Ian, Addison, and I left Tokyo on Monday, August 13th to head for Honolulu, Hawaii. Standing in line at Narita immigration, Addison happily entertained herself and anyone else standing nearby with this funny combination of sounds.
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We crossed the dateline and arrived at 7:30 Monday morning. I was immediately surprised by the Honolulu airport's lack of windows. There was a nice breeze blowing through the corridors. My mom flew into Honolulu the previous day and met us at the airport. What a nice reunion it was!
I only planned a half-day in Honolulu so we got busy right away. We would be traveling from Honolulu to Maui that same evening. Our first stop was to the inter-island airlines to check our luggage. Thankfully, they were accommodating. We easily found the buses and hopped aboard to go to Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial. I knew we wouldn't be allowed to take our bags in the Memorial with us due to increased security. I read online that coin lockers were available. That wasn't exactly the case. We were not allowed to take any purses or camera bags. We were allowed to take Addison's stroller. The cost to leave each bag at the employee-operated booth was $3. We spent $12 to leave our belongings. Already I was having sticker shock and we had just arrived. The tour itself is free, which may be why everything else is so expensive! We arrived around 9:30 and were given tickets to the 12:30 tour. Ok, honestly, that's absurd! Sorry folks, but there has to be a better way. My third shock of the morning came when I went to the snack area for a bite to eat - $4 for a turkey sandwich. And I thought living in Tokyo was expensive!
For all the cost and the wait, this was something I felt we could not miss.
Addison snoozed during our wait and I found myself falling asleep also. We experienced a rain shower where the sun was still shining, something we're told is very common on the islands. It lasted only a few minutes and dried up quickly. Prior to the boat ride out to the Memorial, visitors are invited to watch a film on the Pearl Harbor attack. Since the movie would be loud, I skipped it to keep Addy sleeping. We met Ian and Mom for the boat ride to the Memorial.
The water in Pearl Harbor is an amazing blue-green color. The wind was strong that day. The ferry from the Visitor Center to the Memorial lasted just a few minutes. It was a peaceful and serene setting. What I did not know prior to our visit was how many more ships are resting in the Harbor. The USS Arizona is the most famous, but there were 185 vessels in Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack. Some of these vessels have mooring quays, which stick out above the surface of the water, showing their final resting places. The USS Arizona suffered a direct hit that ignited its forward ammunition magazine. In less than nine minutes, it sank with 1,177 of its crew, a total loss.
A few of Arizona's features break the surface of the water.
Other sections of the Arizona are visible beneath the water.
Looking from one end to the other of the USS Arizona Memorial.
It was a sobering excursion. Now Ian, Addison, and I have visited Pearl Harbor, the start of America's War in the Pacific, and also Hiroshima, the end of the war. The poignancy is not lost on us.
Our second and final excursion in Honolulu was a visit to the National Cemetery of the Pacific. It seemed like a relatively easy thing to do. We took a bus into Waikiki and got off at a major transfer hub. That didn't work out for us. We really should have asked the bus driver when and where to switch. Seems that we forgot we were in the U.S. and could ask questions in English and get an English response. We walked for a while in the direction of the cemetery. Away from the harbor, it felt hot. Palm trees are beautiful, but they don't provide much shade. The cemetery closes around 5:30 or 6. Our flight to Maui was at 7 p.m. We weren't lost, but it was definitely the long way there. We ended up stopping at a rinky-dink tattoo parlor because Addison had to use the toilet. That was almost disastrous because there was a huge Norman-Rockwell-esque clown painting above the toilet and Addy freaked out. The tattoo parlor people were friendly and helped us get some information on the bus that would take us to the cemetery. We walked a little further hoping to the find the bus stop. At that point we had been walking about an hour and a half. Hot and tired and running out of time, we stopped at a convenience store and called a cab.
It was an excellent decision. We were still quite far from the cemetery and the hill leading up to the cemetery was very steep. Our driver was kind and talkative. When he found out we needed to go to the airport, he said he would wait for us to walk around. While making our travel arrangements, I researched where Ian's great uncle was laid and also my great-grandfather. Ian's great uncle served in the Navy. My great-grandfather was a civilian working in the shipyards. We were able to visit their resting places.
The National Cemetery of the Pacific is a beautiful area lined with giant Banyan trees. We made sure to visit the Honolulu Memorial and its chapel. Inscribed on the memorial walls are the names of the servicemen who gave their lives, but were never found. There are over 28,000 names.
The trip to the airport was during rush hour, but we made our flight with plenty of time. I had one small hiccup going through security. Since we had checked our bags very early in the morning, our bags went on to Maui without us. I had removed our sun screen from those checked bags so we would have it during the day. Well, you know I had to surrender it at security.
The flight between islands was quick. Ian graciously took care of all the rental car details. He easily navigated us from the airport to the Hale Hui Kai Condominiums. We unpacked the car and went to bed. What a first day!
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