Remembering Pearl Harbor

One of our main reasons for choosing Oahu to visit was our desire to take in the Pearl Harbor sites. We did this on Thursday, when we visited the U.S.S. Missouri, the Pacific Aviation Museum, and the monument to the sunken U.S.S. Arizona.

We boarded the Missouri, or Mighty Mo, first, after a shuttle carried us from the visitors' center onto the military base.

Gord is a history buff, and this ended up being his favorite day of our trip.

While World War II began for the United States with Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor, it ended here as well, on board the Mighty Mo when it was anchored in Tokyo Harbor in 1945. On this spot, the big players signed the document detailing Japan's surrender, ending the war.

Violet ended up losing a tooth while we listened to a docent tell us about the ship! See the hole next to the top tooth that's coming down?

After our tour, Grandpa treated the girls to a Shave Ice. Nice and refreshing on a warm, tropical day. (P.S. I love this photo of my dad with the girls!)

Next up was the aviation museum. We could have spent hours in here, but our timed entry for the U.S.S. Arizona film and boat tour got in the way.

One of the hangars open to the public still shows damage from the Dec. 7, 1941 surprise attack.

Outside that hangar was a lineup of helicopters that my talented husband has worked on. So proud of him.

Cute photo op inside the museum.

Lastly, we watched a movie about the Pearl Harbor attack and boarded a boat for a harbor cruise past the Arizona memorial. Sadly, the dock showed cracks weeks before we arrived and was closed to visitors.

Hanauma Bay

Snorkeling was one of our favorite memories from our 2016 Hawaii trip, so we set out Wednesday to see the fishies. Stace and I needed to swap out our bug-infested rental car in Honolulu, so we dropped off the family at Hanauma Bay, which was heading that direction. It was a gorgeous beach!

And there were fish to be seen.

There also was an adorable Hawaiian monk seal sunning himself while napping. We were pretty lucky to see this sight! Thanks to Grandpa for the cute photo.

Stace and I got the car exchanged and then joined everyone at the beach. The conditions weren't ideal for snorkeling - it was windy and the sandy surface was churned up.

On our way back, we stopped at a cool blow hole, and also saw the beach where a famous scene in From Here to Eternity was filmed.

Lovely Luau

After enjoying Waimea Falls, we changed into nicer clothes and stayed for a luau dinner, complete with flower leis.












The evening started with the traditional cooking of local foods in an in-ground fire pit, covered by leaves.

We then took part in a traditional greeting ceremony. Our girls were able to be the tribe welcoming us to the luau.

It was all very interesting and educational to be a part of.

Finally, before we headed over the buffet, we admired a trio of young men shimmying up a palm tree and back down. Cora wants to learn their technique!

After the dinner, we watched a variety of Polynesian dances, including the hula. That part was awesome! We also listened to Hawaiian music. Later, the leader called on people celebrating an anniversary to come up. My parents' anniversary is in November, but we all celebrated the big 40th with them, so they also went to the front.

Stace and Gord were also called to the stage, to take part in a Maori manly display with a lot of other guys. Unfortunately the photos didn't come out great, but you can see Cora and Violet enjoying it greatly here.

We then went outside for the fire dancing and fire-eating! Amazing.

It was truly a night to remember and a fabulous luau!

Waimea Falls

Aided by the time difference, Stace and I were up before the sun Tuesday, and went across the street to watch the sun rise over the ocean. Tiny bit of a bummer that it were a few clouds blocking a perfect sunrise, but it was still a gorgeous way to start our day.

The sand crabs here are adorable. Stace had fun with a GoPro camera we borrowed from a friend, and captured footage to put together this video.

Later in the day, we went to Waimea Falls, where we walked through a botanical garden to reach this lovely waterfall and pool.

 It was pretty cool water, but refreshing on a warm day.

Aloha Welcome

 Hawaii-bound!

We spent Sunday night at a hotel close to the airport, where we left our car Monday morning and boarded a shuttle. Then we were on our way, Oahu or bust! It was fun flying with our four, plus Nan, Pop, Grandma and Grandpa.

 Once on the island, we got our rental car and drove toward our rental house. We stopped on the way to admire the view from a sweet little harbor.

 After stopping for groceries, we found our house and got settled in. We later walked across the street to the nearest beach, steps from our home away from home.

It was a gorgeous evening, the perfect Aloha welcome.