First, we took the shuttle to the USS Missouri and toured the battleship that hosted the Japanese surrender ceremony that concluded World War II. It's now moored for good in Battleship Row, exactly where its sisters ships were maimed and sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The ship was massive and we walked all around it, on it, and within it. We saw the exact spot where the surrender documents were signed, climbed up to the navigation bridge, and then went belowdecks to see a moving exhibit on farewell letters from Kamikaze pilots to their families.
Next, we took the shuttle to its next stop, the Air museum. There, we saw World War II aircraft, learned more about the war efforts in the Pacific, and we're lucky enough to meet a survivor from the Decemeber 7 attacks. We finished our visit here by seeing the restoration efforts of dozens of volunteers to restore many rusted (or worse!) aircraft.
We took the shuttle back to the main complex, got a quick bite, and then headed to see the USS Bowfin, a submarine which got rhe nickname the Pear Harbor Avenger because of its military success in the war. We were able to go down within every compartment of the submarine and get a tremendous perspective of how the crew lived, and also appreciate the extreme danger they lived in each moment.
Our visit concluded in the early afternoon when we took the ferry to the USS Arizona memorial. It is a white, somber platform straddling the sunken wreck of the Arizona, which became a tomb for the hundreds of crew within. The ship continues to leak oil, 71 years after its sinking, and the area smells like it. The oil comes up almost randomly, bubbling to the surface in small spots and then extending out in bright, rainbow rings.
We were lucky to hear a moving speech from a Naval veteran turned park ranger and then paid our respects to the names of the dead on the wall within the platform. Finally, we took the ferry back.
In the afternoon we drove to the Diamond Head Crater hiked up to the top of the crater walls up the man-made Fire road. After the Grand Canyon, and with little weight to carry with us, we made really good time and were able to enjoy fantastic views down into Honolulu and also of the rest of southern O'ahu.
Finally, in the evening we decided to drive out to the North Shore of the island after getting a dinner tip from the Concier. After rumbling through Honolulu traffic we escaped the city and peeled off north through the rolling hills and then flat plains of central O'ahu. We arrived to the north shore as the sun set and then had a delicious dinner at Haleiwa Joe's.
This morning we were greeted with a beautiful sunny day and now, we're up for a new day and in the airport about to board or flight to Lihue in Kauai. We'll check in later on.
-Erika and Simon
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