Pearl Harbor

We came to Oahu so we could see Pearl Harbor. We really wanted to the boys to understand what happened at this location. We grabbed breakfast at KOA Pancake House. What a great concept. Why do we not have this place in Phoenix? A real breakfast but quick. 

We then picked up our narration headsets and started our tour. After spending hours in the museum, in the courtyard, taking in all the memorials, we stopped into the gift shop. I saw the Pearl Harbor Scrapbook that my brother designed among the many books for sale. We got in line and the only other person in line in front of us was buying the scrapbook. So cool! 

We then toured the USS Bowfin Submarine which was neat to see. I can’t imagine living in close quarters like these men did. After we finished the tour, we grabbed some hotdogs and then went to the USS Missouri. I’ve been next to some big Navy ships as a kid because my mom was a buyer for the military at the shipyard in Maine but I never got to see the inside of a ship like this. I cannot believe how small their beds are and how they lived. We all enjoyed racing around the ship to see everything before it closed. We made it. We finished our tour with two minutes to spare before it closed. 

Next stop, the Dole Plantation! We got there 30 minutes before closing time. We checked out the grounds and had some Dole whip. We bought a few souvenirs and left. There isn’t much there so we had plenty of time to see everything we wanted to. 

We drove up to the north shore in Haleiwa and visited Kaiaka Bay Beach Park. There were a bunch of families camping on the beach. It was an actual campground. The beach was rocky so we didn’t go swimming. We walked around and there were a bunch of people fishing. Mike was envious. 

We attempted to get some shrimp at a famous shrimp truck in the area but it had just closed. We headed home and I still wanted shrimp. Kyle felt sick so he stayed home. We tried to get in to a Pho place that had lots of shrimp but about 5,000 Japanese tourists were in town for the Pan Pacific Festival so the line was hours long. Instead we headed out looking for another shrimp truck. Before we got to it, we found a Mexican food place where the hostess almost pulled us in. Mi Almita Cantina it was. As soon as we sat down and ordered, Stephen felt sick to his stomach so I walked him back to the condo. We stopped off to buy Kyle a banana and crackers first. I then rejoined Mike for SHRIMP tacos!! We had our first dinner alone which was nice. As we sat there, we talked about how different this trip would have been if we had no kids with us. We realized we need to strike a balance. We always want to show the boys parts of the country that we were never able to see growing up. We also need adult time so we can reconnect as a couple and enjoy time with our friends. We rarely do date nights and we need to make that a priority going forward.

When we got home from dinner both boys were laughing and feeling better. Maybe we’ll eat a few more veggies and a few less sweet treats and they’ll feel better.