything distinct about him. Oh well, I had to text Delma to come back because he was taking us to the ticket counter to get us checked in. Got the check-inn done, then we went back up to the smoking area one last time before going through security.
Everything was going great. We got to the gate, boarded our plane, and, boy were we surprised. We were in row 26.....which is the LAST row on the plane. It was horrible; no window and couldn't recline our seats. Fortunately, it was only a 45 minute flight.
We got to the Big Island, met up with the tour guide and climbed aboard the bus. We found out we had to wait for 5 more people flying in from Oahu. We went to this really pretty park where we waited an hour for these people to show up.
So we are finally on the road. I couldn't wait to see the volcanoes. Well, I was going to have to for a bit longer. We first stopped at this little beach area so we could see the famous 'black' sands on Hawaii. That was actually pretty cool. It wasn't a very big beach, but it was really beautiful.
We probably stayed at this location for 20 minutes; not long. We then drove a bit further and stopped at Rainbow Falls Lookout. That was really beautiful as well.
Check out the falls.
We may have had 30 minutes are the falls. Then back in the bus for a stop at the Mauna Loa macadamia farm. We took a self-guided tour (which consisted of looking through windows) at the various production stages. Not bad; actually rather interesting. We may have had 40 minutes at the macadamia farm. Again, not long at all.
It is now around 12:30, and we are stopping for lunch at a little resturant in Volcano, Hawaii. Isn't that a fabulous town name? Anyway, we had preordered lunch, so it shouldn't take up much time. On the way into the restaurant, Delma and I noticed a quilt shop --- a QUILT shop!! Oh boy, I knew I would be eating a quick lunch and to the shop I was going. The bus driver gave us an hour, so I was set.
After about 20 minutes, off to the little quilt shop I went. I was happily picking out some patterns and checking our some other merchandise, when a fellow passenger told me the bus driver was wanting to leave. Everyone had finished lunch and he wanted to move on. WHAT!!! Fortunately I had picked up a couple of patterns and was OK with that. Who was I to keep an entire bus from leaving early. Delma had a couple of choice words for the bus driver, but we left anyway.
It's now 1:00pm and we are finally heading to the Volcano National Park. Yea!!
We went to Kilauea Mountain, which has an active volcano crater - Halema'uma'u. Check out the steam in the background.
We left the active crater, then drove past a couple of old lava flows (from 1969 and 1974). It's really amazing to see the aftermath of the major volcano eruption. I hope the pictures do it justice.
Our next stop was at an actual lava tube - which we would be able to walk through. It was fantastic. Delma elected to skip this part, but I had to check it out.
It was the best part of the day. I loved it.
We had one more stop to make.....and a local orchid farm. We had probably 20 minutes there, but, wow, saw some gorgeous flowers. Here's my favorite:
That's it for the day trip. We got back to the Hilo, Hawaii airport at 5:30pm. Remember those people we had to wait for (an hour)? Well, apparently they had an early flight back to Oahu. They had a 6:10pm flight; we had to wait for a 7:45pm flight. We were not happy campers.....and my AAA travel agent will be getting an email from me!
Oh well, all-in-all, it was a terrific day. It was a good flight back to Oahu and we made it back to our room my 9:30. LONG DAY!
I'm calling it a night.
Monday, March 19, 2012
March 19 - Whale Watching Cruise and Waikiki shopping
The day started with Delma heading downstairs at 5:20 for a smoke break. Sounds like she is making some new friends. When we were both ready, we went to a local Denny's for breakfast. It was great. From there, we went to the airport to switch out our rental car. We got a Ford Escape when we arrived last Friday. That poor thing had no get up and go at all. Trying to climb these mountains was a chore (remember when we took H3 instead of H2 yesterday? H3 goes through the mountains!). We switched out the Escape and got a Chevy Captiva. It does seem to have more power.
While at the airport, we also checked out our reservations for our trip to Hawaii (Hilo) for our Volcano Daytrip tomorrow. We were suppose to check in 24 hours prior to departure. That proved to be a problem when I didn't know who to check in with. I called Hawaiin airlines; they had no record of us. I couldn't get in touch with Pleasant Activities (I called after hours). So, while at the airport, I talked with the Hawaiian Airlines customer service. "Asia" was terrific. She figured out Pleasant Activities had worked with a 3rd party vendor (Polynesia Adventures), and it was Polynesia Adventures I needed to check in with. Wow, it was wonderful when I knew that!!
From the airport, we drove to Pier 8 to see where we needed to be to catch the Star of Honolulu Whale Watching Cruise. We were way early, so we drove on into Waikiki and went shopping for about an hour. Bought a few gifts, then went back to Aloha Tower Marketplace to meet the cruise.
We departed at 12:00pm. Within 20 minutes, the captain notified us whales were spotted. We took a lot of pictures but, of course, only got a few good ones. Here's the best one.
We had a nice lunch aboard ship, enjoyed the ocean, and had a great time watching the whales. The boat got back at 2:30. We left the ship.....and went shopping again at Waikiki. We had a LOT more time, so our purchases definitely increased. We had another great day.
Now we are back in our room. Already showered and ready to go to bed EARLY. We have to get up at 3:45 so we can get to the airport by 5:30am. BUT, that all-day volcano tour will be so worth it. Can't wait!!
March 18 - Pearl Harbor and Dole Plantation
Another early day for us. Delma was out for her first smoke break at 5:30. Maybe we will actually sleep in tomorrow.....we'll see. We got ready and headed out for the day around 7:00am.....our first stop was the Mcdonald's in Kapolei (a small town close to the Aulani). Then off to the Arizona Memorial. Or so we thought.
For some reason, Garmin and I didn't jive today. I missed the first turn and, of course, Garmin recalulated. No problem, right? Wrong, I got confused again and missed the H2 turn. We took the H3 turn. OK, so now I'm really going to pay attention. The problem was, we couldn't turn around for 10 MILES!!!! 10 miles...are you kidding? That really screws up the schedule. Oh well, we saw some beautiful country on the way.
It was raining and the clouds were low over the mountains, but WOW, what a drive. We went through a couple of tunnels that were pretty cool too:
OK, so now we have turned around and are heading back to Pearl Harbor. Yea, we made it without a hitch and arrived at 8:00am. Plenty of time; our tickets were for the 9:00am tour. We walked around the grounds, picked up our audio "tour" headphones and shopped in the gift shop until time to go.
We started out watching a video of the Pearl Harbor attack. It brings home the horror and absolute shock of December 7, 1941. It's uncomprehensible how a country can knowingly and deliberately attack an unsuspecting naval base. Once the video was finished, we boarded a naval transport boat to the memorial. It's such an impressive monument.
We unload at the memorial and walk in. The memorial "straddles" the Arizona. Windows on both sides allow you to see the remains of the Arizona, the turret that is visible above the water, the oil still seeping from the Arizona.....and this brings the horror of what happened that day to life. In a separate room at the end of the memorial is a list of names of the men who died that day and are still intombed in the Arizona.
Even more amazing are the list of names of those sailors who survived the Arizona attack, who were later interned with their shipmates upon their deaths.
I tried out some of my photography class skills and took my camera off "auto" and took this picture of the U.S. flags through the top of the memorials.
Now, while on the memorial we are to show respect at all times, speak in whispers and be courteous of others. Not a problem, right? Delma and I got separated at some point and when next I saw her, she was upset. She was telling me she had lost her sunglasses. I didn't hear her at first so she told me again she had lost her sunglasses. She told me she thought they must have fallen off her head when she flipped her audio tour headset off her head. I asked her how she found her sunglasses. She looked at me like I was an idiot and said she had LOST them. I was confused (and I'm sure I looked it), but again asked her how she found them. She looked at me AGAIN like I was an idiot and said they were lost. I laughed and tapped the side of her sunglasses. THEY WERE ON HER FACE THE ENTIRE TIME!! Now, I ask you, how can you NOT crack up laughing at that.
Here we are on the Memorial with the Arizona turret in the background.
After leaving the Arizona Memorial, we then went to tour the USS Missouri. The Missouri was the site of the Japanese surrender in WWII. Another fascinating tour. We were able to tour the main deck, the deck below the main deck, as well as the bridge. Here's a photo of us starting the tour:
We did a lot of climbing up and down stairs. After the 2 hour hike up/down Diamond Head yesterday, Delma had OLD FEET. Check out some of the stairs we climbed!!!
We left Pearl Harbor and started looking for something to eat. We found a cute little KFC that had outdoor seating only. Nice. After lunch, we headed to the Dole Plantation. It was a nice drive, but the Dole Plantation itself wasn't that impressive. It was more a "shopping" experience than anything else. But, hey, I did take some cute pictures of pineapples.
.....and a picture of Delma and me in front of the Dole Maze sign.
We wrapped up our visit and headed back to the hotel. Another successful day.
For some reason, Garmin and I didn't jive today. I missed the first turn and, of course, Garmin recalulated. No problem, right? Wrong, I got confused again and missed the H2 turn. We took the H3 turn. OK, so now I'm really going to pay attention. The problem was, we couldn't turn around for 10 MILES!!!! 10 miles...are you kidding? That really screws up the schedule. Oh well, we saw some beautiful country on the way.
It was raining and the clouds were low over the mountains, but WOW, what a drive. We went through a couple of tunnels that were pretty cool too:
OK, so now we have turned around and are heading back to Pearl Harbor. Yea, we made it without a hitch and arrived at 8:00am. Plenty of time; our tickets were for the 9:00am tour. We walked around the grounds, picked up our audio "tour" headphones and shopped in the gift shop until time to go.
We started out watching a video of the Pearl Harbor attack. It brings home the horror and absolute shock of December 7, 1941. It's uncomprehensible how a country can knowingly and deliberately attack an unsuspecting naval base. Once the video was finished, we boarded a naval transport boat to the memorial. It's such an impressive monument.
We unload at the memorial and walk in. The memorial "straddles" the Arizona. Windows on both sides allow you to see the remains of the Arizona, the turret that is visible above the water, the oil still seeping from the Arizona.....and this brings the horror of what happened that day to life. In a separate room at the end of the memorial is a list of names of the men who died that day and are still intombed in the Arizona.
Even more amazing are the list of names of those sailors who survived the Arizona attack, who were later interned with their shipmates upon their deaths.
I tried out some of my photography class skills and took my camera off "auto" and took this picture of the U.S. flags through the top of the memorials.
Now, while on the memorial we are to show respect at all times, speak in whispers and be courteous of others. Not a problem, right? Delma and I got separated at some point and when next I saw her, she was upset. She was telling me she had lost her sunglasses. I didn't hear her at first so she told me again she had lost her sunglasses. She told me she thought they must have fallen off her head when she flipped her audio tour headset off her head. I asked her how she found her sunglasses. She looked at me like I was an idiot and said she had LOST them. I was confused (and I'm sure I looked it), but again asked her how she found them. She looked at me AGAIN like I was an idiot and said they were lost. I laughed and tapped the side of her sunglasses. THEY WERE ON HER FACE THE ENTIRE TIME!! Now, I ask you, how can you NOT crack up laughing at that.
Here we are on the Memorial with the Arizona turret in the background.
After leaving the Arizona Memorial, we then went to tour the USS Missouri. The Missouri was the site of the Japanese surrender in WWII. Another fascinating tour. We were able to tour the main deck, the deck below the main deck, as well as the bridge. Here's a photo of us starting the tour:
We did a lot of climbing up and down stairs. After the 2 hour hike up/down Diamond Head yesterday, Delma had OLD FEET. Check out some of the stairs we climbed!!!
We left Pearl Harbor and started looking for something to eat. We found a cute little KFC that had outdoor seating only. Nice. After lunch, we headed to the Dole Plantation. It was a nice drive, but the Dole Plantation itself wasn't that impressive. It was more a "shopping" experience than anything else. But, hey, I did take some cute pictures of pineapples.
.....and a picture of Delma and me in front of the Dole Maze sign.
We wrapped up our visit and headed back to the hotel. Another successful day.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
March 17 - Honolulu; Waikiki and Diamond Head
The time change is proving to be a bit of a challenge. Delma and I were both awake at 4:00am. Oh well, we needed to get to the Hard Rock Cafe by 7:30, so we got up and decided to make it an early day. No problem getting to the Hard Rock Cafe; Garmin is a wonderful thing. Found a place to park, and with almost an hour to kill before our breakfast orientation, we took a walk to one of the Waikiki hotels (to check out their beaches). Found a beach, and wow, off to the left was Diamond Head. Amazing!!
OK, enough of that, we head back to the Hard Rock Cafe.
We had a very nice breakfast while watching hula dancers from the Polynesian Culture Center perform hula dances. Very nice start to the day.
We left there and headed to Diamond Head. Thought we would get that out of the way before it got too crowded and hot. WRONG on both counts. There were people all over the place and we certainly got hot, sweaty, and sunburned before our little trek was over. Fortunately, this is one of those times the view is definitely worth the climb. However, neither of us feel inclined to do it again. It was a bit on the tough side for a couple of old broads.
Here are some statistics about Diamond Head:
1. The trailhead at the parking lot is located on the crater floor at an elevation of about 200 feet.
2. The steep .8 mile hike to the top of the crater includes:
- 74 concrete steps leading in the tunnel
- passage through a lighted 225-foot long, narrow tunnel (not lighted that well at all)
- second stairway consisting of 99 steep steps
3. The summit of the crater and the uppermost level of the Fire Control station are at an elevation of 761 ft.
Look at these switch-back trails!! Look at the top of the picture behind Delma and me. We have a long way to go.
But, we made it!! Check out this view.
Wow, I look like Elton John in my new sunglasses -- how funny. Anyway, we made it to the top of Diamond Head and back down without an incident. Our legs were rubbery but, darn it, we made it.
Got back to the car and headed back to Waikiki looking for the International MarketPlace. Garmin didn't take us directly to the location, but we didn't know that when we got out of the car. We started walking and ran into an Irish parade (it is March 17)! Who would have thought about a St. Patrick's Day parade in Hawaii. What a treat! What was especially neat was hearing a band playing the Yellow Rose of Texas as they were marching down the road. Delma talked to some guy (who was from Baylor) and found out the band was from Texas. How funny!
There were a couple of more things Delma wanted to do. She wanted to see King Kamehameha's statue. Off we go. Delma's happy. When she watches Hawaii 5-0, she can now say she's been there!
One last stop - at Hilo Hattie's (a famous Hawaiian gift shop). I'm not going to even talk about what that cost me! Needless to say, I have a beautiful new necklace and earrings. Delma got a new necklace.
Stopped by a Target (ok, THIS was the last stop) to pick up some water and Aloe Vera. I needed it to smooth my burning skin from today's hike to Diamond Head. The stupid thing was I brought suntan lotion from home, had it in the CAR and still didn't think about putting it on. I will be wiser tomorrow!!
That's it for the day. On to Pearl Harbor tomorrow.
OK, enough of that, we head back to the Hard Rock Cafe.
We had a very nice breakfast while watching hula dancers from the Polynesian Culture Center perform hula dances. Very nice start to the day.
We left there and headed to Diamond Head. Thought we would get that out of the way before it got too crowded and hot. WRONG on both counts. There were people all over the place and we certainly got hot, sweaty, and sunburned before our little trek was over. Fortunately, this is one of those times the view is definitely worth the climb. However, neither of us feel inclined to do it again. It was a bit on the tough side for a couple of old broads.
Here are some statistics about Diamond Head:
1. The trailhead at the parking lot is located on the crater floor at an elevation of about 200 feet.
2. The steep .8 mile hike to the top of the crater includes:
- 74 concrete steps leading in the tunnel
- passage through a lighted 225-foot long, narrow tunnel (not lighted that well at all)
- second stairway consisting of 99 steep steps
3. The summit of the crater and the uppermost level of the Fire Control station are at an elevation of 761 ft.
Look at these switch-back trails!! Look at the top of the picture behind Delma and me. We have a long way to go.
But, we made it!! Check out this view.
Wow, I look like Elton John in my new sunglasses -- how funny. Anyway, we made it to the top of Diamond Head and back down without an incident. Our legs were rubbery but, darn it, we made it.
Got back to the car and headed back to Waikiki looking for the International MarketPlace. Garmin didn't take us directly to the location, but we didn't know that when we got out of the car. We started walking and ran into an Irish parade (it is March 17)! Who would have thought about a St. Patrick's Day parade in Hawaii. What a treat! What was especially neat was hearing a band playing the Yellow Rose of Texas as they were marching down the road. Delma talked to some guy (who was from Baylor) and found out the band was from Texas. How funny!
There were a couple of more things Delma wanted to do. She wanted to see King Kamehameha's statue. Off we go. Delma's happy. When she watches Hawaii 5-0, she can now say she's been there!
One last stop - at Hilo Hattie's (a famous Hawaiian gift shop). I'm not going to even talk about what that cost me! Needless to say, I have a beautiful new necklace and earrings. Delma got a new necklace.
Stopped by a Target (ok, THIS was the last stop) to pick up some water and Aloe Vera. I needed it to smooth my burning skin from today's hike to Diamond Head. The stupid thing was I brought suntan lotion from home, had it in the CAR and still didn't think about putting it on. I will be wiser tomorrow!!
That's it for the day. On to Pearl Harbor tomorrow.
March 16 - Houston to Honolulu
Well, the long awaited Hawaii trip for the Gray girls got off to an early start. Up at 5:30, we were ready and out the door to the Houston Intercontinental airport for our 8-hour flight to Honolulu. No food service on the flight, so we took a bag full of munchies and thought we would "tank up" at the airport. We had a scrawny breakfast burrito....hmmm, wonder how long that will last. We did just fine.
The flight was great. No problems at all. Delma slept a little while I watched a movie. She was literally freezing sitting at the window. Per the screen display, it was -74 degrees outside at 36,000 feet. Guess she had a perfect reason to be cold! I spent the rest of the trip reading a good book. Delma finally watched a movie (Jennifer Aniston's "Horrible Bosses"). It's always funny listening to someone cracking up watching a movie.....when no one else has a clue what's going on.
Anyway, the flight was pleasant and Delma made it through without killing anyone.
We got to Honolulu. I went in search of the bags; Delma went in search of an "authorized" smoking area. Finally!! Got the bags and went to the Hertz location. I swear, it looked like they were having a party. There were people all over. I should have known that was NOT a good thing. An hour and a half later, we got our car and were headed to the Disney Aulani Report and Spa.
Wow, what a place. It is absolutely beautiful. Got to our room. Dumped things off in the room, and out the door we went.....had to explore the Aulani. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. The pool area is fantasitc. Kids would really love it. We walked from there to the beach. Did I mention "beautiful"? Wow. Here we are with the Pacific Ocean in the background.
We went to the beach bar, had a Mai Tai and watched the sunset.
Fantastic end to the day -- at 7:30PM. Got back to the room and Delma hit the bed. She was out!! I made it a bit longer -- I had to finish that good book I started on the plane.
The flight was great. No problems at all. Delma slept a little while I watched a movie. She was literally freezing sitting at the window. Per the screen display, it was -74 degrees outside at 36,000 feet. Guess she had a perfect reason to be cold! I spent the rest of the trip reading a good book. Delma finally watched a movie (Jennifer Aniston's "Horrible Bosses"). It's always funny listening to someone cracking up watching a movie.....when no one else has a clue what's going on.
Anyway, the flight was pleasant and Delma made it through without killing anyone.
We got to Honolulu. I went in search of the bags; Delma went in search of an "authorized" smoking area. Finally!! Got the bags and went to the Hertz location. I swear, it looked like they were having a party. There were people all over. I should have known that was NOT a good thing. An hour and a half later, we got our car and were headed to the Disney Aulani Report and Spa.
Wow, what a place. It is absolutely beautiful. Got to our room. Dumped things off in the room, and out the door we went.....had to explore the Aulani. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. The pool area is fantasitc. Kids would really love it. We walked from there to the beach. Did I mention "beautiful"? Wow. Here we are with the Pacific Ocean in the background.
We went to the beach bar, had a Mai Tai and watched the sunset.
Fantastic end to the day -- at 7:30PM. Got back to the room and Delma hit the bed. She was out!! I made it a bit longer -- I had to finish that good book I started on the plane.
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