We remain on the island of Oahu and the city of Honolulu-Waikiki that sprouts tall, skinny skyscraper hotels and apartment buildings like a thick forest. Like a weed, a junk-shop, touristy place called ABC stores proliferate. I asked one of the guides how many there were and he thought about sixty of them. Last evening we ate a large feast and then attended a Las Vegas type, high-energy stage show that kept us entertained for about two hours.
This morning we boarded two tour buses that took us to Pearl Harbor's visitor center which includes the memorial to the USS Arizona. A featured movie includes video of the attack made by the Japanese planes, which, some years ago, the Japanese government made available to this memorial. I've often wondered why the memorial, constructed over the sunken battleship has a sway back. The reason given by its architect is to show we were at a peaceful high point prior to the attack, sunk to a low point during the war, and then rose again with victory. With the flowered leis we received at the airport we participated in a bit of ritual where we could spread the orchid petals on the water at the memorial's site.
Our guide told of an infant going down with the USS Utah. It seems a set of twins was born to an officer of the ship, and one of them died after a couple of days. The officer carried her cremated remains with him on the ship to spread on the water. On December 7 while he waited for a clergyman to board the ship and perform a burial ceremony, the attack occurred. Therefore, a baby girl rests with 50 or 60 sailors that went down with the ship.
A bus tour of sites around Honolulu followed the memorial visit, and now we are resting up for another big night of a feasting luau and Polynesian entertainment. More tomorrow.
