October 7
Today was the actual first day of the Hawaiian Adventure tour by Collette. We met our guide Annie (who we'd corresponded with via email previously) in person in the elevator this morning and then after breakfast had an organizational meeting. Unfortunately the dock at Pearl Harbor is under construction and so there is very limited access to go to the Arizona monument. So instead, we were told they were taking us to tour the USS Missouri. BUT that brought along the restrictions that nothing bigger than the size of a wallet could be brought on the bus. So all the women had to scramble to unload their "essentials" from their purses and return to their room before we could get going. Boarded the busses and drove through the city as our driver, Garfield - who was amazing - gave us background and history to the city of Honolulu. And the first stop was the "Punchbowl" cemetery were so many of the enlisted are buried from Pearl Harbor.
Then we drove out to Pearl Harbor. We had to clear two different levels of security before we drove out to Ford Island where we got to tour all over the USS Missouri. Just HUGE! Hard to believe everything that was on board. And the "bunks" where the sailors slept - appropriately named "coffin bunks" because it was like a three-sided coffin with a pillow. Not sure how much sleep I'd have gotten in one of those....not to mention being INSIDE a ship.
Finally we went to the museums on the island and the coolest part about that was that we had a terrific, panoramic view of the Missouri and the Arizona monument. As our driver/guide Garfield pointed out, here in one photo you had where the war began - with the bombing of Pearl Harbor & the sinking of the USS Arizona - and where the war ended, because the final terms of surrender were held on the deck of the USS Missouri. And as we saw the spot where the papers were signed and I took a photo of the documents there I was reminded that when I took my sister on a Viking River Cruise to Eastern Germany we visited Pottsdam where the treaty ending the war in Europe was signed!
Got back to the hotel about 3:30. Had a group dinner at 5:30 and then we headed up to the 5th floor (remember that's where the pool deck is) and got to see another fabulous Hawaiian sunset - WOW. And the evening was topped off by fireworks over the water. What a great day!
Wow. Just wow. Amazing day with the history. And, the sunset and fireworks are spectacular!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment - I never check to see if there are any! And as an addition.....our driver's Dad, as an 8yo watched the entire attack on Pearl Harbor with shells bursting all around him; and our guide for the journey, her Dad in Norway helped save escaping refugees from the Nazis. Really cool moments of the tour.
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