Hawaii Trip, Day 7: Last Day in Paradise

Monday morning was our last day in paradise. Ben and I were able to meet up with our adorable friend from high school, Stefanie McFarland, and yak about all that had happened in the years since then.

She took us onto Pearl Air Force Base and showed us the airfield that had been laid to waste by the Japanese so many years ago. She also pointed out that many of the buildings on base still had bullet holes and other scars from that day. They were never repaired as part of the memorial to those that died.

It actually did make me feel more connected to that experience to see some of the evidence with my own eyes, as though it had only happened a day or two ago. Although, I do wonder about how healthy that idea is. I mean shouldn't we try at least try to heal our scars? I don't think that would be doing a disservice to the dead either. But it was cool to see, none-the-less.

Then we headed out to a beach on the harbor where we got to see the aircraft carrier we had noticed while at the monument, head out to sea. It was fun to witness all of the pomp and circumstance associated and watch that gigantic vehicle move! I am in total awe of the power required to move that thing. I can't believe we didn't take a picture. I don't know what we weren't thinking!

After that, Stef hooked us up with some kayaks and we played around for a bit. Ben was lookin' pretty hot.


And clearly, so were we. ;)
Then we went for yummy pineapple ice cream at the Dole plantation.

The coy fish were just insane! They were all literally climbing all over each other and out of the water in a desperate quest for the little nibblets we were throwing to them. It made me wonder if the fish food dispensers had been filled with heroine or something. Do they even have rehab for coy fish in Hawaii?

After that we squeezed Stef good and met up with the rest of group. They'd gone back to Waimea hoping they could feel the beach vibrate and rumble as the waves came in--at least that's how it had been in Millie's memory. But they got far more than they bargained for. They happened to go on a particularly violent day, and they got thrown and tossed and tumbled by giant breakers that shook the crap out of the beach and everything else around.

Our exhausted and bedraggled bunch were apparently fairly relieved when a lifeguard asked everyone but locals to get out of the water. And you know the phrase, 'finding sand in places you didn't even know you had'? I'm told that can be a fact.

Shortly thereafter we bid a very reluctant goodbye to that beautiful place and began the trek back home.

It was a spectacular and perfect week that I hope to never forget. I'll always be so grateful to my darling in-laws for hauling us there and around and back and for showing me so many new, amazing things. I'd say my world has been significantly expanded for the experience.

Hawaii Trip, Day 6: Church and Turtles on the Beach

On Sunday, we went to church in one of the most beautiful chapels I've ever seen. The rooms were enclosed, but the hallways and commons areas were all outdoors. And as you can see below, the landscaping was just beautiful. It was truly an inspiring place to worship.
Not all of the speakers spoke English. One of them spoke a language I've never even heard of. But it's amazing how the spirit of their words came through anyway.

For the special musical number, they requested audience members to come up on the stand and join the choir, so some of us did. The chapel was long and had a very high ceiling, and the choir seats were positioned pretty far up on the stand, giving the room a mini-cathedral feeling. So as we sang, our sound echoed and rang throughout the room. It was lovely to be part of that!

Another thing that stood out to me happened during Relief Society announcements. As you can imagine, the cost of living in Hawaii is astronomically high. A moderate brick home, like the one I grew up in, sells in Utah for $150-250k. In Hawaii, the same kind of home sells easily for 1 or 2 million. No joke.

So in order to make it, families have to work as many jobs as they possibly can. A waiter, who took care of us one evening, told us that he and his wife work 4, sometimes 5, jobs between them to try and sustain their family in a 3-bedroom apartment. This leaves kids to tend kids, if grandparents are not available to do it.

Back to Relief Society, I became profoundly grateful for my comparatively wealthy lifestyle when they announced that parents must make an effort not to strap their teenagers with babysitting responsibilities on activity nights. Apparently they've had a real problem with little siblings coming to activities, or teens not coming at all, because they have to be home with little siblings.


In the days since the tsunami, we kept hearing about how the currents in the ocean had been messed up, and the marine life was having problems. We'd even heard a rumor or two that whales were beaching themselves over on the north shore. So off we went, for a lovely Sunday drive, to see what we could see.

We passed the beautiful cemetery below. From the road, we could see it had some interesting mausoleums and headstones. We tried to drive in for a closer look, but they actually charged an entrance fee! Can you imagine?! On Sundays, we try not to spend money or make people work if possible, so we had to turn back.

We never did see any beached whales, or anything like that, but we ran into a site where some gorgeous turtles were sunning themselves.An island organization coordinates volunteers to come down to this beach every afternoon to guard these beautiful creatures from pesky tourists while they relax and rest on the beach. The volunteers were able to identify the three turtles as ones that had been here before. They had signs out with their names and some specs about each one.
It was a real treat to come in contact with these guys and the people that love them enough to come down and guard them.

Hawaii Trip, Day 5: Jungle Hike and Bike Ride

This was an amazing day too. We followed a very athletic-looking young man to the end of a neighborhood and strait into another world entirely.


Apparently this bit of jungle is privately owned. It was originally claimed and worked as a flower plantation by a Chinese family. It's all but abandoned now. I wonder if that happened because it's obviously so difficult to keep the jungle at bay.

The tour company now pays the family who owns the property for the right to let us haoles have a jungle experience. But our tour guide said he has to come in with a machete or a chainsaw every two or three weeks and hack the trail back out of the overgrowth.


I just can't get over how quickly the jungle swallows up everything in it's path here. The house below isn't even that old! I think we decided it could have been built in the 50's. And surely someone lived in it for a while after that. The above vehicle is clearly not as old as the house even, and it has all but disappeared under all the aggressive vegetation!


The bamboo trees were something else. Our tour guide said they grow one to two feet per day! Unreal. Even though the sun was in full form that day, it was immediately dark and cool once we got into the grove of bamboo trees. Note that in the next few pics the camera flash is on, or else we wouldn't be able to see much of anything in these pics.Our tour guide also pointed out that bamboo trees are not native to the Hawaiian islands. They were most likely introduced by the Chinese, but as you can see below, bamboo trees are choking out the native plants and taking over the jungles here. It's hard to believe there exists a plant more aggressive than anything in the Hawaiian jungle!Apparently, due to it's "melting pot" nature, Hawaii as we know it, is continually threatened by all kinds of non-native plant and animal species. They now have strict import laws to stem this, but they can not stop it entirely. And once a new species takes hold, they find it impossible to rid themselves of it.

As we continued our hike, we happened upon several alters, left by ancient Hawaiians, probably to thank the gods for the natural springs that run through that land. We also walked through an aqueduct, carved out of the ground hundreds of years ago for all I know. We couldn't get pics of alters or aqueduct because of the tightness of the trees and plants. We couldn't even see them until we were right on top of them.

Eventually, we happened upon this:
This lovely waterfall falls 150 feet or so, down a sheer cliff face, into a pile of rocks and timber below. It was so delicate and just beautiful. While at the waterfall, Millie teasingly asked if our tour guide would mind if she took one of the volcanic rocks home with her. He was a pretty funny and congenial guy up to that point, but suddenly not so. In all seriousness he warned Millie that she might offend the goddess, Pele, if she did so, and the Hawaiian tourism board receives hundreds of packages each year of rocks people wish to return to Hawaii in an attempt to rid themselves of the bad luck that followed them ever since their thievery.

We all laughed at that, but he kept a very straight face. We teased him a bit, but it was apparent he truly believed what he was saying. Things were a bit awkward for a moment or two after that. I'm sure we were thinking perhaps all the sunning and surfing had bleached his brain.


After our incredible hike we went for a leisurely bike ride down a windy and very picturesque road (are there any other kind in Hawaii?!) in the foothills above our hike site. We stopped for lunch at a little overlook with the most beautiful views of Waikiki and the ocean.


While on our ride, we met up with a Japanese family whose vacation was spontaneously extended by the tsunami. They were rather anxious to get home and learn about the state of their home and belongings, but understandably, no planes were yet flying in or out of Japan due to the destroyed airports and missing runways and such. My heart went out to these people, but I was glad to see that they were still out and about, enjoying Oahu, instead of withdrawing into their anxiety.

Hawaii Trip, Day 4: Pearl Harbor

Once we had recovered from our late start, we headed out for Pearl Harbor.




The oil that continues to surface from the USS Arizona has typically been referred to as tears. But after seeing it for myself, I disagree. I think it is more like blood. This is blood from the wounds that warfare inflicts. Not all wounds heal. I pray that less such wounds will be inflicted in the future.

It was a truly remarkable experience. I'm grateful to have gone. I'm also grateful that they present the Japanese as something other than enemies. More than anything, this experience renewed in me what it really means to forgive and move on. Can you imagine how relations with Japan might be if they held grudges against us for what we did to them in that war? We would miss out on so much! They are a wonderful people. We are lucky to be on such great terms with them, when it's only been a short time since that terrible war.






While we were visiting the memorial and museum, this aircraft carrier was docked nearby, getting ready to ship out. I was totally flabbergasted by the size of everything associated with this ship. The ropes tethering it to the shore were bigger around than I am! I've never seen a vessel like it before.
Just imagine, each one of those fighter jets on deck is approximately 50 feet long. I realize they've got them packed in there pretty tight, and the wings are raised, but still, it boggles my mind!

Below is the USS Bowfin--a submarine that has been fully restored and opened up for tours.

Everything inside was so cramped. The thought of living with so many people, in such a small space, under water, for months at a time, made me a bit claustrophobic. I was awfully glad to get up on deck again. I would not make a good submarine sailor, I'm afraid.
An anchor from the USS Arizona.

There were lots of profound statements about WWII--made by all kinds of people--displayed around the grounds. But this one from Eleanor Roosevelt was the most poignant to me. If you can't read it, you should be able to click on the picture to make it a little bigger.

After this experience we headed back to Waikiki and knocked around on the beach for the after noon. As evening wore on we mixed in with the mobs of people living it up along Kalakaua Ave. and all along the beachfront. Ben and I strolled all through the International Market Place, enjoying all the performers and spending way too much on gifts and souvenirs and t-shirts and such.

At one point, we ended up in a hotel art gallery full of beautiful and dramatic works by local artists. The curator or director or whomever, was a sweet little Japanese woman. She was assured of her uncle and aunt's safety, but she hadn't been able to reach her sister during the hours after the tsunami had hit Japan. She wasn't freaking out, but it was clear that she was worried.

I've thought about her an awful lot in the days that have passed. I hope she was able to find that all was well with all of her family.

Hawaii Trip, Evening 3 to morning 4: Tsunami Adventure

After a fantastic live show, that evening at the Cutural Center, about the history and culture of some of the islands of Polynesia, we began our trek to the other side of the island. As we neared Waikiki it was clear that something was going on. There were long lines of traffic headed out of town, and all of the gas stations were packed with people desperately trying to fill up their vehicles.

It wasn't until we got back to our rooms that we learned about the tsunami off the coast of Japan. In anticipation of a large wave hitting the island, officials were evacuating all of the lower parts of Oahu. Because our hotel rooms were on the 7th floor and above, we were told to stay put in our rooms. We gathered for a meeting and prayed about what to do. We decided the only thing we really could do was to stay put as they suggested.

I'm no expert of course, but the ocean was behaving rather oddly in my view. On the previous nights, it lapped playfully at the shore line, surging here and there. On this night, it solemnly glided in and in and in, then it would drag and drag way out, like it was being sucked. No playful lapping, just a long, slow march way in and way out.

The news figured whatever wave was coming would arrive about 3:45 in the morning. we figured this was a once in a lifetime thing for us, and we wanted to see it. Besides, if it got ugly, we wanted to be consciously making desicions. So we set an alarm, and got up a half and hour before that.

After all of the traffic and confusion that generally engulfs Waikiki, and even more so during the evacuation, it was a bit eerie to look out the window and see Kalakaua Ave completely deserted except for a few daredevils and the occasional cop car.

Were were relived--and if I am honest, maybe even a bit disappointed--when our tsunami wave didn't move any farther in shore than Kalakua Ave. But it was an interesting experience, none-the-less.
I wish the pic above would show it better, but many of the boat owners took their boats out into the ocean where they could just ride a surge, instead of letting their boats get thrown around in the harbor. All the dozens of little lights out on the water made it look like a rippling night sky.

The next morning, all the boats were still out to sea--waiting, in case the danger had not passed. We knocked around in the top half of our hotel for a few hours and waited for our vacation to resume. Here's another gorgeous view of Diamond Head from the commons area of the 7th floor. It really was breathtaking.
By 11am they still hadn't lifted the evacuation order, but some of our stomachs were far more demanding than our fears at that point. So were wandered down to the road were we met other hungry tourists. The trick is, all the restaurants are at ground level or just one level up. Nothing was open.

After some time, we stumbled upon a lowly McDonalds with a line of people out to the street. Thankfully, the shop workers' greed or concern or whatever had motivated them to open up. I'll tell you what, I can't live without breakfast, and I've never been happier to wait in line for 35 minutes and pay $6 for a Big-mac. I've also learned why people pack snacks with their luggage. I believe this is a habit I will take up better in the future!