Hawaii Day 2, Part 1

All of the travel books that we read said that if you want to go to Pearl Harbor to see the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, then go on the first morning that you are there.  Odds are that you'll be awake at 4 a.m. (and we were) and to get there early because it would get crowded (and it was).  My wife originally said we weren't going to Pearl Harbor.  I insisted that I was going, whether they were going or not was the question.  Eventually she changed her mind and I think they actually enjoyed the visit.

When the sun finally rose, I saw this giant sea turtle swimming around the coral reef looking for food.  He was probably about 4-5 feet long.  

I then spotted this shark, which my son identified as a white tipped reef shark.  As much as he reads about fish, I would take his word for it.

On our way to Pearl City we passed this gas station.  So, for the record, gas does not cost $9 per gallon.  It was $4.19 as of February 10th (I think).

We arrived at Pearl Harbor a little after 7 a.m.  The parking lot was already full of old men with dark blue hats displaying the names of this ships on which they served.

A boat takes you on a short ride across the harbor to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, which straddles the still sunken battleship.  There is a somber feeling as you approach the memorial where 1,177 men were killed when "the United States was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces by the Empire of Japan."

Aboard the memorial, you look down upon the rusting sunken tomb, oozing with the thick acrid smell of burning oil.  This is the #3 rear gun turret. 

This view is facing stern.  You can cleanly see the oil slick on the surface.  Keep in mind that this ship sank nearly 72 years ago.

I found this marble wall interesting. Behind it is a wall listing the names of all of the sailors that died on December 7th, 1941.  The smaller wall is the list of the names of sailors that survived the attack that have since passed.

This is the #2 turret mount.  It is now full of coral and tropical fish.

Here is more of the oil slick coming from the stern of the ship.

As sad as this site is, I found this quite beautiful.  The sunken ship is now home to all kinds of new life.

After we left Pearl Harbor, we went to Anna Miller's for lunch.  It's kind of like Hawai'i's Denny's, except with really good food.  I got pineapple / orange juice.  It was AMAZING.  I think someone went next door to the pineapple tree and squeezed the juice fresh.  I ordered a fried rice omelet  which was really good, too, but way too big.

We passed this field of farmers next to a shopping center.  When they noticed that we were taking their picture, several of them waved to us.  

I think I've exceeded some limit to blog posts, because it won't let me post anymore pictures, so I'll leave it at this.  Next post - our trip to the North Shore.