Oahu - Day 1

Both of these boys love to swim - they love the water - they love to snorkel,  they love dolphins! - WAIT - let's go to HAWAII !!!  It didn't take much prompting and away we went - 3 days to Oahu and 7 days on the Big Island in Kona!

Sam booked us at the Hale Koa in Oahu for the first three nights.

He definitely had agenda for Waikiki!  The Arizona Memorial, The Bowfin Submarine, The Aviation Museum, the Punch Bowl Cemetary.  Add in swimming, some good food and a couple of pretty sunsets! What a way to start an adventure!

 USS Bowfin (SS-287) is a fleet attack submarine that fought in the Pacific during WWII, and helped to make famous the term, “Silent Service.”                            Bowfin was launched on 7 December 1942, exactly one year to the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  She was nicknamed the Pearl Harbor Avenger, so it is fitting that she is permanently homeported at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

                                       
                                                                




                                                               The USS Arizona Memorial

The USS Arizona Memorial is built over the remains of the sunken battleship USS Arizona, the final resting place for many of the 1,177 crewmen killed on December 7, 1941 when their ship was bombed by Japanese Naval Forces. This loss of life represents over half of the Americans killed during the worst naval disaster in American history.

Pacific Aviation Museum - on Ford Island


Ford Island is a 441-acre island located in the middle of Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii. It was purchased by the United States Army for use as an airfield for the defense of Honolulu and Pearl Harbor in 1918 and was named Luke Field in honor of Lt. Frank Luke, an Army aviator killed in action during World War I.


Hangar 37, a 42,000 square foot former seaplane hangar that survived the December 7, 1941 attack.

flight simulators

An Authentic Japanese Zero in a diorama setting on the deck of the Japanese carrier Hiryu at dawn on December 7th.

National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl  

Built in 1948 this National Cemetery is located in the Pu'owaina Crater (Punchbowl). In ancient times this crater was known as the "Hill of Sacrifice". So today the cemetery is a memorial to the sacrifice made by the men and women in the United States Armed Services. Dedicated on September 2, 1949, 776 casualties from the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor were among the first to be buried here.