Tim had to go back to Oahu much sooner than his last trip because he had to get his physical done. I had a three day weekend from work and school so I flew over to hang out with him and be a tourist.
And BOY did we look like tourists. Tim rented the bumblebee for the weekend and we drove around with the top down even when it would sprinkle. I hid my head down most of the time in embarrassment. It was fun to drive though :)
The first night we stayed at the Hilton right in the heart of tourist town, which was conveniently a block away from a 24 hour local coffee house that sold greasy yumminess, and had karaoke until the buttcrack of dawn. Seriously awesome spot.
The only thing I really wanted to do in Oahu was visit Pearl Harbor which was AMAZING. Admission is free, as well as a ticket to watch a short film and then hop on a boat which takes you to the USS Arizona memorial. Free!
While waiting for the film to start we looked around in one of a few little outdoor museums they have. This is one of the propeller bombs the Japanese used to attack.
My very favorite part of Pearl Harbor was seeing the first draft of the "Infamy Speech". You can see all of the mistakes and marks, and even how the word 'infamy' was scribbled in.
The film you watch before getting on to the boat will make you cry. Seriously, after it was over all 200 people in that theatre did speak one word after. Shuffling out of the theatre in silence was bizarre.
The boat takes you to the USS Arizona memorial which is a long open white building that stands over the sunken Arizona.
It's hard to comprehend how big this battleship is until you are literally standing on top of it.
W. Cowan. I wish I knew if there was a relation. There was also a bench that was donated by a Cowan.
This is the list of the men that were lost. In the bottom right hand corner is a list of men that have died since the attack.
You can see the oil that seeps out of the Arizona. 8 gallons of oil a day. Our tour guide (who looked about 90 years old) said that the oil will stop seeping out when the last man that was there the day of the attack has died.
When we got back to land, we got on a bus that took us to the USS Missouri. The Missouri was the last battleship ever made, she was only half done being built when the attack on Pearl Harbor happened. You do have to pay to tour the ship, but it was SO well worth it. And if you're wondering why I'm holding my shoe, that is because the strap decided to break beyond repair right before climbing on. They let me go barefoot, which only resulted in me stubbing my toe once. The greatest part about visiting the Missouri is they let you tour her unattended. This ship is so incredibly gigantic that you could spend all day looking in all of the hundreds of nooks and crannies.
Out in the distance you can see where we were earlier, the USS Arizona memorial site.
Tim eating starbursts in the officers room.
As for the rest of Oahu, it mainly consisted of being lazy and eating lots of chicken wings. Plus my camera decided to break after Pearl Harbor.
I totally donated that bench.
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