Day One: Hawaii

I got in last night around 8:15pm to Honolulu.

Did I tell you I was going to Hawaii?

I'm here to visit my roommate, Sarah, from college. I can say anything I want to about her because she refuses to read my blog.

 

(Here she is showing off her cleavage. 

She would love that I put this picture up on the internets.)

Except I only have nice things to say. Because I love her. Even if she doesn't read my nonsense. She doesn't know what she's missing out on.

I haven't quite crossed over in terms of the time zone difference. Basically I went from almost as far east as you can in the United States to almost as far west as you can in the United States.

Crazy.

And yet...awesome.

So it's 1:04am right now in Durham and 8:04pm in Kailua (for those of you who were wondering that's on the island of O'ahu). And I'm ready for bed. Which is OK because I want to get up to see the sun rise tomorrow morning.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! (That's an excited squeal.)

Anyways for now, I will tell you about today.

First, I was awake at 4:53am this morning. Which is way too early to be awake. So I went back to sleep until 6:30. Then Sarah finally woke up a few hours later and we walked to Cinnamon's which is a local place for breakfast.

They had delicious coffee.

And you could order fish as a breakfast meat! How exciting is that if you're a pescatarian? Exactly.
AWESOME.

 

Sarah had the french toast which is made with sweet bread and served with a side of cinnamon butter. Is there anything better than cinnamon butter?

But here's the really awesome thing...these:

 

Guava Chiffon Pancakes

Yes, I ate these. Every bite. Think of a light fluffy pancake in a puddle of guava puree topped with guava jelly and whipped cream. Sugar overload? Yes. Delicious? Yes.

It's probably a good thing we walked.


Next we decided to be all touristy and head over to Pearl Harbor.

 

 

The memorial was constructed in the 60s over the top of the actual ship which is just below the surface of the water in the harbor.

 

  

I think the architecture is pretty interesting. I like the way the shadows are cast from all the openings. 

 

This is oil from the millions of gallons that was on board the ship when it went down. Yes, it's still leaking oil over 60 years later. Can you imagine what that's doing to the ecosystem?

Speaking of oil, you know what really struck me? That the water was on fire during the attack. All the oil on the surface had caught fire, so amidst the water there was fire and the men were swimming and fighting in the middle of it all. I can't even imagine it.

There are also thousands of men entombed under the water in the USS Arizona. Men who served on-board who didn't die in the battle (around 300) can also choose to be buried here. I have a difficult time understanding the dedication to the armed services since I come from a background of pacifists and conscientious objectors, but I can respect it.

Tomorrow, is a beach day! Yay! Here's hoping for some sunshine!

 

Hopefully I'll not be so pasty white after tomorrow. I don't think it will help my giant head shrink though. ( :