Honolulu

We spent 2 days in Honolulu but didn’t do what I assume are the normal activities there — no beach, no fancy restaurants, no trip up Diamond head. We went to Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial yesterday. The guide’s explanation, the film, with actual footage of the attack, and the memorial to the 1,177 men who died in that ship were all very moving but I will probably remember the story of forgiveness that we were told the longest. The ranger told us of one of the survivors who had watched the Japanese pilot drop the bombs and who came back 50 years later to meet and forgive a man who had dropped them. It was a powerful reminder of the freedom of forgiveness.

The picture here of the memorial is from a poster because in the rain I didn’t get a good image. There were parts of the ship visible above the water and the list of names inside was sobering; thinking of all the families who lost someone in that very few minutes. The USS Missouri, a stone’s throw away from the memorial, was the last US battleship ever built and the last active battleship in the world. WWII ended on her deck on Sept. 2, 1945, with a formal ceremony and the signing of the Instrument of Surrender.

The map on the sidewalk provided a great illustration of just how much ocean we have to cross! We’re going to stop at a few islands before landing in New Zealand but most of our next few days will just be looking at water.

Our guide took great joy in telling us how much more advanced their kingdom had been than the United States. Their palace had had indoor plumbing before the White House, he said.

We are docked right down town amidst the high rises full of tourists and the planes fly right over our head as they come in to land every three minutes. It’s hard to believe how many people are here when the streets seem fairly empty. Today’s outing was to Costco, which wasn’t very busy either, to get last minute items before heading out to sea once again.

This shot of the Skyline unmanned transit structure is for you, Jake. We were no where near the only section that is operational so it’s the best I could do 🙂