Our last day in Hawaii one of those true touristy days. Our plan was to see the USS Arizona Memorial and the new (if small) Pacific Aviation museum.
Before setting that plan into motion, we started with room service breakfast. I love getting room service. I know it's never cheap, and sometimes it isn't very good either, but in this case it was very yummy. We enjoyed it right on the balcony. It was delicious. A fitting end to our string of good breakfast!
We walked around the hotel grounds because we didn't really see what it had to offer the night before. It was basically nice, but not as nice as the rooms. It felt like everything was really crammed in there. We were surprised to see that they had sharks and rays in their little pools. Again, in terms of room quality, we'd probably stay there again.
Down by the ocean, we were surprised to see how calm the ocean was compared to that of Kauai. Apparently it's the least surf-worthy area of the islands (we were about 15 miles west of Honolulu). But what was neat was all of the seacritters in the rocks. All kinds of alien looking things on this bed of rocks that was very coral-like in appearance.
The concierge at the hotel was no help about the attractions around Pearl Harbor (are memorials really "attractions?"). As it turns out, the Arizona is free and run by the national park service, while the USS Missouri, the Bowfin (a sub) and the aviation museum are all run non-profits on Ford Island. It's not used as an airfield, but there are bases there, including a strange little subdivision of military housing. It was very Stepford looking, and strange considering what went on there.
We opted for the Missouri and the Pacific Aviation Museum. We thought we'd hit the Arizona on the way back, but unfortunately they stopped shuttling people on the ferry at 3, and we were short on time to begin with. Chalk that failure up to my total lack of planning. Well, maybe not entirely failure, since the whole point of the trip was to not get bogged down in planning.
The "Mighty Mo" is a battleship of epic proportions that has had an epic history. The thing was built in the 40's, served in WWII and the Korean War, was decommissioned then recommissioned and served in the Gulf War. We're talking about a 50-year run. It's most historic significance is that the surrender agreement was signed by the Japanese to end WWII on its decks. There are few places that have been home to so much American history, in part because most places can't move around the way a ship can.
I was completely fascinated by the ship. It's no secret that war troubles me and I'm somewhat of a pacifist, it doesn't mean that I don't enjoy history. I curse the public schools that never got much further along than the Civil War, and I feel like I don't know enough about most of the 20th Century. So stuff like this is super interesting to me. And of course, the thing is basically a huge machine. Machines are interesting.
The Pacific Aviation Museum was not very big, but we got a little lunch there and walked around to see the seven or eight planes they had. Of particular interest was a training plan that George Bush (the first one) flew in as he learned to pilot. The plane had a crazy history, and eventually one of the owners figured out by an old flight log who spent a lot of time in it.
Just outside of the old hanger where the museum is housed is the old airfield tower, rusting and decaying. That, is a seriously interesting structure. It wasn't finished until just after the attack on Pearl Harbor, but regardless, is incredibly unique in appearance.
After boarding the shuttle back off of Ford Island (an island within an island... how odd is that?), and passing again through the Homeland Security guard post, we got in our rental and headed to HNL to conclude our trip. Everything about that was uneventful, thankfully. We had some ice cream, boarded the plane, and settled in for the seven-hour flight to Houston.
It was a pretty great trip, even with the sickness and the travel issues early on. Hawaii is an incredible place. Not sure if I could live there, but I love that Aloha spirit and the culture and people there. I look forward to an opportunity to return.
Mahalo for reading!
No comments yet.