The macadamia nut farm was really disappointing. Julia and Jourdan both chose to spend their money at the jewelry store there however. They loved the idea of buying an oyster and getting to keep the pearl inside. Since it cost them about $8....it was an experience that they really enjoyed. (I guess it's the excitement of the unknown...will I get 1 or more pearls? Will it be white or pink, or even purple?) The factory itself was really dumb, so don't waste your time here. It you want to buy Mauna Loa products, they're at all the local Costco's for really cheap compared to the "special" store on the factory property.
We then drove to the northernmost point on the island and admired a beautiful beach below the towering cliffs. We wish we would have had time to hike all the way down to the black sand beach below, but we had to catch a plane back in Hilo to go to Oahu, so we just admired it from afar.
We spent Wednesday in Pearl Harbor. Everything has really changed since the last time we were here in 1995. The visitor's center is new, and things there seem to run really smoothly. We even got to park right in front of the entrance gate.....we felt like VIP's. Anyway, the first thing we did was tour the USS Bowfin submarine.
Then we rode the little ferry out to see the USS Arizona memorial. Jourdan was really impressed with the ship and memorial.
After that, we went to see the USS Missouri (on Ford Island), which was not there last time we came to visit. We spent a couple of hours exploring the ship using our i-pod touch interactive audio tours. We have been on audio tours before, but having the i-pod was cool because not only did we have audio guidance through the tour, we had video footage that related to what we were hearing.
We also got to spend a while at the Pacific aviation museum (also on Ford Island). This museum is new, but very small. Jourdan took just under an hour to read every placard and watch every interactive display and film in the museum. He's a real history buff. We spent the evening in the pool at our hotel in Waikiki.
3 comments:
How fun to do the oysters! We saw those a few places but never did one. We loved Pearl Harbor, too. We didn't have time for the Missouri, but we saw it on the boat ride out to USS Arizona. I'm sure it would be fun.
(It's so funny now with our increased time change... I'm sure you are posting these late, before you go to bed, and I'm seeing them first thing in the morning [my morning], but it's only 4 hours later.)
Find a pearl for Grandma Hale.
love, love all the pictures! Looks like you are having such a great time and living every second to the fullest! your kids are troopers to say the least. Enjoy the rest of your vacation!
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