Day Two - Pearl Harbor

We woke up nice and early Friday morning in order to arrive at the Arizona Memorial early enough to secure tickets.  We only had about 30 minutes to wait for our tour time, so we just milled around the shops and read up on the history surrounding the attack on Pearl harbor.  I've done a lot of reading, I've watched several documentaries, and this was my third visit to the Arizona…and I still feel like I learn something new every time.  

It was also Richelle, Ryan, and my dad's first time there.  We decided on a few souvenirs and then headed into the theater to start our tour.  The tour of the USS Arizona begins with a 30 minute movie that explains what happened on December 7th, 1941 and why.  The other two times I visited the Memorial they had volunteer's that spoke before and after the movie…prior to the boat ride out to the memorial.  This time it was all automated.  When Mike and I visited the memorial on our honeymoon, the man who spoke had lived through the attack on Pearl Harbor.  He was a young boy in 1941 and one of the Japanese planes crash landed on his neighborhood street.  He spoke of the horror…that the pilot had survived the crash and was trying his best to shoot the men, women, and children living on that street.  It was so personal…it made experiencing the memorial that much more meaningful.

We loaded the boat and the Navy took us out to the memorial.  We spent our time out there remembering those who lost their lives…and all those who lost their lives during World War II.  Our tour ended, so we drove across to Ford Island and spent time at the Pacific Air Museum, including Hanger 79.  Hanger 79 has not been refurbished since the attack on Pearl Harbor.  There were still bullet holes in the structure from the war.

After that we drove to the USS Missouri.  The Battleship Missouri was where the war ended and has been turned into a museum/memorial.  Robyn, Regina, and Richelle stayed in the car while Ryan, my dad, and I took a self-guided tour.  We were able to see where the treaty was signed that ended the war.  I am stupid and didn't take a picture of the actual signed document, but Ryan and I laughed when we saw it because Canada signed on the wrong line, so everyone had to cross out and move down a line.  I've always been afraid of doing that, but on such a important document…yikes!

Next we went to the memorials for the USS Oklahoma and the USS Utah.  The Oklahoma memorial is just outside the Missouri memorial, and the memorial for the Utah is on the other side of Ford Island.  The remnants of the battleship can be seen, but there is not much left.  It's sad that the Utah and Oklahoma don't get nearly the mention that the Arizona does.  I understand why, but it's still a little sad to me.

We finished up with our memorial tours, so we headed back to the hotel.  We planned to go down to the pool, but to was pouring rain, so we relaxed for a bit and then headed down to Chuck's, the steak restaurant on the hotel property. Regina and I shared again…which was probably my favorite thing about mealtime on this trip.  We split a steak, sweet potato, and shrimp scampi, but I didn't have to share my shrimp.  We also got a salad from the salad bar and our family favorite- the virgin Miami Vice (1/2 strawberry daiquiri and 1/2 pina colada).  After dinner we looked at the pools, I found a wishing well, and then we headed back up to our room.  Ryan and Regina went for a long walk to satisfy Regina's need for exercise…and then they drove to the store to buy us ice cream for the week. 

Visiting Pearl Harbor was the reason we chose to take my dad to Hawaii for his 70th Birthday present.  We tried to go as a family, but there are so many of us that it proved nearly impossible to plan.  We decided this was the next best thing.  We couldn't come up with one other time since 1988 when Robyn got married that we have gone somewhere just us…no spouses or kids.  We had such a good time together!  I can't remember the last time I laughed so much and so often. 

Day One - Aloha!

The start of our trip finally arrived.  It seems you wait and wait for something and then Bam!  All of a sudden it's here and you aren't quite ready for it.  The night before our flight I was still making sure the house was in order, food had been purchased, babysitters lined up for Blip, and packing…I couldn't forget to pack.  I was so far behind the curve on this that I only had 4-5 things written on my list of items to pack.  Somehow I finished packing, I showered, and I was in bed around midnight.  Having said that…when the alarm went off…it was painful, but really no different than any other weekday.  My alarm went off at the same exact time it always does.

The family shuttle arrived promptly at 6am…Mike drug my bags outside, they were loaded, I kissed him goodbye, and we were off.  Carlys dropped my dad, Richelle, and me off at the curb. We checked-in and found both Robyn and Regina.  Everyone seemed in a good mood, so that was a nice start.  Our flight was a bit longer than we planned because the pilots had to go around a storm rather than go through it.  So after more than seven hours in the air, we landed in Honolulu.  Robyn left to get our rental car while the rest of us gathered our luggage and waited for Ryan's plane to land.  Once we were all loaded into our white mini-van we left the airport to locate our hotel.

We settled in and then set out to find the Navy Base at Pearl Harbor.  Ryan was able to get us discounts on several of the activities we wanted to do while on Oahu.  When we pulled up to the guard booth at the entrance to the base, Ryan handed his ID over, and we were welcomed to the base.  And then they saluted my brother.  Weird, but cool.  We bought tickets to a few different things and then found a Safeway.  Before going back to the hotel we stopped off at a Mexican food place.  I thought it was pretty good food, and Regina and I shared, so it was even better.  Ryan ordered fried ice cream for his meal…and I knew it was going to be a fun week.

Our hotel: Robyn was able to use some of her points with a small amount of money from each of us to rent a 2-room villa at the Marriott Vacation Club in Ko Olina.  It was far from Waikiki on the peaceful, west side of the island.  The main (middle) room of the villa had a kitchen, dining table with six chairs, a couch, chair, and a TV.  There was also a balcony with two chairs and a table off of the main living room area. 

The room the boys shared had a king bed and a pull-out couch, small balcony and a full bathroom.  The other bedroom had a king-sized bed, a bathtub with a sink and full counter, plus an additional room with a shower, toilet, and sink.  The toilet room/shower had a door into the bedroom, and a door into the main living area.  It was perfect for four girls to share.  The room was perfect and very nice. 

The property was awesome!  There were three buildings just like the one we were in.  They each had there own pools and restaurants.  The pool at our tower was several different levels, had two hot tubs, a waterside, and a kids area that was shallow and perfect for little ones.  Over by the restaurant, Chuck's, there was an adults only pool and hot-tub, and then another family pool.  I didn't get close enough to look at that one to get details.  I would definitely stay at that property again…in fact, I wish we were in the market for a time share.  I would love to have a couple weeks a year we could stay somewhere in the world at a property like that one.