Visiting The Past

We woke up Wednesday morning and headed to Pearl Harbor. We were determined to visit the Arizona Memorial.I was previously un-successfull in getting out to the memorial due to the masses of people that line up to go there each day....that's right, each and every day the memorial is visited by 1'000's of people. I heard one park service ranger claim there are 4,000 people per/day. Each boat ride out to the memorial holds about 100 people. Peg and I arrived at 9 AM and we were told that we would be on boat 14 leaving at11:00 AM. When you do the clock math, you quickly figure out that 4k people is pretty accurate. When we received our boat tickets (completely free by the way) we were stampeeded by a group of Japanese people who we quickly learned have little regard for who they step on and bump into and through. There were as many Japanese people at the memorial as US Citizens.

We decided that with a two hour wait, our time would best be spent by visiting the Punch Bowl which is a National Monument. Thousands of service men are buried in the punch bowl along with my own Uncle from whom I got my name. We stopped at the entrance information office to find my Uncle Harold Olson is buried in Section P lot 1044 (very near the entrance) and his body was placed there when the monument first openned in 1949. Harold was killed on April 4th, 1945 (at the age of 22). I was unable to find out what was done with his body for the 4 years after he was killed. In any case, the office worker there told me that the records show Harold was buried there in 1949 when the monument first openned and he has been there ever since.

The monument is a dormant volcanoe which is high on the mountain overlooking the city of Honolulu. It is a gorgeous site and a wonderful tribute to people who served our country. Every war is represented at the monument, including the Korean war. I never knew Harold, but I know he was my mother's brother and that she lost her brother when he was 22 years old. I also know she named me..... after him. It is difficult to imagine the pain felt by his loss back in 1945.

Visiting Harold's final resting place (thousands of miles away from where he grew up on Sumac Ave. in Waukegan, IL) gives me a very warm feeling inside. The picture shown was taken by Peg with me kneeling at Harold's headstone. What is not apparent in the photo, is the hundreds of headstones that surround Harold's and say only ... UNKNOWN

After taking a few pictures, we headed back to Pearl to meet our tour boat. The tour was preceeded by a 23 minute movie of actual footage taken back in the time leading up to and including the attack on December 7th. The film was very educational. I guess I didn't realize the US placed an oil embargo on Japan and refused to lift it unless they stopped their aggression in Southeast Asia. I also didn't realize that one of the Japanese commanders responsible for planning the attack went to college at Harvard University here in the US (and actually was opposed to attacking the US because he knew what the US retaliation would be like).

The film was filled with real scenes from those days in 1942. It showed the band from the USS Arizona performing in Honolulu (having fun) the night before the attack. The film also recorded the armor piercing bomb dropped onto one of the 4 gun turets of the ship. Below the turets lie the ammunition stores and explosives so the single hit took by the Arizona was immediately devastating. Walking over the memorial was a little erie knowing that so many men were still entombed by the rusted walls of the ship below.

We were asked by the park service officer before heading out to the Arizona to remain as quiet as possible while visitng because it is a MEMORIAL site that we were visiting and that doing so, should be done with respect. He specifically mentioned no loud talking, calling, or yelling. My only regret is that Peg and I ended up on a shuttle boat filled with a touring group of Japanese people (as in about 90 of them). When we got to the site, it became clear to me that the Japanese people didn't understand a word of English.

The film taught me a few other things I didn't know.....After the attack, the USS Utah was stripped and turned into scrap metal. The Arizona was left untouched as a memorial. Every other Naval vessel in Pearl Harbor that day was repaired, restored, and re-entered active service duty.....every one of them. The film mentioned that Japan never anticipated the spirit of the American people and how they would ban together......and come back after them.

Sailing on the Shores of Waikiki

After lounging all day Tuesday we decided to go on a catamaran sail off the shores of Waikiki. We boarded the MaiTai Cat down the beach and had a great time taking in the city views and meeting new people. Peg's newest friends were a group of college girls from Villanova on their way to Tokyo. The girls were great fun as was the Mai Tai experience. There were places off the beach that we could see right to the bottom even though the water measured 40' in depth.

After sailing, we headed back home because Wednesday we were headed for the Arizona Memorial with a stop off at the punch bowl cemetery to visit Uncle Harold.

Arrival in Oahu

After sailing out of Hilo Monday evening, we went to dinner and I noticed the lights starting to flicker. Soon, the entire ships power went out and the captain announced that we are experiencing a blackout. The only lights on the ship were powered by batteries and the Radiance of the Seas was floating / blowing in the wind. Fortunately, the wind was taking us OUT and further from land. My first fear was being blown onto shore! After about an hour or more, they got it all figured out and we were sailing for Honolulu.

We arrived about 7AM into Honolulu harbor and soon realized our cruise was coming to an end, but the good news was that our vacation was not. We said good byes to all the great people we met on the cruise, disembarked, and then headed for our hotel on Waikiki beach. Tuesday was a very relaxing day. We lounged around, took a long walk down the beach and passed all the hotels. Most of the day was spent enjoying the resort we were at, the Hilton Hawaian Village.

Volcanoe Alley

Our bus tour Monday afternoon took us to the Volcanoe National Park. You are looking at a view of Halema`uma`u from the Jaggar Museum overlook. The plume color switched from brown to white some weeks ago.... and has been mainly white since. The white plume still carries ash, but the rock fragments are hydrothermally altered lava that is white in color.

One of the primary components in volcanic gas is water. At the vent, the plume is transparent, because it is very hot and the water is in vapor form. A short distance above the vent, however, the plume cools and the water vapor condenses into tiny droplets. This makes the plume an opaque white, just like regular clouds in the sky. These clouds basically cover Kona (other side of the island) each day and make it seem like a rain storm is coming. The cloud like matter though, is simply from the volcanoe.

On this day, Peg and I walked through a lava tube from a volcanoe that erupted years ago. The tube was 15 feet high in some places. The night before heading into Hilo, the ship pulled up close to where the lava from another volcanoe is flowing into the sea (and making the island bigger). The dark night picture with the fire inside is a scene from our cruise ship balcony at 1AM in the morning. We were actually much closer (and scared some people) but I was a little late with the camera as this picture was taken after the ship started sailing away from the shore.

Our tour bus driver should be working as a geologist, and not driving a bus. It was a VERY informative tour and I know more about volcanoes now than I can even describe. This experience was much like watching glaciers break off in Alaska and fall into the ocean.

They Don't Grow Like This in Wisconsin

We arrived in Hilo, Hawaii on Monday morning and we had a long day planned aboard a tour bus. Our first adventure on the tour bus was a stop at Rainbow Falls where there was also a forest of Banyan trees. I didn't know what a Banyan tree was until I saw this. Basically, the branches grow long then sag to the ground. They then re-root themselves and the process begins again. This picture shows the base of ONE Banyan tree. The shade created by these monsters is un-real. One tree creates the shade of a small forest. These trees are common in all the islands. In Maui there is a Banyan that occupies an entire acre.

Random Shots

It occurred to me today that there are a few pictures I have not yet shared but do a better job telling the story of our vacation here. I thought I would post a few of the pictures for those who don't care to read my boring descriptions, and instead just want to see some of the pictures.

Kailua Kona...The Big Island

Deep sea fishing in Kona, Hawaii was something I could only see on Saturday morning fishing shows until now. This morning I was on the first tender off the ship and heading for the fishing harbor where there are more charter fishing boats than I have ever seen. Maui Jim sponsors an annual Blue Marlin classic here in June where the biggest Marlin caught in the 4 day tournament will net the winner 500k. The King Kamahamaha Hotel sports two Blue Marlins (mounted of course) over 1,000 lbs.

Today I went fishing with Captain Billy and his first mate Tim. There were 4 other people fishing with me and we all got along great and had a good time. For 4 hours we rotated out of the fighting chair every 15 minutes. If you were sitting there when any of the 5 poles got a bite, you reeled in whatever was on the hook.

The picture here is a 28lb. Mahi Mahi (also known as a Dorado in Mexico and Dolphin Fish in Florida). Here in Havi He, they call it Dolphin Fish. I wish I could tell you I reeled this in but I didn't. The fish was caught by another guy on board named Paul. It was a bit early in the year for the Blue Marlin but we had great fun anyway.

One day I will catch my Blue Marlin, I don't know where or when, but catching a Big Blue is on my bucket list.....