Hawaii: Part Two

Monday (Pearl Harbor Day):

On Monday we spent the day at Pearl Harbor. We were incredibly lucky to have a connection through one of our group members to Commander Jeff James, who is in charge of the Pacific Navy. He spent the day with us, talking about his life in Hawaii, answering countless questions about the memorials, and spending time with us.

First we went to the Arizona Memorial, where it was incredible to be suspended over the sunken battleship, looking down on its remains. You can still see oil leaking out of the tanks and it sends a chill down your spine knowing that bodies lay entombed in the battleship underwater.

After walking around the visitor center for a while, we took a bus over to Ford Island, where we got to take a tour of the Battleship Missouri. Since we were in the company of Commander James, we were taken on a special tour of the battleship that went deeper into the ship as well as through restricted areas. It was one of the coolest experiences to be down in a battleship, trying to imagine what it would be like to work there.

Tuesday (Free Day – sunrise hike, Chinatown, luau):

We woke up at 5:00 am on Tuesday to make our way over to Diamondhead for a sunrise hike. The mountain looked much less intimidating from the hotel, but it ended up taking an hour to hike straight up to the top going at a very rapid pace. The reward for the hard trek was astonishing, and it was beautiful to see the sunrise in Hawaii.

From there, we headed over to Chinatown, where we quickly discovered hundreds and hundreds of jewelry stands, clothing stands, and restaurants. Hawaii’s Chinatown district is unlike most in the fact that it is not a huge tourist location. It was an authentic experience and we enjoyed some incredible Chinese food while we were there.

In the evening we went to a luau. This was not a traditional luau by any means; it was the supped-up, Six Flags/Disney version of a luau. It was entertaining to say the least, and while it was certainly not authentic, it was fun to see dancing and try Hawaiian dishes, like poi (which is not the most delicious thing to try).

Wednesday (North Shore Day):

We spent Wednesday on the North side of the island, travelling on a charter bus with an incredible tour guide. He took us to Pali Lookout, which is the highest point of Oahu and looks out on the whole North side of the island. It was beautiful.

We then went to Kuala Ranch, where many Hollywood movies were filmed (and Lost is being filmed there as we speak). We took a movie tour and took pictures in the famous areas.

We had lunch from a popular shrimp truck, where I got to have the best shrimp ever (and I am quite a shrimp person). From there, we went to the Dole Plantation and learned more about the pineapples, as well as having a competition to see who could get through their human maze (which is the largest in the world) the fastest. My team lost, but we put up a good fight.

Thursday (Free Day – Hanauma Bay, shopping, puka dogs/shave ice)

Our last full day in Hawaii was spent snorkeling in beautiful Hanauma Bay and shopping for last-minute souvenirs.

The real highlight of the day was getting to try some popular Hawaiian beach cuisine. The first was a puka dog. This is an amazing invention that involves drilling a hole into a loaf of hot-dog bun bread and putting all of your condiments and the hot-dog inside. This may sound simple, but the real treat comes with the condiments. The most popular things to put in a puka dog is mild lemon-garlic sauce, mango relish, and lillikoi (passion fruit) mustard. It was delicious.

Then we went to a shave ice stand. The shave ice in Hawaii is not the same as a Sno-Cone. It is actually the texture of snow and they put it on top of ice cream. Plus, the flavors are much more diverse. I had peach and banana flavored ice on top of ice cream with sweet cream on top. It was delicious.

Friday (Travel Day 2)

Leaving Hawaii was hard to do, knowing that we had school starting in a few days, but we all made it back safe and sound by early Saturday morning.

And with that, I leave you with one last charge to have some more adventure in your life. Try something new whenever you can and enjoy!

Adventure on,

Katie