Smoke Signals
And now for the rest of the story. On Monday, we were honored to visit Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial. No trip to Hawaii should leave this out. You may have read about it and studied it in history class, but to be there, see the sunken ship, the names of those lost that fateful day en graved in the marble wall, and the names of those who passed many years later who requested their ashes be scattered there is sobering.
My own father served in WWII with part of his time spent in Hawaii after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He then went on to the Philippines and Guam. As we traveled the island, I wondered if he had walked the same beaches in another life time.
Matt, Ellen, Landon, and Olivia toured Kualoa Ranch, the site where Jurassic Park, Jumanji, and several other movies were filmed. This was a three-hour drive on ATV’s in the rain with no windshield! Many of the props utilized in Jurassic Park are still in place. Reports reflect it was amazing. It is currently home to cattle, pigs, sheep, endangered birds, turkeys, horses and native plants.
They had family pictures somewhere on the island that night (which are gorgeous) and got caught behind a ten-car pileup with no way around it. They got back to the hotel around 11:30 p.m. But I was grateful they were not in the wreck!
We visited the breath taking coastline every opportunity we had, stopping along the beach es and visiting the Halona Blow Hole. Olivia found a coconut and was able to crack it open through strength and determination. It was a bit past its peak, but still a unique experience. One of our visits to the beach featured a seal swimming very near the shore. Lots of fun was had toss ing the football on the beach, playing in the surf, and Olivia burying Landon in the sand.
Breakfast on Tues day was at a beach front diner on Waikiki Beach-beautiful view, great food, and amazing service. We checked out of the hotel seven hours or so before our flight. More exploring followed with lunch at another local eatery.
Off to the airport for a total of 15 hours of flying time from Honolulu to LA to Philadelphia to Savannah. Without the awesome assistance of American Airline personnel, we would have missed some of our connections. With me in a wheelchair and Matt on crutches, Honolulu, LAX, and Philadelphia would have been difficult at best.
After being up for around 28 hours, exhaustion was over whelming. I’ve slept 10-15 hours every night knowing I still have an eleven-hour drive back to Mississippi.
If the chance to see Hawaii comes your way, go while you can go without the use of a scooter. My family made sure I was included as much as possible. Stay as long as you can. Rent a car. See the island. I’m not a re sort kind of girl so personally I would suggest an Airbnb somewhere on the north shore. Plan in advance, know what you want to see and do and expect prices to be high.
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