HONOLULU, HAWAII Febuary 4, 2008
Today we docked at one of the eight islands of the 50th state of the union Hawaii: Oahu.
Oahu (approximately 600 square miles) was first settled according to oral histories and artifacts in the 12th century. The royal court of Kamehameha moved to the island from the Island of Hawaii in 1804 and ruled the island until taken over as a territory and finally becoming a state in 1959.
We took way too many pictures and distilled them down to these 9. Judy is in most of them for scale, plus the fact I kind of like her.
First is the welcoming scene of Aloha Tower. The hula dancers and musicians were out dancing and playing for us as we arrived at 7AM for a very warm welcome.
Next is a picture of Judy with a larger than life bronze of one of the dancers trying to teach her some moves.
Early in the morning we went to Pearl Harbor to see the USS Arizona memorial. We attached a picture of the map of the harbor as it was on December 7th 1941 in the center you may be able to make out the Ford Island. Along the left side is the battleship row they took such a beating including the Arizona.
The 4th picture is of the memorial structure over the ruin of the Arizona hull and the 1000+ sailors still entombed. The 5th picture is of Judy with the Arizona tye up key in the background. The 6th shot is from with in the hall listing the names of those who died that day. In addition there are names of 89 more who survived the attackand chose to have their remains entered with their shipmates; very touching.
The 7th and 8th shot are of the Battleship USS Missouri now moored in Pearl Harbor as a museum. Judy has a special affection for the “Mo” as her uncle served on it and was on board during the signing of the Japanese surrender. He really had some stories.
Finally speaking of the Japanese, here is a picture of a model of one of the aircraft carriers loaded with some of the planes used in the attack.
