Black tears

 

A peaceful and still early morning at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial yesterday. We had time to visit the museums and watch the excellent documentary film before our 9 am boat tickets to the Arizona Memorial. 

 

The famous white structure was built over the sunken battleship Arizona, straddling the hull, parts of which are still visible. 

Of the 1,102 Arizona crew members, more than 900 sailors and marines are still entombed in the wreck below, making this site a most solemn National Memorial Cemetery. 

 

 

The shrine room with a list of the names, and a place to reflect on the devastating 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor that killed 2,403 Americans. 

 

We grew up with parents who experienced World War II, and are the last generation to hear those stories directly. John's dad was a Marine in the South Pacific and our dad served in Panama. We both wished they could have visited here. 

 One of the smoke stacks still visible above the surface. 

 

And a most poignant sight. Over a half million gallons of heavy bunker fuel is still trapped in the ship's hull, leaking 2-9 quarts a day. At the current rate of seepage, the ship could continue to leak oil for another 500,000 years.

This phenomenon is widely known as "The Black Tears of the Arizona."

 

 

We all know the history, but visiting the actual site is a profound and memorable experience. 

The view

 

We have an ocean view room on the 23rd floor (nice) but the unit next door is ocean front. We can crane our necks around the corner and see what $1000 a night gets you. 

BTW, this is not a typical fluffy clouds Oahu sunset.  Exceptionally dry atmosphere right now. 

The vibrant night scene from our balcony. Kinda like Las Vegas, but more cosmopolitan and with an ocean. What to say? Many things have taken me by surprise here, especially the noise level. 

 

Looking down on the show at the International Marketplace far below. The beating drums and voices carrying up through the skyscrapers-- binoculars useful to see the hula girls. 
 

 OK. A classic shot of the beach. We walked over yesterday and sat on the sand. 

The water too chilly and rough for us, but thousands of people swimming and surfing from morning to night. 

An early start this morning for our half day tour on the north shore. Which turned into a very long half day-- we boarded the bus at 7:30 and got back to the hotel at 4. 
 

The Honolulu nightmare traffic to blame! However, such courteous and patient drivers compared to Seattle. Must be the climate and the aloha lifestyle. 

The Dole Plantation. A classic tourist trap, but hey, the whole island is. When in Rome. 

 We rode the little Pineapple Express train...

Through the fields...

 Ate a ears of local corn. And a pineapple whip (mandatory.) 

Walked through botanical garden...

Colorful...

And everyone bought nuts at the next stop. 

And finally, a 2 hours at Halewia town on the north shore for shrimp lunch then walking around the shops. And a shaved ice. 

Tomorrow, Pearl Harbor. 

Arrival in Paradise

All my weather worries (as usual) came to nothing. After a cruel 2:30 am wake-up, we were at the Hawaiian Airlines counter when when they opened, and the flight departed on time at 7 am. 

 

 

In minutes we were above the dreary Northwest clouds, cruising along in a spanking new Boeing 787. I like gazing out at the clouds and ocean below, doing some daydreaming on the Dreamliner.  

 

 

The 787 doesn't have those typical pull down window shades-- there's a button you press to lighten or darken the glass by your seat. 

 

Pretty slick technology, but on this flight the windows were controlled by the cockpit, and the cabin was dark for most of the 6 hour flight!  So I had this weird view of the sun through the dark window, looking like the moon. Everyone was either sleeping or glued to the screens.  

 

Anyway, about 2 hours from Honolulu, the windows gradually lightened like a fake sunrise, giving the discombobulated feeling of coming off a night flight.  

 

 

 

We were met in the baggage claim by the representative, and soon in the shared van to our hotel. Everything went smoothly, thumbs up Costco travel. 

 

 

Our room is high up on the 23rd floor with partial view of Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head in the distance. The outside balcony is noisy for sitting, due to all the HVAC systems roaring below, but other than that no complaints. The service here is very nice.

 

 

Only the old people remember Don Ho. What would he think of this glitzy new Hawaii?

 

We walked around for a while in a daze, checking out the fancy malls and designer stores. This area is a luxury shopping destination for the world, and if nothing else, great for people watching. 

 

We shared a simple pizza at the Maui Brewing Company and went to bed early. What a long day.

 

 

 

And a new one begins. Up early for the included breakfast in the hotel lobby cafe. We plan walk over to the beach this morning and stick our feet in the ocean. Tomorrow, a bus tour of the North Shore, and on Saturday, Pearl Harbor. 

 

Aloha!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flight countdown

 

Wouldn't you know it? The Seattle weather has turned absolutely springlike this week, just in time for our winter getaway. Sunny days, but the downside is dense fog in the mornings, and we have an early flight tomorrow on Hawaiian Airlines. 

I always need to worry about something when we travel (preferably something completely out of my control ha!) so a fog delay will do nicely. 

We shall see. Hope to be posting some cool Waikiki photos in a couple of days. Stay tuned and aloha for now.

National Hot Tea Day

 

 

Tea is good and good for you. I look forward to my cup of Sleepy Time tea each evening. 

That contraption is a handy electric element to heat a cup of water for instant coffee or tea. Yes, most hotel rooms have some sort of coffee maker, but you're not getting Sleepy Time out of a Keurig. 

So that's going to Hawaii, along with some other new travel gadgets to try out. 2026 will make up for our lack of vacations in 2025. 

Next up, a Viking River Cruise in June. Now that will be a challenge to pack for, especially John, who obsesses about running out of clean shirts. I said if we can float along the Rhine like royalty, we can afford to send a few shirts out to be washed in the boat laundry. Don't sweat the small stuff. 

Anyway, sitting at my computer this morning sorting through all the travel documents. 

What a jumble of email for a relatively simple trip: airline tickets and unintelligible travel insurance documents, Costco hotel package with transfer information, tours we've already booked to Pearl Harbor and the North Shore. Everything of course is electronic and what on earth would happen if you lost your telephones?

Remember paper airline tickets? I still have this fine leather holder, buttery from use, bought from Levenger in the 1990's. I'm nostalgic about it and since it will never wear out, now I stuff it with documents printed out at home. Just in case. Hard to imagine what travel was like before the Internet.

Staying power

 

 

That Home Depot poinsettia looks exactly like it did a month ago. They seem to last much longer these days, and go easily from holiday decorations to houseplants that hang around for longer than you probably want to look at them. Easter is about my upper limit. 

It's been a quiet week but that's OK, we're gearing up for our trip and trying to stay well. I didn't go to ukulele yesterday. Two hours sitting on the cold crowded patio in a not-so-clean bar? Well, that kind of has flu written all over it. We've been healthy so far this winter and hope our luck holds.

Speaking of indulgent self-care, Amanda sent this picture of furry lumps toasting themselves in front of the Russian stove. Oh, the good life. 

We're also sticking close to home this weekend. Among other reasons, I-5 (the main freeway through downtown Seattle) is shut down for construction, so why drive anywhere if you don't have to.   

See you Monday.