Pearl Harbor and USS Arizona

My wife and I went to Pearl Harbor while in Oahu.  We went in February 2014 during the week.  We got there right about 8am and received our free tickets to the USS Arizona for 8:45am.  It was very solemn and interesting to read all the facts they had in the buildings.  I learned a lot.  I did not know much about Pearl Harbor before visiting.  Every American should try to visit this one time or another.  Please see pictures below.  My wife and I only went to the buildings talking about the history of Pearl Harbor and then the USS Arizona.  There is a short movie before taking a ferry to the USS Arizona.  The total time we were there was about 4 hours.  At noon we then left and ate at Schooners a restaurant with lot of military personnel.  If a person is in Oahu they just have to stop at Pearl Harbor.

 

view of the USS Arizona memorial from the boat

Inside the USS Arizona

oil from the USS Arizona

Diamond Head State Momument Honolulu, O'ahu

On Saturday, February 22nd, 2014 my wife and I climbed the stairs to go to the top of Diamond Head in Honolulu, O'ahu. It was beautiful to see from the top of Diamond Head. You could see Honolulu and the beach area. See attached pictures. You pay $5 to park which is way better than walking to the starting point. The trail is about .8 miles one way. It took my wife and I about 1.5 hours to go up and back down. It was a real nice hike. The trail was built in 1908 as part of the US Army Coastal Artillery defense system according to the Hawaii State Parks brochure. The military used it to help protect O'ahu.

looking north on top of diamond head towards honolulu

Manoa Falls, Oahu Hawaii

On Saturday, March 1st my wife and I hiked the Manoa Falls trail back to the waterfall. It only cost $5 to park. It took about 1 hour and 15 minutes to walk there and back. It was raining so it was slippery and muddy. I heard President Obama walked back there when he was in Hawaii a couple months ago. My wife and I liked the hike. You see bamboo and it is like a rainforest. I would guess that the trail back is about 3/4 of a mile each way. There is a fence because of falling rocks however I did touch the water. If you love waterfalls you should definitely hike this trail. The picture does not do the hike to Manoa Falls justice. The beauty of Manoa Falls must be seen to really appreciate it. The hike and the falls were very beautiful. The vertical drop of Manoa Falls is about 130 feet. I would definitely hike Mania Falls trail again.

Hawaii is beautiful

My wife and I are in Hawaii this week. We arrived on Friday so have only been here 3 days. Went to Diamond Head. It is 1.5 miles round trip. It only takes about 1.5 hours to go to top and come down. Very neat history. Looking forward to Pearl Harbor in a couple days.