HAWAII! (Back to our regular posts.)

On Wednesday, we visited Pearl Harbor. We had planned on seeing the U.S.S. Arizona for sure and then figuring out what else there was to see and what else we wanted to see. The U.S.S. Arizona tickets are given away on a first come, first serve basis until they run out so, even though we got there early, our time wasn't until 12:30. With our wait, we decided to see the U.S.S. Bowfin, a WWII submarine.

The Bowfin has an audio tour that takes you through the whole ship.

Mitch likes seeing all of the guns and gauges. I like seeing the "bedrooms," kitchen, and dining room.


That there is a submarine quality mixer.

After touring the submarine, I decided that I definitely would NOT like to live on a submarine. I'd feel too claustrophobic. And really, even if you weren't claustrophobic before living on a submarine, you probably would be after.

After the Bowfin, we had an early lunch in the courtyard area. We did not share our lunch with the "birds" though.


(I sent a picture of that sign to my mom and Emily. Emily suggested that they might not have wanted us to feed the "birds" because maybe they "bite.")

We also went to the gift shop and the submarine museum while we waited but, we don't have any pictures of those.

Then, we went to the Arizona. A little ferry takes you across the water to the memorial. I don't think Mitch or I realize the significance or the history of this memorial and this spot.

Basically, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, we had all of our battleships docked together in a row (appropriately called "Battleship Row"). The Arizona was actually perpendicular to the memorial. So... the memorial basically straddles the mid-section of the original ship. (See Wikipedia's picture here.)

Most of the ship still lays in the water, with all of these men still inside.


A handful of lucky men assigned to the Arizona survived the attack. Since then, many have passed away and had their remains returned to the ship to be buried with their shipmates. The last burial was in May of this year.

You can still see parts of the original ship sticking out of the water.

You can also see and smell oil at the memorial. The U.S.S. Arizona is leaking oil at a rate of about one quart per day.
Interesting, isn't it? We thought so.

Anyway. After that we spent a little bit more time walking around the exhibits and then went home. (Well, back to the hotel. And the beach. Where we relaxed more.)