Friday 19 October, Saturday 20 October, Sunday 21 October
With the alarm clocks going off just before 4.30 am we were up and getting ready for our airport and on our way to the Hawaiian island of Oahu and Honolulu. The flight was around five hours and with gaining three hours in the time difference to LA we arrived around 11.00 am.
Although our rooms were not ready we were able to leave our bags and spend a couple of hours walking around Waikiki. Lunch was at Kings Village and a shop set up as a fifties diner with all the memorabilia that went with it. It was then a quick walk down to Waikiki Beach and then back to the Hotel via the International Market place. If you wanted to buy a Hawaiian shirt then this was the place to be as there are thousands of them in all shapes and sizes.
Flying into Honolulu
With not a great deal of time to spare we were once again on a bus. This time it was to Paradise Cove Resort to attend a Luau. Pick up time was between 3.45 and 4.15 and Paradise Cove some distance form Waikiki and at that time of day took some time because of peak hour.
At the Luau it was a Mai Tail on arrival and different activities, arts and crafts to been seen and Polynesian games prior to dinner. Prior to dinner it was an opportunity to watch a beautiful sunset in a lovely tropical setting. After dinner it was a show including the great fire dancer and of course the girls in grass shirts. The three hour time difference started to catch up with us. It was only 10pm where we were it was closer to one o’clock on the mainland and the day crept up on all of us.
Pardise Cove
It was back to Waikiki and into bed as we had to be up and ready for our tour the next day by 6.30am. We did miss Anne and Jeff but we did receive a message to say that they had picked up their rental car OK and managed to successfully navigate out of LA.
Saturday it was up early again to join a day tour to Pearl Harbour. After a picking up everyone we made our way out to the Arizona Memorial. It is a case of first come first served and after arriving around 9.00am we found out our time that would be 1.00pm.
To fill in the time we took the shuttle bus over to Ford Island and the tour of the Missouri battleship also known as “Mighty Mo”. It was on this ship that the Japanese surrender ceremony took place ending their involvement in World War II. After taking in a guided tour it was time to explore the ship more and to visit the mess, and living quarters of what was once the home to thousands of sailors.
Then it was back to the USS Arizona Memorial Centre where there were several displays to hear and read about the events of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbour. Prior to taking the launch out to the memorial a short film was shown giving an overview of the attack. A motor launch then took us out to the memorial which lies across the sunken USS Arizona and the watery grave of the sailors that went down with her. Even today it is as if the ship is still alive with slow leak of oil which according to the guide that it will be quite a number of years that this will continue. While looking over the edge into the water you can see the small dots of oil which surface to the top and then the ripples of water disperse it.
After returning to shore it was back into the bus and the tour took us to the Punchbowl Crater with is a large lawn cemetery and then a drive through Downtown Honolulu. This area is the commerce and business area of Honolulu and where many of the older buildings and history of the island are.
It was good to be off of the bus and gave everyone the afternoon to explore Waikiki. Terry and Glen took a swim, while Graham and Shirley also seized the opportunity to put their toes into the famous beach. After dinner in market and soaking in the mild tropical night everyone retired to repack bags for the last leg of the journey home.
This will be my last post as I am sitting here waiting for our transfer to the airport. It is Sunday morning and we fly out at 11.50 am and crossing the International Date Line our 10 hour trip will deliver us in Sydney at 7.30pm Monday. Because of lateness of getting in we will be staying overnight in Sydney near the airport and then next morning the final leg to Adelaide and home.
It’s been a great time away and as we leave our last couple of days here behind us and head west we have time to reflect on all the places we have been and the people we have met. Our thoughts are also with Anne and Jeff who are still exploring the USA a little bit more and have not been able to share the last couple of days with us. I hope that “my sister” and “brother-in-law” complete their holiday and stay safe and we get to catch up when back “Down Under”.
