Arrival in Waikiki; Pearl Harbor


Waikiki, July 22, 2019

We had a long but uneventful flight to Honolulu, leaving Sunday morning at 9 AM from Rochester and arriving the same day (plus 6 hours time change) at 4:00 PM.  We took a Lyft to the hotel on Waikiki, where the group leader was at a table in the lobby.  We all got orchid leis:



We checked in, washed up, and went to an early dinner with the group.  We are 24 grandparents and grandchildren, and there are two other 13-year old boys which should make things nice for Ben.  We went to bed at 8:00 and slept until 6:00 AM on Monday!

Monday morning we had an orientation after breakfast, with expanded introductions.  The day was devoted to learning about Pearl Harbor, the entry of the USA into WW II, and the end of the war with Japan with the signing of a surrender.

We drove to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial:



We spent the morning at two small museums on the site, one relating the events leading up to the Pearl Harbor attacks, and the other showing the results of the attacks in considerable detail.  We then saw a 45-minute movie about the attack on Pearl Harbor, with considerable original footage.  We then took a boat ride in the harbor and went past the USS Arizona memorial, placed over the sunken ship, and currently closed for repairs:



Although Ben had been aware of WW II, and vaguely aware of the role of the Pearl Harbor attack, this presentation really made the war real to him and led to some questions.  We had lunch at a nearby restaurant, following which we spend a couple of hours at the USS Missouri which is docked nearby.


The nine largest guns are enormous; note the people at the base of the left and middle guns here for perspective:



We had a guided tour of the ship, including some time at the very location where the Japanese surrender occurred.  There are lots of photographs and documents there, including this one of the Japanese delegation:



Ben enjoyed some of the open locations on the bridge:


Back at the hotel in the late afternoon and Ben and Joyce took a nap.  We’re on our own for diner tonight, and Ben would like Korean.  Tomorrow, surfing, outrigger canoes and a taro farm.

Comments

  1. Ralph P. LockeJuly 28, 2019 at 12:45 PM

    Great that the trip involves an increased awareness of history--I always think of a trip to Hawaii as pure relaxation, but you're doing a good mix.
    Ralph

    ReplyDelete

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