February 17, 2022 - Honolulu, Hawaii

Our reservations to visit the Pearl Harbor National Memorial weren’t until early afternoon so we had time to walk down to the beach this morning. We got to dip our toes in the water and walk along the boardwalk. There were already several people out and about and surfers in the water. Walking back to the condo we went through the Ainahua Triangle, a small park between the beach and Kalakaua Avenue. We spotted several chickens – and roosters in the park. They were beautiful, HOWEVER, they are all over the area because we hear roosters crowing from our 8th floor condo – ALL NIGHT LONG! We took the bus to the Memorial and actually got on the wrong one. The driver was so awesome – he got us to the corner so we could transfer to the correct bus just a minute before it arrived! You have to get lucky once in a while.

We arrived at the park about 12:45 for our 2:00 tour. I was here in 1996 for the 50 year anniversary and the park has changed quite a bit since then. Exhibit galleries and garden areas, as well as a gift shop were all new.We had time to go through the two exhibit galleries – “The Road to War” and “Attack”. The displays and information is so well done, but such a somber place.

We walked out by the Remembrance Circle and could see some of the ships at the U.S. Naval Base which is adjacent to the park site.You can see the Arizona Memorial from the shore.At 2:00, we boarded a U.S. Navy shuttle ferry out to the Arizona Memorial. Even though I have been here before, it still was a moving experience to think about what happened on December 7, 1941. The attack which last about two hours killed over 2400 people, including civilians and damaged or destroyed 19 Navy ships including 8 battleships. The USS Arizona Memorial was built over the sunken hull and honors the 1177 crewmen who died. The hull is both a tomb for 1102 sailors who remain within and a living reef which provides habitat for marine life. At one end of the memorial the wall has the names of the sailors who died.The Memorial straddles the hull of the ship.About 45 minutes later, we were shuttled back to the historic site where we watched a video with amazing footage of the attack and aftermath. All I can say is, “Thank you, Veterans!” We left feeling very thankful that our Dad who served in the South Pacific during WWII, in the Navy, was not there during that time.

Heading back to Waikiki, we had some time to enjoy the sights. When you ride the bus, you can take pictures! We saw some interesting sculptures in a park as we passed.The architecture in Honolulu is very diverse! Rounded buildings.We couldn’t decide if the yellow blocks were balconies, but the blocks appear to be about four stories tall.And this building reminded me of a Rubik's Cube (with rounded edges!)We even had a little comic relief when this woman got onboard. She was definitely older than us with her lemon yellow dyed hair and flower (fake) crown.Just after exiting the bus, we passed this cool looking tree. Dinner tonight took us out to EbiNomi. We read the reviews and it sounded great – and it was. It a tiny place with no indoor seating, but a fun courtyard outside. Food is served in take-away containers, but that did not hinder the taste one bit! I had garlic shrimp and rice; Bette had the coconut shrimp and fries. They were both delicious and almost more than we could eat!They have a public piano and we were treated to music by a really good piano player while we ate.When we finished, we wandered around and did some people watching. Going through the International Market Place at night was pretty fun, too. They have a market on Thursday nights with lots of vendors set up selling their handmade crafts. There was a lot to see but we refrained from buying.It was a long day and we are both tired tonight. We are resting our feet for our big adventure to the Polynesian Cultural Center tomorrow! Aloha ahiahi! (goodnight)