Pearl Harbor Day

I'm not real sure why this blogger puts all my stuff in the reverse order of how I uploaded it. Just bear with me. All the stuff is in the reverse order of how we did it.

The last place we visited today was the USS Oklahoma Memorial. The USS Oklahoma was one of the battleships that was lost forever on December 7th, 1941. It held the second highest death toll of all the ships (Arizona being the highest - more than double the Oklahoma). Each of the white pillars respresents one of the sailors / soldiers killed. Nice, if not small, memorial. It is just outside the gates of the USS Missouri. Not one other person walked over to see it while we were there.


This was our last stop on the USS Missouri. This is the location where the surrender was signed by Japan. It was very cool standing where MacArthur was as he signed the instrument of surrender. They have pictures of the ceremony hanging on the ship walls. You can look at the pictures, then turn around and see the same position on the ship. We took the guided tour so we got to see where Admiral Halsey waited, drinking coffee, until the Japanese delegation was on board. Neat little piece of history.

Huge, intimidating ship. They are currently replacing the Teak wood deck. Too many tourists stole the knot holes. The ship is in absolutely wonderful shape. It is due to be dry docked later this year to repair the hull and be repainted.

We stopped in and saw the USS Bowfin. This submarine is the best specimen of a WW II submarine I have ever seen. There was even a worker milling around the sub polishing everything. As you can see in the pictures, all the brass shined. Made me think of Hee Haw in his Navy days.

Jennier took control of the ballast tanks. She really doesn't like her picture taken.

This picture was taken inside the USS Arizona memorial looking up at the flag. It was truly amazing to see boat load after boat load filled to capacity, on an off day, going to the site. It was a moving experience. In the gift shop, Jennifer thought it would be nice to have a US flag that flew over the memorial. She grab one out of the diplay and it showed it was flown on Sept 11th. She had the opportunity to register it in honor of her grandfather who fought at Guadalcanal.

And last night. I ordered the first "foo foo" drink of the trip. A Mia Tai. Wow did it pack a punch. Jennifer had a Lava something. She was fun to walk back to the hotel. We ate at the Oceanarium at the Pacific Hotel. It was nice. Lot of pretty good seafood. All the crab legs you can eat.

Tomorrow we are going to go snorkling at Hanauma Bay. Jennifer has never been. It should be fun. If we don't wear ourselves out too much, we may hike to the top of Diamondhead. Look for pictures tomorow.