Pearl Harbor

On Saturday we left Kaua'i and headed to Honolulu. We arrived at 12:30 and immediately headed to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. Until Saturday morning, the weather had been great but it rained on Friday night and the day started very humid and muggy. As we toured the Pearl Harbor historical area, it is mostly outside and it was very muggy. There are four separate tours you can take at Pearl Harbor, The USS Arizona Memorial, USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park, The Battleship Missouri Memorial and the Pacific Aviation Museum. We only went to the Arizona Memorial. It was very sad and touching.

Dad's reflection in the background.

The Memorial lays across the sunken ship, roughly in the middle so you can see parts of it underwater from both sides.

 Enlarge this picture to read the inscription. It really makes you think.

The names of all those that lost their lives on the Arizona. Almost half of all that died went down with the Arizona.

This is a shot from one side of the Memorial. We believe it is a smokestack.

 When the Arizona sunk, it has 1.8 million gallons of fuel on board. It still leaks 9 quarts per day to the surface. You can see it on the surface. The survivors call this oils that seeps up "black tears". The ship is the tomb for those soldiers.

We arrive at the Laie Hawaii Temple too late to attend but we did get a photo of us from outside.

We head home today, Sunday. It has been a great vacation and we do plan to come back again some day. The weather was great overall, the scenery is beautiful and the ocean is wonderful to snorkel in. The only downside, and it is a big one, is the cost. Gas is almost $5.00 per gallon and food is two to three times what it costs on the mainland. In addition, all of the organized activities are roughly $75 per person per day. We were great at driving around ourselves and looking at the sights. Other than gas, that part was free. The Arizona Memorial is also free but all of the other exhibits at Pearl Harbor were expensive.

We are home tomorrow!