Last Two Days in Hawaii

So yesterday I woke up late (it was nice not having to get up at 6:30 to be ready to go diving!) and had a late breakfast. My hand was killing me from where I had sliced it the previous day, and I had noticed a few more flakes of rusted metal that was deeply embedded in my finger from where I had originally cut it on the shipwreck. I busted out the sewing kit in my room and dug around in the wound until I had gotten most (if not all) of the metal "splinters" out. Needless to say, it hurt like hell. I had been going every day for over two weeks, and so I decided with my hand feeling as crappy as it was (and freshly bleeding), I decided to take the day off. I watched tv, hung out on my lanai, slept some more, and basically Thad a much needed day of rest. It was divine. That night, I got all my bags packed except for the things I'd need the following morning, since I would be checking out of my wonderful hotel (the Halekulani) the following morning.

I was up early again Wednesday morning for a tour of Pearl Harbor and Honolulu. I went downstairs and checked out, but they told me I could have a few extra hours in the room so that when I got back from my tour, I would have just a little time in the room to freshen up, and then grab my bags. I thought that was nice. So, I ate a quick breakfast, and was off on a tour! First, we stopped by the Punchbowl Pacific Cemetery where many of the casualties of the attack on Pearl Harbor where buried. Then it was off to the harbor itself.



First, we watched a short film about the attack, which ironically enough, a group of rude Japanese people sitting next to me decided to talk all the way through... Then we boarded a boat and were taken to the USS Arizona memorial, which was built over the wreckage of the USS Arizona. Over 1000 people died when that ship's ammunition dock was hit by a torpedo in the surprise attack on Dec. 7, 1941. You could see just a couple rusty bits jutting out of the water, but below the clear, blue water you could make out the rest of the mangled ship...










On one of the walls was listed the names of every person who died on the ship that day. It was a very somber experience. Then we went back to the visitors center, where I walked around and saw the submarine, the USS Bowfin.



I did some shopping at the gift shop, and then returned to the minibus to be taken on the tour of Honolulu. We saw the royal palace, the capital building, statues, among other things.






After the tour was finished, I was dropped back at my hotel, where I returned to my room, freshened up, and then took my bags down. I went for lunch, and then returned to the hotel's large sitting area which looks out over the small beach and the ocean beyond. I wasted a couple of hours, and before I knew it, it was time to head to the airport for my flight home! Aloha, Hawaii! I'll arrive in Shreveport tomorrow morning and then will leave Friday morning for Providence, RI, where I will be attending my 10 year college reunion. 10 years!!! Where did the time go?!?


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Location:Waikiki, HI