Quick on the heels of our trip to Korea was Hawaii. It was an excellent trip for the learning about all of the different services missions on island.
At Pearl we took a boat from the divers to visit with the EOD techs
We went to the Leadership Reaction Course at K-bay with the Marines, and I channeled Karate Kid.
Our squad was the only one to succeed on this obstacle and our program visit made the base paper.
We were at Pearl Harbor for the ceremony on December 7th and this past year it was again on a Sunday.
There were flyovers and the most amazing part was seeing the veterans.
we then did a tour of the Missouri
a most impressive battleship, with the Arizona memorial in the background
So these guns were at the WWII surrender and in the Gulf War.
really glad I'm not in the Navy
and this is all kinds of room compared to the sub we saw in San Diego
floating office
officer's quarters
Captain's cabin
Coasties.
that is their ice breaker on a stopover before heading to Antarctica
they did a helo to water rescue demo
not bad for Department of Homeland Security
now that's a cool job
we then visited with the Navy Salvage Divers
Far from recreational diving.
decompression time in the chamber is part of their plan not just an emergency procedure
Then we got the boat tour over to see EOD which took us past the Missouri again
That is the dent on the side where she was hit by a Kamikaze
a closer look
past the Arizona memorial
a somber locale
back past the Missouri
the harbor
EOD
their robot
driving it around
saving the world from a coconut bomb
their heavy helmet
22s in the base turn into Hickam, the airspace is definitely busy
an impressive group
The coastie 2 star had us to dinner at her house, and she just happens to live in the lighthouse at Diamond Head.
Entrance to her residence.
view from the balcony
rainbows everywhere
water so clear you can see down into it
we were able to go up in the lighthouse
amazing views
I'd live here.
Their lampshade had a Pirate feel...
Nightfall
a narrated boat tour of the harbor
the Arizona
It still leaks oil, but the fish don't seem to mind.
diagram of the Arizona memorial over the ship
golf course at Hickam
such a beautiful place, but I like Okinawa more
a blue cheese and banana pepper burger to end an excellent trip
Though a dive I had planned with a friend had to be cancelled because of punitive action against the whole group due to members staying out too late in Korea, she did put together a snorkel trip to Hanauma Bay right before departure.
I do miss tropical ocean.
The waves threw me around like a ragdoll, at one point putting me on a coral head and I had to wait for another wave to come back to pick me off. As cool as it is, I like visiting but don't really long to be stationed there. We'll see what the future holds.
