Im going to tell you something that may shock you. Indeed, it may shake the very foundations of your worldview. Ive tried to find a way to soften the blow, but theres just no easy way to say it.
Theres more to see in this world than Disney properties.
I can hear the cries now. Heresy! Blasphemy! Stone him!
And thats just from my kids. Nevertheless, I believe its true, and in order to prove it we needed to leave Aulani for a bit. Dont worry, well be back later.
We retrieved our Impala from the self-parking lot. Your key card gives you access to/from the lot, and if you are staying on DVC points, parking is free (even if youre not a DVC member like certain people narrating this story). If youre a hotel guest, parking is an astronomical $35/day, and youd have to drink a crapload of the free ice water to make up for that.
We left around 8:30ish, hoping it was a late enough start to trail the rush hour traffic heading into Honolulu. We had 2 sets of directions to Pearl Harbor. Google Maps had us taking H-1 all the way around to Aloha Stadium and then backtracking a bit to get to the visitor center. Aulanis front desk said to get off at Exit 8 onto Kamehameha Highway (Route 99) and follow that around. We liked that idea better, and it turned out to be a good way to go. Exit 8 is right at the spot where H-2 merges with H-1 heading east to the city, and it really backs up traffic. By taking Kamehameha Highway, we bypassed that traffic and moved very smoothly. The highway wraps around the harbor and takes you right to the front gate of the visitor center.
Pearl Harbor is considered part of a larger park called
World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, which includes sites in Alaska and California. But Pearl Harbor is by far the most-visited site and is actually the #1 tourist attraction in Hawaii. For this reason, you are told to arrive early, because parking and tickets are at a premium.
Technically, you can tour the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial for free, and some free tickets are available at the visitor center every day on a first-come first-served basis. If you want to guarantee yourself a spot, you can
make a reservation online for a small fee ($1.50 per person), which is what we did. After all, we came a long way to see this, and it seemed a small price to pay to guarantee a spot. Id made reservations for the 10:30 a.m. tour about 3-4 months ahead of time. 2 months later, all of the available online reservations were gone.
We arrived around 9:15 or so and didnt have much trouble finding a parking space. The lot was filling up and a couple of tour buses were there, but it didnt seem too crowded to us. There was no line at all when I went up to the front desk to collect our tour tickets.
There is a lot to see here, and you could easily spend a day. The National Park Service runs the museum and the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, and
Pacific Historic Parks runs the other exhibits: the
U.S.S. Missouri Memorial, the
U.S.S. Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park, and the
Pacific Aviation Museum. These attractions require extra fees, and you can get combo tickets. Because we are cheauh, thrifty, and wanted to spend our time seeing a few other sites around Honolulu, we opted to tour just the museum and Arizona memorial.
In case you slept through all of your history classes, Pearl Harbor is of course where Japan attacked the American Pacific naval fleet on Dec. 7, 1941, effectively entering the U.S. into World War II. The attack caught the U.S. Navy by surprise and caused catastrophic damage to much of the fleet, including several battleships and destroyers. The only reason it was not a decisive blow was due to the fact that the U.S. aircraft carriers were all out to sea, safe from the attackers. This enabled the U.S. to recover much more quickly and prevent the Japanese from establishing dominance over the Pacific territories.
The museum area is very well done, and includes several outdoor viewpoints and informational signs. Here we got a nice view of the Arizona Memorial (right) and U.S.S. Missouri (left). The war with Japan began here at Pearl Harbor, and the Missouri is the site of Japans formal surrender at the end, so placing the ship here gives a nice symbolic closure of the conflict. In the center of the picture is the transport boat run by the U.S. Navy which takes visitors out to the memorial.
This was a model of Oahu showing various strategic harbors and airfields that were struck by the Japanese pilots during the attack. We also got a nice shot of the watch the guy on the right was wearing, since he refused to take his hands off the model while we tried to get the picture.
And this display showed the positions of the American fleet on the morning of the attack and the damage they sustained. The battleships were all anchored together in a lineup called Battleship Rowthis was done to make them easier to watch and prevent sabotage. Unfortunately, it made them incredibly easy targets for bombs and torpedoes. Red means the ship was sunk.
There are two museum buildings, one called Road To War and the other called Attack. Road To War deals with the lead-up to the battle, the reasons Japan wanted to strike first with a surprise attack, and the warnings about the attack sent through the U.S. government and military that were tragically ignored. Attack details the battle itself. The highlight of this museum is a short 5-10 minute film using mostly animated maps that details exactly how the attack occurred and the strategy behind it. It was both riveting and effective. Even better, it did not feel the need to add an unnecessary romantic triangle starring Ben Affleck and Whats-His-Face.
Here is a model showing what the U.S.S. Arizona looked like before the attack:
And this is a model of the Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi.
I had a devil of a time trying to get a picture of this model without reflections. It shows what the Arizona looks like today, perched on the harbor floor beneath the memorial building.
This was a piece of art outside the museum which also adorned the memorial building in the harbor.
When we were finished touring the museum, it was 10:15 a.m. and that tour group was being ushered inside the next building so they could watch a film and then board the boat for the memorial. We followed them up to the line to wait our turn for the next tour. Getting in line early proved to be one of the best things we could have done. An older gentleman in a Hawaiian shirt saw our kids and asked their ages. When Sarah said she was 11, he said, I thought you might be 11. I wanted to know because I was the same age as you when the attack occurred.
It turned out this man was an eyewitness to the attack. An Oahu native, he lived on his familys farm about a mile away from Pearl Harbor at the time. He had been out playing with his buddies on the railroad tracks when the Japanese Zeroes arrived. At first, he and his friends thought it was just a war game going on, and they were lying down on the tracks and loudly cheering all of the explosions and fireworks. It was about an hour or so before they realized how serious this was. He talked about how his life changed from that point on, and how Hawaii went from being a sleepy island to suddenly living in fear, having to obey curfews and avoid suspicion (history shows how poorly Japanese-Americans were treated in the aftermath). He mentioned having to break curfew every morning in order to go milk the cows at 5:30 a.m., and at one time he ran afoul of a soldier who put a bayonet at his throat. In those years, he said, he was forced to grow up fast.
I am so thrilled that we got to meet him. I dont know if there was any better way for my kids to hear about December 7, 1941. It was just one of those divine appointments that occasionally touches your life in a way you wont forget.
When it was time for the tour, we were ushered into a theater to watch another film about the battle. This movie is a little dated (it may be the same one they showed last time I was there in 1997), but it still contains one unforgettable image: actual footage of the sinking of the U.S.S. Arizona. At one point during the attack, a bomb fell from a Japanese Zero. It pierced the deck of the Arizona and happened to land in the absolute worst place: the magazine, where all of the ammunition was stored. The resulting explosion is a jaw-dropping fireball, the force of which you can almost feel through the movie screen. The Arizona went down quickly, taking 1,177 crewmen with her.
The decision was made later to leave the Arizona resting in the harbor as a permanent tomb and memorial to the sailors who lost their lives in the battle.
When the film was over, we boarded the boat. It was a short trip out to the memorial.
As we disembarked, the Navy sailor instructed people via the loudspeaker not to stop on the dock for pictures but to keep moving all the way into the memorial. After stating this three times, people were still stopping for pictures. So he got back on the loudspeaker and said, In case you somehow missed it the first three times, DO NOT STOP for pictures on the dock. Keep moving inside the memorial or I will escort you back onto the boat.
I was pretty disappointed in my fellow visitors. We had been told numerous times that this was a tomb, and decorum was appropriate, such as maintaining a respectful quiet. We walked inside and saw people texting, gabbing on their phones to their buddies, etc. It made me sad to see such a lack of respect.
The names of all of the deceased crew are memorialized on the far wall.
Some surviving crewmembers have chosen to be laid to rest in the Arizona with their crewmates upon their death as well.
The small white buoy marks one end of the ship. Oil still leaks from the Arizona decades later, approximately 2 quarts per day. You can also see Aloha Stadium in the background.
The view of the U.S.S. Missouri from the memorial.
After about 15 minutes or so, we lined up for the transport back to shore. We sat at the rear of the boat and enjoyed the view looking back.
With that, it was about lunchtime and we headed back to the rental car (making sure to stop for a coveted
National Park Passport stamp along the way). As far as were concerned, the monument is a must-see for any American. The exhibits and memorials are appropriate and really well-done, and the chance to speak to veterans and eyewitnesses is more than worth the time. We can never have too many reminders of the sacrifices our fellow countrymen have made so the rest of us can live free.
Coming Up Next: We try to invent the Greatest. Food. Ever. And please, hold onto your hats.
Thanks for reading!
Don't even joke about that!
That's awesome! I hope you hit the threshold quickly! It's really cool when you can cross items off the bucket list. 
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