Day 1 - Aloha and Happy Birthday! (Oahu - Hawaii)

This is the first site we visited in Waikiki! When we woke up, Mother called Paul and told him that Hawaii was just like Arkansas. Once we went around the corner she had to call him and take it all back -- it is definitely different than Arkansas. To our amusement it has rained so many times today that we have lost count. The showers are quick and last just seconds. During the day it is acutally refreshing and not one single person seems phased by it. At night, it brings a chill to the air that makes me realize we are experiencing a change in weather. There have been at least three brief showers since I started writing this post.

Once we experienced shopping like the locals do, we went to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. We had a two-hour wait before our scheduled boat to the USS Arizona. We filled the hours visiting two on site museums about the day of the attack and the aftermath. It was very emotional and we both learned so much about the strike that we didn't know. We watched several documentaries about the event and I was impressed to see interviews with Japanese soldiers describing the invasion. Eventually, we were ushered into a theater to watch a short documentary about the actual sinking of the USS Arizona. Afterward, as people stood to exit and board the boat to the site of the memorial, an announcement was made that our tour had been canceled due to the winds (There was some discussion about "the trades" this morning as the wind whipped across the veranda. I guess the trade winds peak this time of year.) Many people were upset and I was certainly surprised that we'd spent two hours poking around waiting on the trip but Mother quickly put everything into perspective with a smile and a shrug as she said, "Oh well, that's OK." I love her.

When we arrived, the shuttle operator at Hertz told us about an open market at the Aloha Stadium so we decided to check it out. I swear I had to pull Mother away from every single stall she passed. That woman likes to shop. Well, certainly look at everything. We endured a couple showers there which lead to me buying a pillow cover and several other touristy items.

A guy at the B&B recommended Teddy's Bigger Burger to us so we decided to hit it up for lunch. We got a Cajun veggie burger with avocado, jack and some mystery sauce. It was delish!

We ended the day with a walk on Waikiki beach.

It was a very good day and an excellent start to our island vacation. Happy birthday, Mother.


Mother's Highlight: Looking the the quilts at the street fair. She also liked Mambo, the dog at the B&B (the owner amused both of us by telling us that Mambo is a "Shihtsu-Poo" -- I'll leave the jokes to you).

Julia's Highlight: Mother comparing Hawaii to Arkansas amused me but I think the highlight was watching this one movie in particular at the Pearl Harbor Memorial. It was presented across three screens and was very active in presenting information by incorporating graphics that looked like they were straight out of a video game or CNN's War Room. There was also a funny moment on the way to the beach. I was driving and mother said, "Look at the beach." I looked over and all I saw were hunky surfer guys walking to the water so I said, "Look at the people." Mother's quick reply was, "Look at the road." We both had a good laugh. A close third would be these crazy trees near the Honolulu Zoo. I have no clue what they were but they look like their roots are above ground and sprout from the branches.