2023 Hawaii Trip - Days 3 and 4

Hello friends!  Thanks for stopping by Thinking Out Loud Thursday where I talk about something on my mind and invite you to link up and share what you are thinking about.  Today I'm finally getting back to sharing highlights from our trip to Hawaii that we took earlier this year.  Here comes Days 3 and 4 ~
 

It's a thing when we travel that each of us lists 5 things we really want to do on that vacation.  For the Hawaii trip, Eric's number one thing was to visit the USS Missouri and Pearl Harbor Memorial.  We knocked that out on Day 3 of our vacation!

We had booked a tour of the USS Missouri for the morning and added the Chief Engineer's Tour for a deeper dive into the ship.  Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and entertained all the questions anyone had about the ship.  "The Chief Engineer’s Tour showcases the power and mechanics behind the Mighty Mo that made her one of the biggest and fastest battleships in history." I would recommend this additional 45-minute tour if you are planning a visit.

I can't even imagine how anyone could learn all the dials and buttons to operate the controls and get the shells headed in the right direction.

After exploring the USS Missouri, we took the bus provided back over to the Memorial area.  From there we took a boat out to the Pearl Harbor Memorial.  What a solemn experience.  

Seeing the wall with all the names of the individuals who lost their lives on the USS Arizona on December 7, 1941, and knowing that the actions of that day changed the lives of so many is such a sobering feeling.

After a day at the memorial, we spent a quiet evening back at Aulani relaxing and resting up for day 4.

Day 4 took us to North Shore.  Ian and Kayla were taking surf lessons and Eric and I planned on hanging out at the beach watching them.  On the way there, we saw the most gorgeous double rainbow!

The morning was a bit on the rainy side, but that didn't stop the surf lessons from happening.  It stopped raining by midmorning and we were able to enjoy sitting on the beach watching the waves.  

Ian and Kayla both did great learning to surf and were able to ride several waves into the shore.  

After their surf lessons, we went into the little town of Haleiwa to go to the food trucks for lunch.  Highly recommend the food trucks!  

We stuffed ourselves with shrimp and crepes.  It was delicious!

With very full bellies, we ventured down the beach to see the big waves of North Shore.  There happen to be a surfing competition going on and it was fun watching the skilled surfers do their thing.

On our way back to the resort, we stopped at the Dole Plantation.  Eric and I took the train tour around the farm.  Honestly, this was one thing in hindsight I would have probably skipped.  

We had to race back to the resort because we had tickets to the luau that evening.  Traffic was heavier than we thought it would be and we barely made it back in time!  The Disney luau was great and we all breathed a sigh of relief when we were seated with a drink in hand after only having 10 minutes to get ready.

The weather was perfect for sitting outside and watching the show.  The fire dancers are always my favorite part!

I'll be back with Days 5 and 6 soon.  In the meantime, link up and share what you are thinking out loud about today.

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