After my morning dive, I was left to my own devices in the biggest city in the state. I had a couple telephoto lenses that I needed to decide between, and some internet business to catch up on. So out I wandered, making use of walking and free transportation.
I wandered over to the beach, and found a monk seal. They seem to be everywhere in the islands, but they're actually quite rare. I've seen them on 3 of the 4 islands that we visit. How lucky.
It was mostly a day for pictures.
One of the big attractions on our itinerary is Pearl Harbor. Many of our passengers are veterans, and some are WWII vets. The majority of our passengers visit Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona each cruise.
I had gone as a child. I don't know how old I was, but I remember it pretty well. I don't remember events surrounding the visit, but I remember the memorial in detail. When I returned, it was exactly as I remembered it. Strange what sticks in your memory...
I took a tour from the ship, so everything was free and pre-arranged. There's a comprehensive museum to peruse while waiting to go out to the Arizona, and an intense documentary about the attack on Pearl Harbor. I hadn't realized that there was actual footage of the USS Arizona's forward artillery magazines blowing up. That was unexpected.
We went out to the memorial, and saw the rusted ship sitting just below the water. Parts of it sit above the water line. Parts of it are still leaking oil. They say they are the ship's tears.
Next to the sunken ship, the USS Missouri is docked as a decommissioned battleship, a museum to the end of World War II.
I'm still trying to find a good solution to taking underwater pictures. Right now, I have a few disposable underwater cameras, but they don't take very good pictures, and they're not very customizable. Actually, they produce surprisingly poor images.
But at least they're something.
I try to get in the water at least once per cruise. I have my own snorkeling gear, so I can walk off the boat and go snorkeling, if there is a beach nearby. There's a great beach in Hilo, and it's only a 20 minute bike ride away. I've gone diving in Honolulu on three occasions. I've gone snorkeling in Kauai a couple times, but it's very hard to get around. I've gone both snorkeling and diving in Maui, and it is spectacular.
Here is a sampling of underwater experiences. I see many turtles, usually at least one every time I'm in the water. The manta ray was something special.
