The 3 late sleepers definitely did not like me on Wednesday morning. I had scheduled our tour early in the morning because I thought we would be going to the swap meet afterwards and it closes at 3pm. And we were an hour away from the meeting place, which meant we had to leave extra early. Even with giving time for traffic, we were almost late. Honolulu traffic is absolutely nuts!! I called the company and they told me that the driver had to stick to a schedule and wouldn't wait more than a minute or 2, and if we missed the bus we were out of luck. I was a nervous wreck!
We had planned to park at the mall across the street and walk to the hotel where we were to meet the tour bus. Parking was free at the mall and $39 at the hotel. Because we were late (and I had to use the bathroom) we decided to pay the money to park at the hotel. Tisha, who thankfully was driving because she was cool as a cucumber, dropped us off and went to park. I found our driver, Lola, and she was super cool about us being late and told us that we hadn't needed to worry- we were 6 of 7 who would be on the tour. A whole tour bus all to ourselves! And there was a bathroom on the bus.
Eternal Flame
We started the tour by going through Honolulu and seeing some of the historical buildings.
State Capitol Building and statue of The Father Damien
Iolani Palace
King Kamehameha statue in front of Aliiolani Hale, home of the Hawaii Supreme Court and a museum. On Hawaii Five-0 it is shown as the police station, but it really isn't.
We went inside and had to go through security, since it is the courthouse. It was very beautifully decorated inside!
Back outside in front of the tour bus.
Lola, our driver and guide, taking us to the next stop- Punchbowl Crater where the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is located. We weren't allowed to stop the bus, bus she drove very slow so we could get pictures.
Graves of unknowns soldiers
There was also a gorgeous view of Honolulu.
Holiday decor at the Hale we passed on our way to Pearl Harbor.
Lola dropped us off at Pearl harbor after securing earlier tickets, since we got there a little early. We had a few minutes to take pictures before heading to the ferry to go see the USS Arizona memorial.
The anchor from the USS Arizona
We watched an amazing 20 minute movie about the history of Pearl Harbor and then took a ferry ride over to the memorial.
Such a special place. I was very emotional the whole time we were there.
We looked for, and found, B. Mason, a relative of my mom's good friend, Elaine Hansen. In addition to those who died on the USS Arizona, there were also the names of 44 men who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor and then wanted to have their ashes buried there when they past on. For any who have died during the year, they hold a special ceremony with their families on Dec. 7 and then a diver takes the ashes down.
On the ferry
We had about an hour before Lola picked us up and were hungry. The Pearl Harbor snack shop only had snacks, so we went near the submarine, a separately owned exhibit, and found some hot dogs and nachos. They were expensive but very tasty. There was also a stretched penny machine, which we had been collecting.
After our tour ended, we had the afternoon free since we had already gone to the swap meet. We decided to drive around the southern coast and see some of the sights there. Lola had given us some must-see destinations.
A panoramic of Honolulu from a look-out point.
Halona Blowhole was a little disappointing in and of itself but the views were amazing!
The blowhole
Makapu'u Beach and lighthouse (my happy place)
So grateful everyone humored me and let me come here. I had hoped to hike to the lighthouse, but not everyone was up for that. This was still a great view and I loved getting to see it!
We drove back along the coast to our cottage and ate left-overs for dinner. It was a long, but wonderful day!
