Oahu, Hawaii Trip

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks on the island of Oahu, which is part of the Hawaiian islands. Even though I’ve been home for a few days now, I’m still rather jet-lagged. I’m already missing the islands though… I lived on Maui when I was with YWAM for a short period of time, so going again brought back all sorts of memories. There is a vast difference between the two islands though, and this time around I did more touristy stuff.

The main reason for going, however, was for my Grandpa’s inurnment service at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl Cemetery. My Grandpa was in the Navy and was a Vietnam veteran. He and my Grandma lived on the island for several years.

It was definitely a bittersweet and emotional trip for everyone involved, but it was good too, and I am really grateful I was able to go.

I won’t spam you all with too many pictures, but here are some highlights. More can be found on my Flickr album if you’re interested…

Here’s a view of Honolulu from the lookout at Punchbowl. Diamond Head Monument is in the background… my parents and I climbed to the top of it later on.

We spent a day over at Pearl Harbor, which was really interesting but also kind of depressing (at least for me) at the same time. It’s one thing to read about historic events and another to be on the ground where it actually occurred, if that makes any sense at all.

The ship on the left is the Battleship Missouri, and the white building on the right is the Arizona Memorial. The memorial was built above the U.S.S. Arizona, which was bombed in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The bombing is what brought the US into WWII, and on the Missouri is where it officially ended, so it’s interesting to have both there, facing each other.

Being inside the memorial was a rather sobering experince… even after 75 years the ship (which is literally a tomb for all who perished) is still leaking oil, which can be seen on the surface of the water.

On a more cheerful note, we also went to the Dole Plantation. It’s kind of a big tourist trap BUT there’s a lovely garden full of all sorts of pretty and strange tropical plants, and Pineapple flavored/scented/printed/patterned everything. And Dole Whip!

We did escape the city to see other parts of the island too:

And my sister and I went horseback riding in Jurassic Park: (but that’s a separate post for another day!)

We also did other things that I have no photo evidence of, like a traditional Luau and a few museums. I also managed to bring home some Hawaiian print fabric – I swear I can’t escape this addiction even while in the center of the Pacific.

It is good to be home though. 🙂