Hawaii – Days 1-4 – 2008


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Chicago O'Hare airport, walkway under the terminals (similar to Detroit's) Flying over the pacific. Beautiful Hawaii. Looking south from the top end of Waikiki Beach.
Looking at the heart of Waikiki. Diamond Head Crater. Came upon a food festival and dance at a park.
A very light rain (light mist really), brought out a rainbow. I could actually see where the rainbow ended! No pot of gold, unfortunately. The sea wall walk at the south end of Waikiki.
Walking back up the beach, there was an outdoor concert getting started here. They also play movies on the beach here some nights. Sun setting on my first night in Hawaii. Goodnight sun.
Hula dancing on the beach during the sunset. Part of Waikiki lit up at night. Day 3! (Day 2 was spent swimming / beach). Time to do some hiking up Diamond Head crater.
This was the entrance to the crater, a little tunnel (though big enough to allow cars through). The interior of the crater. At the start of the path. The hike up and down probably took a total of 90 minutes, and is something like a 750ft elevation change.
The walk to the top of the crater was a continuous climb, though not overly strenuous. At parts, you got to go through dark tunnels. View looking back upon the crater.
Now at the top of the crater, looking south, at the very end of Oahu island. Looking towards Honolulu. A bit closer shot.
Looking back at the crater again. The little lighthouse on the south shore. These were some of the stairs encountered on the way up. You can't tell from the picture, but they were darn steep, and skinny. Not easy to traverse!
The rest of the path on the way down was fairly simple. One of the fresh water canals running through Honolulu. No matter where you went, if you looked in the water, there always seemed to be fish.
Business District / downtown Honolulu Jellyfish! (dead) And then there was a parade through Waikiki, celebrating their national championships that different teams from Hawaii had won this year.
They also had several olympians there too. Gold medal! Day 4, Pearl Harbour. The USS Arizona Memorial site.
On the USS Arizona memorial, where the greatest loss of life occured during the Pearl Harbour attack (1000+ on a single ship). Most of the dead are still inside the ship, under water. The ship is just below the surface, since the harbour is shallow. Some of it still rises above the surface. There used to be mroe, but it was cut away.
Oil still leaks from the ship, and will keep doing so for many years. The USS Bowfin, WW2 Sub. What the USS Arizona looked like before it's destruction.
The battleship USS Missouri and the Arizona memorial. The USS Missouri, the last battleship created by the US, and a massive ship in it's own right. The ship would fire 16 inch shells (1800 lbs) from it's 3 main turrets (9 barrels total) up to something like 20+ miles with good accuracy. Crazy.
The comms center. How the armor on the ship was layered. What the USS Missouri is most famous for. On this spot, the Japanese surrendered to the US on September 2, 1945, ending WW2. It just so happened I was there on the 63rd anniversary of that day.
A copy of the document detailing the terms of the surrender. Questionaire for the next time Canada sends someone to sign important documents: Can you sign in the right spot? []Yes []No Our representative at the signing failed this question. A look from the main deck of the Missouri at it's guns.
The newer weaponry aboard the Missouri, it continued service through the Gulf War. A view from the bridge. Finally, a view from beside the ship. It was a massive, impressive, ship.
Some of the weaponry used by the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbour. Their torpedos were modified for the shallow water. The Japanese attack plan. The old air traffic control tower, still standing after the attack, but with lots of bullet holes.
Iolani Palace, downtown Honolulu. And city hall, an odd looking building.  
Photos 1 - 59 out of 59 | Back to Albums
Description: My vacation to Hawaii in September 2008
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii

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