Pearl Harbor

Finally. It's only taken about 9 months for me to get there. Epic fail on my part. 

I was really glad when Jessica called this morning to tell me she had, indeed, gotten tickets to see the USS Arizona Memorial! =) Even better, she got tickets for the 0915 tour giving me a few extra minutes to change clothes twice finish getting ready and still have plenty of travel time. Much like in the movie O Brother Where Art Thou? I feel like I live in a "geographical oddity." Except I live about 30 minutes away from everywhere on the island instead of 2 weeks. =P Well, it does take quite a bit longer to get to Honolulu, but that's mostly due to traffic. But I digress.

After being worried that Sheila (what we affectionately call our GPS) would take me the wrong way, making a U-Turn and driving through three parking lots, I finally made it to Pearl Harbor! Once there with tickets in hand, we were ushered into a small theater to watch a video on the attack on Pearl Harbor. I didn't need this, but I did actually enjoy it. After that, we boarded a boat that took us here:

The Arizona Memorial from the boat.

Once there, we went inside...

The memorial sits on top of the Arizona and they have windows cut out so you can see down below.

My husband isn't Navy or I would tell you what these things are. =P

Adding a flag to the pole.

Best picture from the whole tour.

{Taken before they added the 2nd flag.}

All the men who never made it out of the ship.

Very humbling and very sad.

So many men... All like my husband...

These are the men who, after their death, were put back in the Arizona with their shipmates.

I think that is so...amazing. They wanted to rest with them.

More of the ship.

Oil that still leaks out of the ship on a daily basis.

I could even see black splotches on the surface. 

It was unreal.

Jessica!

Leaving the memorial.

I *heart* pictures of palm trees.

I love this! It says:

"Dear Lord/ Lest I continue/ My complacent way/ Help me to remember

Somehow out there/ A man died for me today./ As long as there be war

I then must/ Ask and answer/ Am I worth dying for?"

Poem Eleanor Roosevelt kept in her wallet during World War II

It doesn't surprise me that she kept that with her. Though, it does beg the question: What if everyone thought and felt that way? How would this country - this world - be different if we all remembered that our freedoms come at a price - daily. I can only imagine.

Even though the tour was short (entirely too short in my opinion), it definitely left me in awe and so thankful. No sobbing occurred, but a few tears showed up. I expected this. Those men never had a chance. Their lives were cut so short. Many of them were just like my husband - serving their country and glad to do so. 

"I will never forget." ~ Radioman Third Class Warren Verhoff

Fun in the Sun

Today was a fantastic day! Once again, I got up early. *sigh* It was definitely worth it, though! Jessica drove up to my house so we could see if the Eddie surfing competition "would go" or not. Well, it turned out that they called it off, but we decided to pack up and go anyway. The traffic was...well, insane but to be expected. Even though it was called off tons of people showed up. Tons! Parking at Waimea Bay is sparse anyway. Throw in a surfing competition and you've got madness. Where there is usually a park area, there were cars, trucks, tents and news crews. Crazy. I am so glad we went though. Each time the surf gets to about 15-20 foot waves, I say that I want to go just to see. Every time I find some reason not to go. Not today!! It was so, so worth it! 

We started out at what I call the "turtle beach." Jessica was so excited about the waves (who am I kidding, I was excited too!) that she had to pull over so we could get out and take pictures.

After lots of traffic and paying $10 for parking (which is good, believe it or not), we finally made it to Waimea. The waves were fantastic! The reason they called off the competition is because the waves weren't coming in like they wanted them to. We'd get a set of HUGE waves and then there would be nothing for at least 5 minutes. Not good enough for these guys. There were still a bunch of surfers out there - competition or not. 

Ha. Like anyone in their right minds would be out there anyway.

Other than surfers. =P

See that arrow? It's pointing to a helicopter.

All the surfers waiting for the perfect wave.

Ginormous waves. 

And stupid pink hat chick with her friend. Grrr.

I heart this photo.

Aren't they huge?!

Note again the helicopter. It's not actually that close to the water.

That's how TALL the waves were.

Yeah.

The sun finally came out!

I had no idea this guy was in my photo until I uploaded it

I still think it's good, though. Lol!

Shaka Jessica!

Just me. =)

We stopped again on our way for lunch and I caught this photo.

Gorgeous, right? I foresee a new computer background. =)

After watching the huge waves and talented surfers, we headed to Haleiwa for lunch. We ate at the Mexican & Seafood restaurant which I can't remember the actual name of right now. I know it's an odd combination, but it worked out well for us because I don't like seafood! Yeah, it's odd living basically at the beach and not eating seafood....I just can't do it. I've tried. Really. I do eat fish on rare occasions...like once a year. =P Anyway, she got a seafood dish that I can't possibly spell and I got Mexican (carne asada quesadilla, if you must know)!

After our very yummy lunch, we stopped at a few shops and then headed to get shave ice. =) Shave ice is like the best thing ever! If you ever come to Hawaii (and you should!), you have to get shave ice from Matsumoto's in Haleiwa. It is uh-maze-ing. Seriously. And you should get it with ice cream. When you get to the ice cream in the bottom that's been partially flavored by the shave ice it is a yummy goodness. =) Not good for you at all but it's wonderful. If you're on vacation then I think you're allowed to break your diet. 

Then we hopped back in the car and Jessica brought me back to my house where I proceeded to die plant myself on the couch for like 2 hours. I knew I needed a shower since I'd been in the sun all day...and at the beach. There's something about sand, sunscreen and sun that just makes me want a shower. But, I didn't get off my butt for a while. =P When I did, I was surprised by what I saw in the mirror.

Noooooo! Not a sunburn!!!

So sad. I knew, I knew I should have taken sunscreen with me. But I didn't. I did borrow Jessica's, but SPF 15 doesn't cut it on this sister. In my defense, it was slightly cloudy and raining when we left my house and they've been calling for rain so I assumed that I'd be ok. Well, we all know what happens when you assume... *sigh* I had a feeling I was getting burned. I sort of felt it at the beach. Then we were walking around Haleiwa and I could feel it. All you "whiteys" know what I'm talking about. You can feel when you're getting burned. But at this point there wasn't much I could do about it. I had no idea it would be that bad though. 

Me and my after sun lotion with aloe vera are going to be best buds again for a few days. *sigh* At least I keep it in the house, though! Living in Hawaii, that stuff is basically a staple. Joe and I are both super white and prone to sunburns. It's a must. =)

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, even though it's going to be another early morning. We (Jessica and I) are hoping to hit up Pearl Harbor tomorrow. Even though I've been here for nearly a year (*GASP*), I still haven't been. Major FAIL for this history chick. Joe and I meant to go before he deployed, then when he was on R&R... Melissa and I meant to go. And I'm pretty sure my BIL wanted to go while he was here last May. Let's face it, I'm not going to go by myself. So, I'm hoping I get to go tomorrow. Though I'm sure I'll be in tears during the tour. Things take on a deeper meaning as an Army wife. =)

Just so y'all can get an idea of what Waimea was like on a normal day and then today, I'll share two more photos. =)

Normal Day

(December 12, 2010)

Today

(January 20, 2011)

What do you think? Big difference? ;-)

What a Day!

I am honestly exhausted! It's been a busy day full of meeting a bloggie friend and shopping!! 

Sadly, there were no pictures taken today. I'm not sure how TWO bloggers got through an entire day without taking a single picture, but we did it. =P I got up bright and early at 0700 this morning to meet up with Jessica from Bleu Dress & Dress Blues! She and her hubby are stationed in Japan, but he had to come here for training. How lucky is that?! She decided to join him since he was forced to come to such a location as this for training. ;-) Torture. Since she's here and her hubby has to work, she figured it'd be a good time to meet up, hang out and see the island!

Today we focused mainly on the malls. =) She needed to find a new dress to wear to a nice restaurant downtown and I was more than happy to meet here there. I don't think either one of us bought very much stuff, but I managed to find some pretty awesome deals. 

Charlotte Russe: (seriously in love with that store)

2 tank tops: $11.25

Earring set (6): $6

Forever 21 (Ala Moana):

2 shirts: $15.30

Pair of yoga pants: $7.50 (a freakin' steal!)

Super cute reusable bag: $1.50

I think I did pretty well today, don't you? We stopped at several other stores along the way too. Which is the reason I am so stinkin' tired. Sadly, from a day of walking my knee is seriously killing me. I think it also has something to do with the fact that there's a "cold" front moving through which is supposedly bringing rain. I am thisclose to saying that I'm a human barometer. I really don't want to admit it just yet, though. I think I should at least wait until I'm 30. ;-) 

All in all, it was a pretty good day. Jessica is hoping to relax on the beach tomorrow while I go stick my nose in history stuff at the museum. We're planning to meet up again on Thursday to do some North Shore-related things. I'm in favor of this because it's a whole lot closer to home. =) I didn't really realize it until recently, but I am very partial to North Shore. I was talking to a friend of mine here about not being able to go to the beach because of the high surf and she quickly reminded me that the West and South shores didn't have the high surf that North Shore does. =P I knew that... But I live at North Shore....basically. It's like a 15 minute drive away and I don't like to stray too far from home. I know it's sad, but it's true.

Although I had a great time with Jessica watching her re-learn how to drive in the US and turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal, the highlight of my day was Skyping (video!) with my hubby. =) Yes, you read that right!! Apparently, he has today off (it's currently 1100 there) so we were able to chat at a time when he's usually at work. When he messaged me, I believe my first words were, "Hey! What are you doing online?!" Haha! What can I say? I know his schedule. I very politely asked if I could "see his face today" since it had been a while and I missed it. =P I was sooo happy that his connection actually cooperated with us and we were able to talk for 1 hr and 6 minutes without any interruptions! Ok, I take that back. It did freeze a few times, but we did not lose the connection! =) That in itself is a miracle. Would you like my favorite quote from our little chat? Of course you would. 

Scene: Skyping with my hubby.

Topic: Weight Loss

Joe: I've come up with some great workouts to get rid of this gut.

Me: It's not a gut! 

Joe: Well... It's like a pre-gut... A warning gut.

Me: *dying laughing*

Joe: It's not the spare tire yet, but I've got the axel and wheel base.

Me: *continuing to die laughing* You're strange!!!

Joe: Well, yeah. That's true.

So, there you have it. My husband has a "pre-gut." This from the man who's lost 30 pounds since he's been deployed. He's also gained some serious muscles (read: mus-kles) in his arms... Mmmmm. ;-) He went on later to suggest that we both have "gut troubles." Although I will say that he did a very good job of trying not to offend me and tell me that I was fat. =P He's dug himself into so many holes that I guess he's figured out how to not even pick up the shovel! Yay, hubby! Hahaha!

Later while we were talking, I showed him a little something that I made!! You may remember that list of projects I posted about a week or so ago. This is one of them. 

A Nook cover for my hubby!

His looks way better than mine.

I guess practice really does make perfect.

Who knew?

Now we have his and hers Nook covers! I love it!

What do you think? Cute, right? I thought so. ;-)

Hope you had a great Tuesday, and that your Wednesday is getting off to a good start. =)

Feeling the Randomness of it All

Where to begin? How about with my bloggie meet up with the lovely Miranda? =)

We met up yesterday at Starbucks for a caffeine fix. I hadn't had Starbucks in a while, so it was wonderful! Not to mention the good conversation and company of a very cute little boy. According to Miranda, he has a crush. ;-) He kept jabbering away to me while I was getting in my car. Such a cutie! Anyway. We had coffee and then ran over to Godiva for some chocolate. Mmmmm. So good. Then, we did some window shopping. And I did some shopping with few windows involved. Haha! =) Actually, all I bought was a pair of running shoes. I'm hoping that since they're cute I'll want to wear them, and because they're running shoes maybe it will help me get my butt back to the gym. Joe doesn't see my logic in this train of thought, but I think it sounds very logical. ;-)

Speaking of Joe... Hi, sweetheart! =)

He emailed me today to let me know that he'd been reading my blog...all day. I'd hoped that he'd read it while he was gone, but I knew he hadn't yet. I'm happy he's reading it. Even though we do email a lot. =) My poor hubby is getting a cavity filled - probably as I'm typing this. Apparently, it's been bothering him for a few days. I'm not happy that I can't 'baby' him afterward. Is it totally weird that I like doing that? Hmmm...

How would y'all feel about a guest post done by Joe? The idea came to me when he emailed me and told me he was reading my blog. He's agreed to do it, but is this something that y'all would be interested in reading? I'm considering asking him to do it on a monthly/bi-monthly basis, but I'm not sure yet. I guess we'll see. =)

As I've been catching up on my blog reading today, I ran across a post by Alia at Yellow Ribbon Diary that ruffled my feathers a bit. The short version of her post is that she went to a store and asked if they had a military discount. The cashier she asked was nothing short of rude and disrespectful. A Soldier friend of hers later wrote a letter on her behalf since she was too polite not to say anything at the time. Go here to read the rest of the story. I guarantee you it will ruffle your feathers as well. I'm calling for a boycott of the store. They shouldn't be allowed to treat our nation's service members and family members in this manner.

I received an award from a lovely reader a few days ago that I very seriously need to post. Is it just me, or is it really hard to choose who to give an award to?! =/ Geesh.

Now, I need to approach the Q&A session issue. I now have 4 questions. Come on, I know y'all have more questions than that! So, I'm giving you 2 days to post your questions! On Wednesday, I will post the Q&A's no matter how few of them there are. =P I would really like it if there were an abundance of questions, though. My inbox is getting quite lonely. ;-)

Well, I'm off to watch another episode or two of Bones. =) Hope ya'll had a good weekend!


{Hope your cavity-filling goes well and gets to feeling better quickly, hubby! Love you!}