Waikiki- wiki, wiki

After we went to Pearl Harbor we drove over to Waikiki, since we were on that side of the island. The hotels were huge and so were the trees. So, Waikiki happens to be the playground of the rich and famous. It also happens to be the longest outdoor strip mall, I could ever imagine. We went inside one of the malls, to get out of the blazing sun -- yes, yours truly got pretty sunburned the day before, go figure-- This indoor mall had 4 floors and was so twisty and windy we got lost and ended up sneaking out a back entrance in a panic to get out!! Ok, well maybe it was the regular way out but it sure felt like a janitorial exit. One whole floor of that section of the "mall" was watches. WATCHES!!!! Every brand, shape, size you could imagine. Very expensive. Needless to say, we weren't there to shop. Some of those things probably cost more than our car.

One of the huge hotels

and a huge tree...I went behind the tree and looked like a little person in a video that Nathan took

A Wedding at the Westin!!

part of one of the outdoor malls--a walkway in the trees!!

One of the many statues to commemorate the pioneers of surfing

Funny story about this picture-- the highway is called the "leaky, leaky" Highway -- Nathan liked to call it the "like, like" highway. Since we're not Hawaiian, we had major pronunciation problems. All week we called it the "like, like" highway...it was funny... ok, well maybe you'd just had to have been there. :)

The Pearl

While we were in Hawaii, we decided to drive down to Pearl Harbor and visit the memorial. Let me just say that this was one of the most moving and emotionally heavy things I've ever experienced. It was incredible. This is one of those things that really makes you appreciate the sacrifice of those servicemen and women who gave their lives for the cause of freedom. One other thing that tugs at my heart strings is that my paternal grandfather was in the Navy and happened to be shot down before Pearl Harbor. We used to joke and think it was funny because he got shot "in the buttocks"- as Forrest Gump would say. Some shrapnel hit his plane and he was sent to San Diego to recover. I'm not sure how long before Pearl Harbor that this happened, but every time I think about that, I realize that had he not been shot down there was a very good possibility that he could have been there and I might never have known him. Thank goodness I was able to know him for a short while. Anyway, when we got to the memorial, they shuffled people into a small "theater" and showed a 20 minute video about the events that led up to that pivotal moment in time. It was very eye opening and helped shape the story give the visitor a better perspective on the events that took place that day. I am still amazed at the number of people that were forever entombed inside the ships and was so touched by the survivor's desire to rest with their shipmates, when their time came. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

                                                                   [bird of paradise]

                                                    [view of the Harbor]

[Seventy plus years later, oil still seeps from the depths of the ship]

 [The list of those who gave their lives on December 7, 1941] As you can see the list was so big, I couldn't get it all in the frame.

                                                     [Survivors Interred with their shipmates]

                                                              [Our symbol of freedom]

                                                 [Part of the ship, USS Arizona, under the water]