Island Hopping

Once POTUS left Honolulu on his way to Australia, the real fun could begin! Brian had joined me in Hawaii and had kept quite the busy schedule while I was working. We actually didn't see each other much, especially since two of those days, I was with FLOTUS and POTUS and had to stay at their hotel one night. Brian hiked up Diamond Head, went snorkeling in Hanauma Bay, took a scenic drive around the Tantalus and Round Top Drive, saw some waterfalls, and visited the National Cemetery of the Pacific (the Punchbowl). And I worked the whole time. Again, I don't expect you to feel sorry for me because I was in one of the most beautiful workspaces of all times!

But on Tuesday, POTUS was safely in the air headed to the land of kangaroos and so my extended time in Hawaii could begin! (Don't worry, my network was not footing the bill for any of this and this was all on my own time and funded by me- and Brian!)

We had quite the agenda and wanted to see as much as possible! I'm breaking this into several posts so they aren't too overwhelming!

So our first stop was to go to Pearl Harbor. When I had been to Hawaii in 2008, I was completely bummed that I had been there for two weeks and didn't get to see Pearl Harbor. I am so glad we made it a priority to see because it was awesome. Not only was it one of the more moving places I have been but it was so educational. Maybe it's just me but after being there, I totally got the enormity of WWII and even the parallels to 9/11. Things about WWII just clicked and gave all that I had learned from school and books new meaning. I missed the movie in the theaters back in 2001 but being there in person was the best. We took a tour of the museum there (which were incredibly well done) before watching a short movie in the little theater there. Then we got on a boat and rode out to the USS Arizona Memorial.

Brian had done his research and knew that we should be able to see the oil still leaking from the vessel below. It was really cool to see that.
I had seen pictures and heard all about it but seeing it with my own eyes was a memorable experience.
After we finished seeing the USS Arizona, we saw a submarine in the harbor. Upon closer investigation, we realized that it was a museum dedicated to submarines in WWII. We realized that Brian's great-uncle, who had died on a submarine in WWII, was listed on one of the memorials. Then we figured out that the submarine in the harbor, the USS Bowfin, was only a couple of numbers off from the submarine that his grandpa's brother had perished on. So we took a tour of the submarine to get an idea of what it was like for his great-uncle. It was such an educational thing and took on even more meaning with that family connection.

I wouldn't consider myself a pure history buff but I do enjoy learning and seeing Pearl Harbor was such a wonderful experience.

After that, we decided we wanted to go hiking to see some waterfalls. My dad loves, loves, loves waterfalls and I guess I inherited that trait a bit. We decided to spend the afternoon going to see Manoa Falls. I was late afternoon when we got there so daylight time was of the essence. But we hiked the .7 mile short hike and saw, at that point, the tallest waterfalls I think I had ever seen. It was getting dark so we didn't spend to much time enjoying the waterfalls. Just enough time to catch our breaths and get a picture.
It was a beautiful ending to a wonderful day!!