Last month my father in law came for a short visit from California. He had never been to Oahu before but had visited Kaua’i and Lana’i. If you have ever been here before, O’ahu is a much different island than the others. We were eager to show him the island and why we love it so much. One particular day, we went to Pearl Harbor. It is still a very popular spot for tourists and it still is a somber, emotional tribute to those who lost their lives for our country. For history buffs, you can spend hours there just reading all the exhibitions. We had decided to visit the Pacific Aviation Museum and see the airplanes from that era.
My 3 keiki. After all these years being a photographer, I’m happy that I trained my kids well. “Let’s take a quick picture!,” and they all get into position until I’m finished. Yes, I trained them well!
That’s my Bella.
It was a quick tour of the Pacific Aviation Museum and Pearl Harbor’s USS Arizona Memorial… We also went to tour the Mighty Mo.
The docent’s provide a 20 minute walking tour which I highly recommend. After that, you are on your own to walk the ship. It literally is a floating city. My kids loved to find chairs to sit on, I think it was because of the mere height from the floor that they felt like captains. A note to mom’s, don’t plan on wearing a sun dress to the Mighty Mo… the stair ladders are narrow and steep and it doesn’t help if it’s a breezy day- Know what I mean ;)?
We walked the inside of the ship and it was a maze of corridors with directional arrow stickers pointing you to the direction of travel… I must admit that I got claustrophobic and pretty much sprinted through the tiny corridors toward the exits… Parents, hold on to your kids hands because it would be easy to let them get too far ahead of you. Which is what happened to me… my oldest and youngest sprinted ahead and they were not answering back my hollers, mixed in with dread, panic and the warning of “closing in 15 minutes” and the walls seeming to close in on me… I started sprinting and finally caught up with them. We finally made it out to fresh air and relief that I made it out…. Anyway, it was definitely an experience that I can cross off my list.
Thanks grandpa for making the trip out, it was great having you here and showing you around… we will see you soon! Aloha!
