We're up at 7 and in the Eggs'n'Things shop at 8-ish. National [the car hire people] told us to phone the freephone number while we were stood in their office. Hmm, no sale. We share the early riser breakfast, and between us finish it. The Budget shop on the way back has a little Tiyota Echo -- Escort sized but the smallest available -- which we drive back to Big Surf. We sort ourselves out for Saturday night and the extra parking fee and head off to the Arizona Memorial, the pre-eminent Pearl Harbor memorial.
The road signs aren't the best, they're good for people with local knowledge or a decent map. After the umpteenth mistake we draw up alongside a soldier guarding the Pearl Harbor base, apologise and are directed off to the right back towards the memorial. It clearly happens a lot.
The USS Arizona was one of three ships permanently lost in the December 7 1941 attack (18 others were sunk or damaged but [were] recovered) but the ferociousness of the post-bombing fire, the bomb blew up next to both the magazine and fuel store resulting in a spectacular explosion, caught on camera amazingly, meant the ship, sunk in 40ft of water, was left as a permanent tomb to the nearly 1000 of the 1177 killed on that ship alone. The Americans in a typically schmaltzy -- if that's the right adjective for the over the top Americanism -- fashion use it as a focus for bereavement, or now as a general attraction to add to the photo album. Which is a shame but not as big a shame as the combination of errors and misjudgements that allowed seven out of eight of the battleships of the Pacific Fleet to be destroyed in a couple of hours: the new-technology radar station was left manned by someone with two days experience as the rest went to breakfast but worse the battleships were deliberately lined up on `Battleship Row' as were the aircraft lined up wingtip to wingtip in the middle of the airfield to prevent attacks from within, the biggest fear. There's surprisingly little documentation or evidence to show for the tragedy but you can still psend some time there.
We moved on taking our car up to the North Shore. Or so we hoped. In practice the miles pass quite quickly despite it mostly being 35mph and the signage is very poor. We hit a town called Leia and stop for a McDonalds for lunch -- having been told there's little to eat at the beaches. Only then do we discover we've passed North Shore, the point and are partway down the east coast -- that explains why the waves have picked up, at least.
Time's getting on and we press on with a round island tour but the rotten road signs mean we're back in Honolulu in no-time. A good thing as I'm fading again. Stopping at Big Surf we do another three hours straight out sleep. What's wrong? This is very unnerving.
We go over the road for a Starbucks and cakey -- nothing too heavy required -- before taking a cruise around downtown Waikiki. It's just like any other town. We get lost trying to find a road to either the bright lights dotting the hillside or Diamond Head and we're back in Waikiki. Call it quits, let's go home and rest. Of course, three hours kip in the early evening means we can't sleep... Luckily back to back The Osbournes on MTV keeps us amused.
Big Surf, Waikiki (just), Oahu N21.28672 W157.83966 Elev. -20m (and we're on the fourth floor too!)
Copyright 2003 Ian Fitchet. All rights reserved.