Day 5 in Paradise

Day 5 in Paradise was packed full of amazing events. First, we headed over to Pearl Harbor to visit the National Park/Memorial. It was a solemn and memorable experience that made an impression on our family. Here are some pictures of our visit:

Upon entering the park we passed the USS Bowfin submarine.

Another view of the USS Bowfin.

Behind Nathan are currently active Naval ships while over Austin's shoulder we see the USS Arizona Memorial (see more about this below).

This abnormally large torpedo (called Kaiten, and translated as "the turn toward heaven") contained a 550hp motor and was driven by a single Japanese soldier. The torpedo had an escape hatch to be used when within 150 yards of its target, but despite the multiple missions these torpedo's were employed in, the escape hatches were never used.

A nice family photo of some BIG GUNS! The shells for this gun were 2 lbs each and this gun could shoot over 150 per minute!!

Photos of currently active Naval ships docked in Pearl Harbor.

Time for us to head over to the USS Arizona Memorial.

The bell salvaged from the USS Arizona (no one wanted to stand under it since it weighed 1500 lbs).

A photo of a photo of the USS Arizona Memorial from the gift shop.

We took a Navy ship over to the USS Arizona Memorial, which was built over the sunken wreckage. On the left side of this picture is the USS Missouri.

1,177 soldiers were killed on the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Even today small amounts of oil leak from the wreckage. In this photo you can also see the USS Missouri. The surrender treaty was signed by the Japanese on the deck of the USS Missouri at the end of WWII.

Next, we headed into Honolulu for lunch and to rent snorkel gear for the week. We ate at a great hamburger joint a block from Waikiki beach called Teddy's. Teddy's is what In-N-Out would be if they opened a chain in Hawaii - good burgers with a Hawaiian flair:

Paul and I ordered the Hawaiian burger which had grilled pineapple and teriyaki sauce on it.

The french fries and pineapple milkshake were also delicious.

As we left Teddy's we saw the Oscar Meyer weiner mobile.

After our feast we headed on to Waikiki beach in order to work off some of the calories.

Nate and I had a great time viewing all of the colorful fish just below our feet - no shark or turtle (honu) sightings yet. Lisa, Austin, and Uncle Paul also came out.

After snorkeling, Austin and I went to do some boogie boarding. After a lot of trial and error we eventually caught a lot of good, long rides.

Here is a video of Austin catching one of the waves.

When we were done we hopped onto the wall that protects a section of Waikiki beach from the waves so that little kids can play there.

We had a great time and could not stop thinking about how much we had missed the ocean - even if the ocean we remember was ice cold!