Nick Vails Spring 2007 Semester at Sea: Aloha Hawaii

MAY 7, 2007
Today we arrived in Honolulu Hawaii and awoke bright and early to a song played over the intercom system at 6:00am. We were woken up early to meet with immigration officials to check us back into the United States. I did not leave the ship until around 8:00am and traveled with a SAS trip to Pearl Harbor to visit the Arizona memorial and museum. Being back in the United States was very strange. First of all I was no longer part of the white minority and secondly I felt skinny again being surrounded by many overweight people. Upon reaching Pearl Harbor we had to wait approximately two hours before we watched a short video then took the ferry to the Arizona memorial. It was a very humbling experience seeing the ship and oil leaks below the water and knowing that over 900 men were still entombed within its corroding interior. Also the USS Missouri is was positioned only a few hundred yards off Arizona’s stern bringing together the two ships that symbolize the beginning and end of the deadly Pacific War. After visiting the memorial we traveled to an American military cemetery and then Hawaii’s capital and received a brief history lesson on how Hawaii was taken over during the days of American imperialism in the late 19th century. We learned how King Kamehameha I unified the Hawaiian Islands, then American Businessmen took control of the islands, and eventually Hawaii became a state in 1959.

I returned to the ship after the tour and ate lunch with some friends before heading out with the goal of reaching Waikiki beach. Unfortunately we caught the wrong bus to the beach and it took over an hour so we did not arrive at the beach until nearly 4:30pm. It then took another 30 minutes to help our Chinese friend, Zhimin, buy and use a phone card to call home and settle some logistical issues. The beach was fantastic but I soon discovered that the beautiful white sand quickly gave way to rough volcanic rock about 20 feet offshore. The water was pleasant but for all they hype I feel that Waikiki is over rated. We then searched for a cheap place to eat and in the process caught one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. The sunset was incredible and I am jealous that the people here get to see sights like that every day. I ordered some Chicken Fingers at a local restaurant then we walked around the city some more before returning to the ship around 9:30pm for our ride back home.