Our Christmas present this year was a trip to Hawaii! It was a short trip and inspired by the fact that Hunter wanted to run in the Honolulu Marathon, but turned out to be the perfect Christmas present. Our pictures are kinda scattered and taken with multiple cameras, so we will start here and go slightly out of order.
One of the first things we did was go to Pearl Harbor. We toured the Arizona Memorial, the Submarine, and the Battleship. It was pretty incredible.
First stop: USS Bowfin
It's pretty tiny inside the submarine. I am not sure I could spend more than a couple hours down their without getting pretty claustrophobic.
Do you see the size of that stand mixer! Just imagine how many cupcakes could be produced at once! ;)
There is the downstairs...
...and upstairs
Sleeping quarters. See what I mean about cramped?
We went with another couple (which was way fun!). We both went in for the picture at the same time and decided it was perfectly fitting to take a picture of each other taking a picture.
Soooo many controls and gadgets...
I really can't get enough of just how beautiful it is in Hawaii. Just look at this perfectly clear, blue water!
I'm pretty sure that Ken is appalled in this picture because Hunter walked right up and butted in line in front of him to sit in the chair and look through the glasses.
The anchor chain that is holding the Sub in place. It is huge!
One of the missiles...
Next stop: USS Arizona
This is a piece of the Arizona jutting out of the water. A cool thing that we learned is that any sailor who was stationed on the Arizona when it was attacked and survived can be buried their when they do pass on, no matter how much later. The way that is done without disturbing the memorial itself is divers take the ashes out and put them into this big opening. That way they are able to be buried with fellow sailors and the sacredness of the site is left undisturbed.
The names of all those who died on December 7, 1941.
The names of those later laid to rest with their comrades and the years they joined them.
We found it really interesting that there is still oil from the Arizona slightly discoloring the waters after all these years. There is very little oil left, but it still manages to cause discoloration.
Final stop: USS Missouri
This part of the memorial is more celebratory. It marks the end of World War II and is actually where the final documents ending the war were signed.
Compared to the submarine, the battle ship is massive! I learned that I would make a much better member of a battleship crew than a submarine crew.
This dent in the side is where a Japanese bomber plane actually collided with the ship. Notice how little damage it did to the structure? Amazing. The damage on board was much more hazardous, but was quickly contained.
My favorite place of anywhere we go to visit....the kitchen!
And the beds. Still pretty cramped, but just long enough for Hunter to lay flat in.
This definitely dates the Missouri...
Officers and higher ranking sailors definitely got the better end of the deal bedroom wise.
Don't worry, we found the lab! We later realized it was only a dental lab, but still went with the picture because we figured there had to be a hospital type lab somewhere on the ship.
Here we are sitting in the Captain's chair...
The employee watching the captain's chair was sure to point out that it really belongs to me, and any woman really ;)
Being able to tour all these memorials was really incredible and we learned a lot. It really makes you appreciate all that those before us have been through. We went on December 6th, so we got to see all the preparations for the ceremonies that were taking place the next day. I think if we had put two and two together, we would have gone the next day so we could say we were in Perl Harbor on Pearl Harbor Day. It would also have been eerily fascinating to be there 71 years after the actual date.
