The Rowe Family Blog

We awoke early for the start of the third day of our Hawaiin trip. I can’t remember for certain but I believe the tour bus picked us up outside a neighboring hotel at 6:45. We allowed plenty of time to get ready so that we could stop at the Burger King, located directly across the street from our hotel, for a quick breakfast.

The tour bus arrived on schedule. Someone on their list wasn’t waiting for the bus so they delayed the bus for a short while at the hotel. Eventually they gave up on the missing people and moved on.

Our tour guide was very nice. She wasn’t the best tour guide in the world but she was nice. She mostly read the tour information from note cards but it didn’t really matter. The drive to the memorial was very short and traffic wasn’t bad. When we arrived there was already a massive line. Apparently the memorial draws a huge number of visitors each day. Admission to the memorial is free which is probably at least part of the reason as to the crowds. If you have a rental car don’t bother buying buying a tour. If you don’t have a rental car tours are a convenient way to get to and from the memorial.
When you enter you get a ticket with a number on it. This is a group number because they have to get you to the memorial via a boat. While waiting for your boat you wander around an indoor/outdoor museum. We rented the audio-tour for a couple of dollars. I think it was worth it for us because we would have quickly become bored with the displays otherwise.

When our number was called we boarded the ship and went out to the memorial. We headed to the back of the memorial where the names of the fallen are. It’s a very nice display there. We spent some time looking down on the sunken ship and then headed back to the museum area when the boat was leaving.

Our tour didn’t hang around. Once all were accounted for we hopped on the tour bus to depart. After you see the memorial there isn’t much point in hanging around. Unless you are the first group of the morning you’ll have plenty of time to examine the museum area.

The ride back was unfortunately terrible. The AC was broken on the bus and it was very stuffy on a little bus in 80+ degree weather and no windows open. By the time we arrived back at the Waikiki area most people on the bus were miserable because of the heat. Mary and I elected to depart the bus before they got to our hotel because we were so uncomfortably warm and because we could walk back to the hotel faster than the tour bus. It’s not that the tour bus was slow, it’s just that they were making a large number of stops and traffic is slow in the urban area of Waikiki.

We didn’t have anything else planned for the day. We had a flight to catch in the afternoon to head to the Big Island. We packed up our bags, checked out, and then left our bags with the bell service. We wandered around for a little while. We stopped and ate lunch at a fun little diner which was also across the street from our hotel located in a lower shop in King’s Village.

After lunch we were picked up for our ride to the airport. All went well and we were on our way to the Big Island of Hawaii. We boarded a very small prop plane. This was the first time I had ever flown a plane that was not jet powered. I was surprised at how smooth the flight was. I was also surprised that the plane was not very loud. I think the jet aircraft I’ve been on have been significantly louder.

While on the plane I eavesdropped on another passengers conversation. She had been travelling for the last 3 months around the world visiting all sorts of places. She must lead a rough life! It would be nice to be able to do such a thing. For now we must be content with at least having been to Hawaii once.

We arrived at the Hilo airport on the Big Island with no issues. This airport was the smallest we’d been to. It was smaller than the Rochester airport and built more like a hut than a building.

We picked up our rental car, which we upgraded to a convertable for a whopping 6$, and headed off to our hotel. We got lost. We always get lost. Luckily there weren’t too many roads and you can’t get *too* far lost. We were lost because I was looking at the wrong map. I had the correct island but the wrong section of the island. Oh well.

We checked into our hotel where they gave us metal keys. Metal keys are a warning sign that the hotel you are staying at is badly in need up updates. Our room was OK. The bathroom was large but it was gross. There was mold on the walls and the wallpaper was very obviously (and poorly) patched. It was obvious that some serious repairs had been done. The TV didn’t work right either. For one thing there were lines through every channel. For another thing it wouldn’t turn off! If you hit the power button on the remote or on the TV it would turn grey but would not power off. I was forced to just pull the plug on the TV.

On our way out to find dinner we asked at the front desk if there was internet access. She asked what room we were in. We said “411.” She said, “Oh no, not in THAT room.” Well then…not in our room. I suspect that they’ve been renovating (they’d better be!) and that our room hadn’t been updated yet.

After wandering around we settled on the restaurant in the hotel. It wasn’t spectacular by any means but it was food.

We were tired from our early mornings at Waikiki and travelling so we went to bed a little earlier than usual. We wanted to be well rested for our day at Volcano National Park.

View most of our pictures from the USS Arizona Memorial.

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