USS Arizona Memorial

On Wednesday we had the opportunity to go to Pearl Harbor and tour the USS Arizona.  It was indeed a sacred experience.  We got on the boat to go across the harbor and I already felt I was headed into sacred territory.

It's only about a 5 minute ride out to the Arizona. We got to stay about 10-15 minutes and then another group arrives and we get on their boat to go back.

This is the anchor that was brought on land.

There are parts of the ship still visible above the water line.   

The little white buoy in the water behind my head is the end of the ship.  

There was a retired military serviceman on the memorial who was telling the story of this ship.  Back  when WWII was being fought it was a hit and miss type of war with bombs.  Today we can pinpoint and tell the bomb where to go and detonate with accuracy.

This particular bomb was let go and was a direct hit on the ship.  The thing that did the most damage was the fact that the bomb hit one of the magazines where the ordnance was kept.  This caused a massive explosion that killed many instantly.  

The battleship Missouri.

Many of the ships that were hit on Dec 7, 1942 were raised and put back into commission.  This was not possible with the Arizona.  I think, also, that the powers that be did not want to disturb the final resting place of so many.

Oil bubbles every few seconds.  It has been 80 years and still the oil rises to the surface as though there is still life there.

Inside the Arizona is a wall with all the names of the men who went down with the ship.

So many names!

Beside the wall there are two more "benches" with names engraved.  These are men who survived but have decided they wanted to be buried at sea with their buddies.  

Even now almost two weeks later, I feel the power of this sacred site. 

The flag flying unfurled over the top of the memorial makes me feel a sense of great hope for our country. 

 

Sea Turtle

When we arrived at our beach in Punalu'u, we found this visitor on the beach.  

We weren't certain he/she was even alive.  Then we saw his head move.  Guess it's alive!  He spent all day there.  The next morning it was in a different spot on the beach.  On Wednesday it was gone but returned on Thursday in yet another spot on the beach.  I wonder how old it is as it has barnacles on it's shell.  I'll bet it weighed easily 300 pounds.  It was huge!
 

Waimea Falls

Tuesday morning dawned for us before the sun as we were still on Central time zone.  That meant we were awake and alert about 2:30am.  After breakfast we sat on the beach and enjoyed the surf.  Actually, we did that every day.

Our experience for the day was Waimea Falls.  It was a little rainy, more like misting. We found that to be every day as well.  It didn't last long and we enjoyed our hike to the top of the Falls.  

Along the way we saw beautiful trees and flowers that we don't have here in the Midwest. 

Everything was lush and green.

I enjoyed the variety of flowers and scents along the way.

Evelyn wanted pictures of palm trees.  There are so many varieties.

I love the vivid colors and odd shapes!

It seemed like vines grew around and up most every tree. 

I did get the name of this plant.  

We both felt this flat, grassy area reminded us of the garden of Eden.

These vines made for sheets hanging from the trees. 

The place at the bottom of the hill was called something that meant peacock.  Gee, I wonder why?

These types of trees are everywhere on the island.

Saw the sign and the bird.

The falls was beautiful.  We changed and got in the chilly water.  We were warned not to go to the left as rocks fall there quite often.  That's enough warning for me. Also, it is 30 feet deep so don't drop anything. 

We were required to wear life vests.  I stood up long enough that when I got back into the water it was cold all over again.  The sights were totally worth the climb up to the falls.  It was an easy walk.

Food

An early morning got us to Appleton to the airport and then on to Chicago for a quick dash through the airport.  Then a line to check our vaccination status for the trip to Honolulu.  Unfortunately the vaccination cards did not upload and we had to do all of that prior to getting to go to the gate.  We weren't the last ones on the plane, but we were near the end.  

An 8 hour trip from Chicago to Honolulu made me crazy.  I napped and watched movies and tried to move my legs as much as possible.  It was painful just sitting.  

We picked up our Turo car in the airport parking once we found out how to get across the street and into the garage.  Finding our condo wasn't nearly as difficult.  Its a nice place right on the ocean with the sound of waves crashing onto the shore.  I love that!  

We went out to eat at Pounders.  That was another experience.  We had to produce our vaccination cards as well as an ID before they would seat us.  Pat had the Huli Huli chicken.  A nice meal but obviously not enough to have any leftovers.

I had the nachos which by the way, had no nacho or any other kind of cheese. The taro chips were covered with shaved scallions, smashed avocadoes, cilantro and pineapple.  I don't know what the sauce was but that's where the spice was. 

I didn't realize that the scallions would be raw.  It was delicious and I had enough to take home and eat for breakfast the next morning.  FYI, I do not like cilantro but since having Covid I cannot taste it.  Lucky me. 

A trip to the Dole Plantation where we were able to get a pineapple whip.  Pineapple ice cream is not my favorite but it was tasty.  

 

Cleansing

Being in Hawaii, living on the beach for the past week I have noticed that the beach gets full of footprints and holes and sand piles each day.  It shows that a lot of people have walked here.

Each night the tide comes in and cleansed the sand and washes away all the evidence of the day before.

It leaves a smooth, untarnished surface.  I find it incredible.  As we were walking the beach on Saturday I had a thought about the beach and how it is a type of Christ.

Each day we are given a clean slate to do with what we will.  We make decisions and some of those decisions muck up our beach and they leave marks on our smooth surface.  As we pray each evening and ask our Father in Heaven for forgiveness, he allows the atonement of His son to come in and cleanse our beach leaving the smooth sand once again.  

My goal is not to have need of my Savior's atonement, but rather to have less use of it for my dumb decisions.  I want to be kinder and less judgmental.  I want to have kind thoughts about those around me even when they do things to irritate me.  As I have consistently prayed for charity over the past nine months, I find it easier to let those thoughts go.  When I witness another driver do something foolish, instead of saying or thinking, "Idiot!" I find myself saying, "That wasn't the smartest thing to do." or "They must have something on their mind that they made such a poor decision."  I'm getting there.  My beach gets mucked up each day, but each ensuing day, my Father gives me a smooth surface to begin again.  It's further proof that my Father loves me infinitely.  He gives me more and more chances without number!

 

The Work Shop Begins

The preparation for pouring of the concrete has commenced.  It needed some added sand and Pat added way too much so now we have a sandbox that I've been wanting for the grandchildren.

The concrete truck and Tony and his hired hand showed up by 6:30am to begin the pour.

Pat was able to help for a bit before he went to seminary.  I offered to teach so he could help longer but he refused.  I offered to help Tony and he too refused.

I sent a Marco Polo so our little boys who love trucks could be in on the excitement.

It sure doesn't take Tony very long to get things going.  But then, he's a professional and this is what he does.

Everything was poured and smoothed so Tony left for breakfast.  When he came back he spent time doing the finishing work.

It looks really good.  

There was even enough concrete left for Pat to have his approach to the trailer.

Now the difficult part.  We need a variance in  order to build as the alley is too close to the back of the proposed addition.  We had our property surveyed and found the alley is not exactly where the alley is.  It cuts through the concrete pad next door as well as the Krueger shed and garage.  Also, our sheds on our back lot are way too close as well.  But then so is the LP tank for the bar and the shop next to it.  By the way, that shop used to be the town hall.  How's that for irony?

 

Preparations Begin

There is a planned addition to the back of our garage.  Pat needs a bigger workshop now that he has his lathe and spends time turning pens.  The first item of business was to get the old "woodshed" moved.  With the use of a forklift with long forks it was picked up and placed on the trailer.

Then it was moved to the Wood Fiber where it can be used for storage.  Since it was put here back in the day by my father, it only seems fitting that it should go to a place where it can be reused.

The view of the back of the garage.  I don't know the last time I saw it without a woodshed.  When I was middle school aged, there was an old back of a cattle truck that  was used for a woodshed and a place for the cats.  It was replaced by the trailer above.  In all actuality, I have never seen the back of the garage without a woodshed near it.  

The blue spruce that my mom planted has also been removed.  I recall jumping over the thing after she planted it as it was so small.