Day 10: Harbors and Beaches

May 16, 2012

There wasn’t any class today. We took the day off to go to Pearl Harbor and the North Shore.

Since history class in elementary school, I’ve heard about Pearl Harbor. So it was sort of a surreal experience actually being there.

 

It is hard to believe that only a few decades ago, the event of Pearl Harbor took place. 

Our tour started with a 20-minute movie describing what took place December 7, 1941, the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.  Once the lights came back on in the theater I noticed that there were several groups of Japanese tourists.

I find it sort of odd that they would come visit the base that their country helped destruct. I really wonder what was going through their minds while they were watching the movie, because since we are in America the movie definitely took the American viewpoint. 

 

We were all shuffled out of the theater onto a boat that took us the remains of the U.S.S. Arizona.

The mood of the group instantly switched from a fun-touring day to a day of remembering the lost and reliving the events. While on the memorial we could still see oil bubbling out to the Arizona into the Ocean. The air smelled like a gas station.

The smell worsened in the middle of the platform where a big square hole was cut out that viewed into the Pacific. Many gathered around the cutout to pay tribute to the fallen by throwing flower petals in the opening.

Past the opening was a room containing names of all who lost their lives due to the tragedy on December 7, 1941. 

After being at the memorial for around 10 minutes we were all herded back onto the boat.

While on the boat I kind of forgot that I was in Hawaii because there were so many military personnel and tourists. For tourists, or those living on the Mainland, Pearl Harbor is a big deal because it is an event we have heard about all of our lives. But as I think about it more, the people on the Island were probably affected even more by the tragedy.

When Pearl Harbor occurred, Hawaii wasn’t even a state yet. I often forget that little nugget of information when talking about Pearl Harbor. The people of Hawaii were basically dragged into the war, and her people were put in harms way.  

I think the event helped unify the Hawaiian people and culture. It also brought them closer to America because both the Hawaiian people and the United States military were both attacked. The two groups were able to relate and suffer together.

Besides the memorial, everything else at Pearl Harbor cost extra money, so as a group we decided to save our money by spending the rest of the day at the North Shore.

The North Shore is on the green side of the Island. It is one of the prettiest places I’ve even been; so green, sunny and the water is amazing!

At the North Shore we had shaved ice, shopped, and went to two different beaches.

The first beach we went to was Turtle Beach. This is not a beach that you go to relax; it is a beach you go to see Sea Turtles. We saw at least four Sea Turtles. It was so cool to see these animals in their natural environment.

After observing these animals for a little while we hoped in the car and traveled about 10 minutes to another beach called Shark Cove Beach.

There weren’t any sharks at this beach but there were plenty of fish and rocks. Lots of people went snorkeling, the rest of us wadded and just cooled off from the sun.

Today was a wonderful day filled with fun adventures and new friends!