Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Hawaii Day 2

Day 2 started out early as we wanted to go to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. Quick breakfast and long drive to the Memorial Plaza and we met the rain, but beat the crowds.

The Memorial is divided into several parts, basically the ships attacked or sunk during the attack on Dec. 7th, The Arizona, the Blowfin, The Missouri, plus there is also a museum and a short film of the events of that day. We visited the Memorial, a monument erected above the sunken Arizona to pay respect to the many men who died that day. In addition to the men who never left the waters that day, the survivors banded together and are being cremated and interred with their shipmates as they pass away.

We visited the Bowfin, an important WWII submarine and heard stories about how sub warfare played an important part in winning the war. We then toured the sub museum and gift shop and moved on.

We took a drive from there and decided to take a tour of the Dole pineapple plantation. The Dole Plantation has been in existence since 1903 and was once the largest cannery in the world. Today, it is a major supplier of not only pineapple, but also mangoes, macadamia nuts, lychee, plus many other fruits and nuts. We rode the Pineapple Express and took pictures and tried not to make too many offensive pot smoking jokes.

As our morning came to an end, we came back to the hotel to change for our final event for the day, Germaine's luau. Our tour guide, Travis, told us basic island stand-up to pass the time between the city and the luau venue. We arrived and our "family" was treated to food, alcohol, and a HUGE smoked pig. We tried coconut pudding (eh), poi (le ewww), and some other island treats and delicacies. The stage show offered some of the hottest dancers this side of the main stage and some fantastic singing. All in all, a good good night was had by everyone!












No comments: