Moses' Make-a-Wish Trip to Oahu Day5

  If Daniel had a wish, it might have been to go to Pearl Harbor.  I don't know for sure where his fascination with the military started.  It happened sometime before my long-time friend and her black-hawk flying husband came over for dinner when Daniel was just a toddler and the "real life army guy" sat next to him and showed him videos of how he could land a helicopter on the steep slope of a mountain.  It was before Dan's cousin joined the navy and took off on a ship across the world, bringing back stories and foreign currency.  But, for whatever reason, we've spent years reading books about World War II,playing with sticker books of vintage fighter planes and air craft carriers and buying camo-print lunch boxes and birthday balloons.  So, Pearl Harbor was a must.

Our family fueled up as we did most days at the "exclusive" continental breakfast on the 30th floor. For an additional cost, exclusive guests of the Sheraton had the option of use of this 30th floor buffet but all Make-a-Wish families had this added to their room for free.  The view was lovely and it turned out to be much more than a typical continental breakfast.  And it gave us the opportunity to meet and talk with other Make-a-Wish families.  There was even one girl there who wished to see where Hawaii 5-0 was filmed who had the chance to attend a taping!

Later that morning, when we arrived at Pearl Harbor, we got a little attention, walking in wearing not only our blue Make-a-Wish buttons but also matching Arizona/Hawaii shirts custom made by Grandma Williams.  From far away they looked like Hawaiian shirts but close up you could see the cowboys and saguaro cacti in front of the round, setting sun.  No one else had shirts just like them!

I worried a bit going into this that the boys wouldn't appreciate several hours of reading names and looking at relics nearly as much as they promised.  Also, I worried that they wouldn't understand the gravity and pick up on the solemn respect appropriately shown at this location.  But, they surprised me with their behavior, showing interest in each new thing but also giving quiet respect to the grave-site of thousands of brave heroes.  As goofy and crazy as my boys act, I'm so thankful when they can flip the switch when it matters most.

If you've never visited Pearl Harbor, it can be a rather lengthy event.  There are several areas which can be toured.  The U.S.S. Arizona memorial portion and the short video they show before boarding the boat is free, as well as a small museum and walking through the grounds and viewing the other ships and artifacts from the outside but boarding and touring other portions costs extra.  However, the free sites alone kept us busy all morning.

During the hour before our turn to see the Arizona we walked the grounds, reading signs at the boys' request and taking some pictures.

When we got in line to view the movie and memorial, a man in a wheelchair was ushered to the front with great dignity.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a man's voice boomed.  "You have a great honor today.  Herb Weatherwax, is here!  Herb is one of eight remaining Pearl Harbor survivors.  He is 98 years old and has been married for 63 years.  Herb, what's the secret to being married for that long?"

"Don't die!" He chuckled.

We had the privilege of meeting and taking a picture with Herb later that day.  He gave our boys a biography page.  Moses kept talking about how he would take it to school and show it to Mrs. Fox.

During the tour, I learned so much about the war that I'd just never stopped to question or find out.  As with any war, there's always so much more to it than one side wanting to pick a fight with the other.  It was educational to hear the series of situations that led up to the attack, as well as the stories of bravery and resilience-better than any movie could fully capture.

We saw the list of names of those who died in the Arizona that day as well as the survivors who were not on board that day but who's ashes have come to join the others in the years since.

And the oil still leaking that some call the "tears of the dead" which they say will continue until the last survivor joins them.

But the moment that stood out to me was this quote-

Thank you to all who serve.  This trip truly reminded me of what a debt I owe.

The rest of the afternoon was fairly relaxing.  We promised good food and trips to the beach and pool, which we made good on.

The evening was...less relaxing but an experience none-the-less.  We'd heard there was a variety of food and a stage with free Polynesian cultural shows at a mall a little ways from our hotel.  Because we were feeling quite done with the traffic, we tried out some double decker public transportation.  Which was fairly fun and exciting for the first few stops.

  But in the end, we arrived too late to catch the hula show, the food court was one of the most insane places I've ever seen and Moses was just too exhausted to follow us around shopping.  We did, however, redeem the experience with amazing, unique deserts with a local flare.

Dole Whip #2 and Save Ice #3

coconut creme' Brule.  Yummy.

Oh and some kind of Hot Lava Volcano Asian Bubble Tea smoothie thing.

So it wasn't a complete loss.  But, if you hear of some sort of free show at the mall-you've been warned!