GoodBye Hawaii!

Well this is my 100th post which is kinda crazy! When I started writing about my wedding planning back in Fall 2011 I wasn't sure where all of this would end up. I am so happy I started it though bc in 20 years I can look back and read and remember things I probably otherwise would not. I just want to thank every single person who reads my posts whether you are 1 of the 14 followers I have or you read off my facebook page. I know more than 14 people read this thing so if you are a private follower-Thank You! Not sure if anyone is tired of reading about Hawaii but it is time to say goodbye to our lovely honeymoon. I haven't decided yet if I will go back to updates on our house building process bc I left that hanging in the wind a while ago. Whatever it is I hope you all stick with me! Back to Hawaii

On Friday evening after our day at Pearl Harbor Pioneer had a fancy evening planned for us. It took place in the same ballroom that we had seen the wedding reception taking place in days earlier. We had a very nice 4 course meal served to us. Honestly with the way everything was set up it felt like a wedding reception just without the bride/groom & bridal party. Their was a bar set up, band, dance floor, and a stage set up for the magician/comedian. The entertainment guy was funny. He had a few lame jokes but for the most part we laughed quite a bit. Rhett snuck back to our room and brought down the fruit/malibu mixture we concocted in our ice bucket. Remember the pineapple he stole from our 1st dinner....I cut up a mango, a couple oranges, and the pineapple and submerged it all in malibu rum & fruit juice. Delicious!!!  Let me tell ya it was pretty hard cutting up that pineapple with out my normal cutting board and sharp knife. I had to call room service and get a plate & something other than the plastic knife we had. All our friends at our table enjoyed the fruit. We even handed the last little bit out to some random people bc I didn't want it to go to waste. It was a great night!

Saturday was going home day. Check out was at 11 and our flight wasn't leaving until 8 pm that night. That was a big bummer. Thank goodness the hospitality room was set up. Their were also 10 rooms set up incase people needed to shower/change after spending time outside at the beach & in water. If interested in a room you had 45 minutes to use it. We spent a little time outside lounging so I did end up using one of them. The rest of our day was uneventful except when getting our luggage checked at the airport my bag got flagged. The guy wanted to know if I had anything sharp in my bags??? What? I said well I have some coconut purses. Well earlier in the day I had bought some awesome tanning lotion. Not even thinking straight I just tossed it in my carry-on bag. Of course it was bigger than 3 oz which is the limit for carry-ons. I was practically crying bc I did not want to lose my lotion. It ended  up getting tossed. Once we reached our gate at the airport I realized our seats weren't even next to each other. I was seated directly in front of Rhett. Oh boy my mood turned sour pretty quickly. I knew I was being crabby about it but I was not looking forward to an 8 hour flight sitting in between 2 people I didn't even know. The flight was overbooked too. Eventually after hiking the dollar amount high enough as bribery 2 people were set to take a later flight the next day. Once seated on the huge plane Rhett asked the young woman sitting next to him if she would switch me. Luckily she was traveling alone and didn't mind. Thank the lord!!! I was so excited and happy. The flight home was much better than any of the others. The plane was a lot larger and had a tiny amount more leg room. We also had a large t.v. screen directly in front of where we sat so that helped. Sleeping was still difficult but I think we both managed to get a little bit. We had a short layover in Chicago and then home we went!

Here is the last pic we took on the balcony from our room.

 It only took 3 attempts and this was the best one.

All our luggage!! Just a bit more than what we came with. Lots of extras to take home!!

Hanging out waiting for the day to pass!

Very last picture of the trip. In Chicago's airport eating breakfast.

Waiting to go home to our doggies!!!!!!

Overall we had the best honeymoon ever! Better than I could have even imagined. Thank you for letting me share it with you!!

USS Arizona

Friday Feb 8th was our last day of organized activities with Pioneer. Originally we were going to do the helicopter tour but switched to the Pearl Harbor option. Our day began with a visit to PunchBowl National Cemetery. Buses are not allowed to stop while going through but our driver drove extremely slow so we could view everything out the windows. She was an awesome tour guide and was very informative/funny. At one point she talked about several movies that had been filmed in the area. One of the most recent being the 2nd installment of Hunger Games! I was just giddy with excitement!!! Was very excited to share that info with my niece Brooke because she loves The Hunger Games also. We drove past Aloha Stadium which is where the NFL pro bowel is played each year. It was held several weeks before our visit and all the players stayed at the same hotel we were in. It is also home to a farmers market/swap meet 3 x a week. We got to ride through China Town. That was a little crazy! Dead chickens hanging in front windows of stores and lots of produce everywhere. The bus stopped for a short break in the historic downtown area and we were able to stretch our legs. Here are a few things we learned from our bus driver.

1. The Hawaiian alphabet only has 12 letters in it.     All the vowels and h,k,l,m,n,p,w. 
2. Before Hawaii was a state they had Queens & Kings
3. Hawaii now only grows 10% of the amount of pineapple they used to grow.

Tons of useless information that I know you were all dying to learn!! After eating lunch at a military golf course we were headed to historic Pearl Harbor. We began with the audio headset tour which is done at one's own pace. It is narrated by the actress Jamie Lee Curtis who's father was part of World War 2.

Their were 2 museums to walk through Pre-attack & Post attack. Throughout both their were numbered areas that coordinated with punching # into the headset. It was a little confusing at first but we eventually got it figured out. The whole time we toured I just kept thinking how much my Dad would enjoy what I was witnessing.

At 2:00 we had tickets for the little theatre to view a short film about the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. It showed actual footage from the day's events. Very informative. Once the film ended we exited outside and then stepped onto a boat that took us across the water to the Arizona Memorial. The USS Arizona 

Arizona Memorial

View from inside the memorial

 We found a "Simpson" name

Oil from the ship

If you don't know anything about the USS Arizona then here are some important facts you should know.

During the attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941 the Arizona was bombed. It exploded and sank, killing 1,177 officers and crewmen. The memorial is placed directly above the sunken ship. Oil is still seeping out 70 years later and is expected to continue for 20 or so more years. Certain areas of the ship are visible above the water and other parts seen just below the water's surface. Some days more of the ship is visible above water. In the harbor around the memorial sit markers showing where other boats sat on the day of the attack. 

 A portion of the ship sticking out of water. Behind in the distance you can see the markers. 

At the back end of the memorial is a wall honoring all the men who are entombed below the exact spot you are standing. Only around 12 men that survived the attack on Arizona still live today. One story we were told in particular was about a man who participated in a band competition the night before the attack. He wanted to be back with his trombone that still sits in his locker. After he died his ashes were returned to the USS Arizona and spread in the ship. Hearing all the personal stories made everything seem so real & sad. The memorial was truly an honor to see. When I was telling my Mom about the visit once we had returned she mentioned that my Grandma & Grandpa Shinabargar (her parents) have been there 2 times. She remembers her Mom telling her how my Grandpa just cried when they visited the memorial. He is a veteran. Love & Miss him very much! 

 Memorial Wall

The men who survived Pearl Harbor attack but have since died and their ashes were returned to the ship.

We only had 15 minutes on the memorial. Many people visit there every single day. Rhett & I are both so happy we got the chance to be just 2 of the thousands that visit. If you have never had the chance go to Hawaii and see Pearl Harbor I hope this gives you a little perspective.