Hawaii Day 5: Pearl Harbor

This gecko friend was spying on us while we were eating dinner with Paige and Hannah:

We had to get up early on Wednesday to get to the other side of the island early enough to catch the tour bus I scheduled.  We gave ourselves an hour (I checked drive times online about 4 times to make sure!) to get to Honolulu, but little did we know the entire freaking island drives that way at 6:30am!  We got stuck in SO much traffic that we were 15 minutes late for the bus.  I called the tour company to let them know we were getting close, but not getting there quickly.  They said it was okay and to keep coming.  The bus driver called as soon as I hung up with the company.   He asked if we were coming, I gave him the same story and he said I should have known....yeahhhh, I should know that traffic is heavy at 6-7am.  Sure.  He gave me some attitude, but I kept being really nice because I didn't want him to leave us behind.  As soon as he hung up my phone rang and it was the driver again.  He huffed and said, "They're still trying to get here!" I said, "I know, I just told YOU that."  Then he realized he was calling me and not his company.  The call dropped immediately!  HAHA!!  We were so stressed out getting to the parking area!  The driver was still waiting for us and I profusely apologized to the other passengers.  The woman behind us was super sweet and said it happens to everyone and today was our turn.

The tour began with a fairly short drive over to Pearl Harbor.  The driver told the story of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He also shared that there were so many sailors down below on the USS Arizona because their band won the first round of a competition that would send them to the finals for a chance to win The Battle of the Music competition.  The sailors were basically given the morning off to relax.  Then the attack happened.

We arrived at Pearl Harbor and had time to walk the grounds and see the museums before the USS Arizona tour.

I've seen numerous pictures of the Arizona, but what surprised me was how much oil is still seeping out of it:

We stepped into the room to see all the names of the sailors.  Along the bottom are names still being added as the attack survivors pass away:

Panoramic out of the left side:

Panoramic out of the right side:

It was time to board the boat and head back to Pearl Harbor so I took pictures of the building:

Pearl Harbor is a peaceful place to visit.  I assumed I would be filled with emotion, but it was more of a remembrance, calm feeling similar to that of a gravesite.

Hawaii Day 4: Paddle Boarding Part 2

We didn't fall the entire time!  It was actually easier than I thought it would be, but my arms did get a little tired towards the end. 

These kayaking crazies FLEW by us a few times!  It was hard to get out of their way in time!:

Turtle!:

I had the cutest Valentine's dates ever!  We tossed the camera to another set of paddle boarders.  Thankfully they can catch!!  AND thankfully they were patient enough to paddle around us to get a good picture with the sun in front of us:

I almost fell in once when Doug pushed off of me.  RUDE!  Too bad we didn't get a picture of me wobbling all over.

We had to get back to turn the boards in before they closed.

It looks like it's raining or snowing, but the flash kept turning itself on as the sun went down.

Hawaii Day 4: Paddle Boarding Part 1

It would have been nice to go to Chinaman's Hat, but we only had enough time to take pictures:

Rough view while we were stuck in traffic:

These pictures were on my cell phone, so they're out of order.  This was after we went paddle boarding.  This picture is a sign that has a ton of different directions listed on it:

Happy Valentine's Day from Oahu!!

We had to get a picture with the famous angel wings!:

Paige and Hannah were going together on one paddle board:

Off they go!

We went out towards the ocean first, but the sea seemed fairly rough.  I don't mind falling in, but we were trying not to.  Paddle boarding at sunset on Valentine's day?!?! OKAY!!!:

Wait for us!! :)

I tossed my camera to Hannah so she could take pictures of Doug and me.  She ended up being our paddle boarding photographer.

We headed back towards the bridges.  It was like a peaceful river back there.  There were turtles peeking up from the water: