Oahu

Wednesday, October 10th
South Pacific
Day 11
ms Westerdam
Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii
Arriving:  8:00 AM
Partly Cloudy - 78 Degrees

Even at first glance, Honolulu has surprised us.  Maybe our image of the city is rooted in the 1960s and hasn't been updated.  Maybe we don't believe you can "Hang Loose" and still be serious about industry and commerce.  Maybe it's the notion that paradise is no place for a real city.  But, a real city this is.

We are docked at Pier 9 in Honolulu Harbor at the Aloha Tower, a 1926 "Hawaiian Gothic" landmark lighthouse that was for forty years the tallest structure in the city, and now anchors a newer, and mostly empty, Marketplace at the foot of downtown Honolulu.

The city skyline rises in front of the ship to the East, the hotels and resorts of Waikiki Beach with Diamond Head beyond to the South, Pearl Harbor to the North.  Honolulu proper has a population of about 350,000, but Honolulu County, which encompasses the entire island of Oahu, has nearly a million people.  On an island, with land scarce and views abundant, it makes sense to build up, not out.  And they have.  The skyline of Honolulu, stretching from Downtown to Diamond Head, has 470 high rises, fourth-most in the United States behind New York, Chicago, and LA.  A real city, indeed.

This is an overnight port of call, with two days to see all we can see, and we are going to need every minute.  Today, we are focused on history and the city.  Tomorrow will be about nature and the island.

We started with a tour of Downtown Honolulu, the major financial and commercial center of the Pacific Islands, and the capitol of the state of Hawaii.  While the drab and dreary civic architecture of the 1960s is well represented, there are many lovely older buildings of note, and many more modern additions to the skyline.

Our first stop is in honor of King Kamehameha, the first ruler to unite the islands of Hawaii in a single kingdom.  His statue stands in front of the new "Hawaii 5-O" headquarters.

Across the street is Iolani Palace, the royal palace built by Kamehameha III to rival any in the world in comfort and convenience, if not size.  It was plumbed and electrified long before many more famous palaces.

Many of you may have made this pilgrimage before us, but this is our time to pay our respects to the memory of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

You know the history...

The United States has had a relationship with Hawaii, and a presence in Pearl Harbor going back to the whaling era, as early as the 1820s, but a naval station was not established there until the turn of the century.  The strategic value of an outpost in the middle of the Pacific was obvious, but Pearl Harbor offered the additional advantage of a narrow entrance making it easier to defend.

In 1941, with war raging across Europe, Japan had joined the Axis and was moving aggressively to take control of Asia.  The United States was making every effort to stay out of "Europe's War," and to negotiate a peaceful end to Japanese aggression in the Pacific.  President Roosevelt moved the homeport of the Pacific Fleet from San Diego to Pearl Harbor as a deterrent to the Japanese, making it the largest US military installation in the world, but Japan was undaunted.  With negotiations continuing, but at a standstill, the United States ordered an oil embargo to starve the Japanese war machine.  It was clear to the Japanese that they would have to neutralize the United States Pacific Fleet to successfully prosecute the war in Asia.  War planning in anticipation of a conflict with Japan had been in the works for many years.  The impending attack was not unanticipated, but it was not expected at Pearl Harbor, and it was not expected from the air.

On the morning of December 7th, 1941, the Empire of Japan launched an attack on the United States at Pearl Harbor.  The Japanese launched 5 midget submarines, and 350 bombers in two waves, from their fleet in the Pacific.  One submarine was detected and sunk near the entrance to the Harbor, but it was dismissed as an isolated incident.  Radar detected the incoming threat from the air, but it was misidentified as a squadron of US planes en route to Hawaii from California.  First, the bombers targeted the military installations surrounding Pearl Harbor, taking out US air defense batteries and land-based bombers neatly lined up on the tarmac.  Then, the Japanese targeted the fleet in Pearl Harbor.  Of the entire fleet, only the aircraft carriers were at sea.  Every other US naval asset was in port, docked two-by-two around the harbor, once thought easy to defend, now impossible to escape.  The USS Arizona suffered a direct hit to the forward munitions magazine.  It sunk in nine minutes, its crew of 1,177 going down with it.  Every ship was hit, most listing and sinking, the water on fire with a sheen of burning oil.  In less than two hours, it was all over.  The final tally was devastating: 19 ships damaged, grounded, or sunk; 347 airplanes damaged or destroyed; 2,402 dead; 1,247 wounded.  Civilian casualties totaled 57 dead and 35 wounded.

More unprovoked Japanese attacks on nations throughout the Pacific would follow:  Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam, The Philippine Islands, Wake Island, and Midway Island,

The next day, the wreckage of the USS Arizona still burning in the Harbor, President Roosevelt addressed a joint session of Congress:

"Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

The President asked Congress for a declaration of war against the Empire of Japan.  The United States had entered World War II.

The WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument was renovated and rededicated just three years ago.  The grounds are a living museum to the events of December 7th.  The monument is anchored by three historic vessels:  the remains of the battleship USS Arizona, the submarine USS Bowfin, and the battleship USS Missouri.  They represent respectively:  the attack that began the war, the war that avenged the attack, and the surrender that ended the war.  Two indoor exhibits tell the stories of the lead up to war, and the war effort.  A widescreen theater movie tells the story of the day.  A wall of remembrance is dedicated to the 2,402 service members killed in action that day, and the ships and bases on which they served.

The USS Arizona Memorial sits above and astride the wreckage of the Arizona at the bottom of Pearl Harbor, some 900 of her crew still entombed within.

The ride out to the Memorial is a solemn 10 minutes.  The Memorial is overcrowded, but starkly beautiful and deeply moving.

From the bottom of the harbor to the top of the hill.  We finished our tour at Punchbowl Crater, high above Honolulu.  Those lost on December 7th, and many heroes more, are honored and remembered at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.  It is Arlington West on a grand scale with a great view, 34,000 graves, the lives lost in the Pacific fighting World War II, and the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam.  A moment of silence, the offer of peace, for those who are here, and those we hope never will be.

We wasted the afternoon and early evening devoted to our own pursuits:  walking, shopping, seeking out the best Hawaiian Plate Lunch, mai tais at sunset on Waikiki.

We met back up, joined by the ultimate Northwest Expatriate turned Hawaiian Insider, Justin, for a late dinner at Alan Wong's eponymous restaurant.

Zagat gives it high praise, and the top food score in the city.  "The place where “Hawaii Regional cuisine was born and still reigns”, Alan Wong’s longtime McCully standout garners Oahu’s No. 1 Most Popular honors thanks to “inspired” cuisine, an “exceptional” wine list and “gracious” service that make it a “must when in Honolulu” for many, including President Obama; though some find the space otherwise “pedestrian” and the location “hard to find”, most agree the “heavenly experience” is “well worth the effort” and “pricey” tabs."

The chef himself promises "Hawaii Regional Cuisine at its finest — a menu inspired by the diverse ethnic cultures found in Hawaii and by the freshly farmed ingredients from our islands."

Many star chef restaurants fail to live up to the hype consistently from visit to visit and course to course, but we came here to “Taste Hawaii!," and this is the place.

There was not a single disappointment, every bite an inspired creation perfectly executed.  The signature onaga was crusted crispy and aromatic, lush and lovely within, creamy corn and mushrooms providing pop and circumstance below.  This dish first among equals, the rest was just as good.  This was the best meal of the trip, and we don't need the next three weeks to prove it.

Alan Wong's Menu:

“Soup And Sandwich”
Chilled Vine Ripened Hamakua Springs Tomato Soup Grilled Mozzarella Cheese, Kalua Pig, & Foie Gras Sandwich

Chopped Ahi Sashimi
Wrapped in a Crispy Won Ton Purse, Avocado, Spicy Aioli and Wasabi Soy

Kona Lobster Dumplings
Chili, Garlic, Lemongrass, Black Bean Veloute

Nori Wrapped Tempura Ahi
Tomato Ginger Relish, Soy Mustard Sauce

Seafood “Lasagne”
Poached Lobster Tail, Mushrooms, Herb Oil

“H.R.C.aesar Salad," Crispy Parmesan Cheese Basket
Baby Maui Romaine Lettuce, Creamy Anchovy Dressing, Kalua Pig, Lomi Tomato Relish

Ginger Crusted Onaga, Long-Tail Red Snapper
Miso Sesame Vinaigrette, Organic Hamakua Mushroom & Corn

Twice Cooked Short Rib, Soy Braised and Grilled “Kalbi” Style
Gingered Shrimp, Ko Choo Jang Sauce

“Mini Coconut”
Haupia Sorbet in a Chocolate Shell, Tropical Fruits and Lilikoi Sauce

Waialua Chocolate “Crunch Bars”
Layers of Milk Chocolate Macadamia Nut Crunch and Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse


Thursday, October 11th
South Pacific
Day 12
ms Westerdam
Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii
Aloha Tower Marketplace
Departing:  5:00 PM
Partly Cloudy - 78 Degrees

We are getting out of the city today, for a tour of island life au' natural.  On the way, we hit Waikiki, where very little is local and virtually nothing is natural.  Kalakaua Avenue is the Rodeo Drive of the Pacific.  The shops are European, the money is Japanese.  Even the sand is imported.

Diamond Head is holy high ground, a burial site, a navigational landmark, a former military installation, and a public park.  Diamond Head is the hot girl of Honolulu, nice to look at, but ugly and empty on the inside.

Hanauma Nature Preserve is all natural, but the Preserve is at risk.  3,000 people a day come to swim in the calm waters of the sheltered bay, snorkel over the coral growing just off shore, sit in the soft sand, and look up at the cliffs that frame the view on more than three sides.

Just up the coast, we came to Halona Cove and the Halona Blowhole.  The Cove is the secluded pocket beach that inspired romance in the lovers "From Here to Eternity."  The Blowhole is more power than passion.  As the surf surges into shore, a lava tube traps the water and channels the rush in and up, accelerating through the black rock, until it thunders out the top of the tube in an explosion of foam and spray.  It is something to behold.  We're told.  But today, the Blowhole Show is a no go.  All burp, and no boom.  Still, a beautiful place.

The drive along this side of the island is Oahu's finest, twists and turns, ups and downs, expansive views out to the water and vertical looks up the cliffs.  Makapuu Point is the Eastern tip of the island, where a lighthouse clings to its perch on the rocks.  North of the Point, hang-gliders leap from the cliffs above aiming for the beach below.  Seabird sanctuaries on Manana and Kaohikaipu islands are just offshore.

Our last, and longest, stop on the coast was Kaiona Beach Park, another landing spot for hang-gliders.  Sadly, some who fly with the birds are destined to swim with the fishes.  So it was for the man remembered at a funeral in the park today.  Aloha, friend.  Life's a beach.

Turning inland, and inward, our tour continued on sacred ground.  Polynesian polytheism was traditionally practiced on vast temple plateaus of limestone, each stone quarried, carried, and placed by hand.  These "Heiaus" were both spiritual and civic, gathering places for all things communal.  Ulupo Heiau dates from 500 A.D.  Now it is just a pile of rocks, the detail and the meaning lost to time, but sacred is forever.

The Pali cliffs of the Koolau Mountains bisect the island, dividing windward from leeward, wet from dry, 18 miles of vertical ridges and ravines, each one a windward waterfall in the rain.  The Pali Highway cuts a pass through the cliffs and emerges at the Pali lookout, a windy panorama of the Windward Coast from an elevation of 1,200 feet.  It is said, that it was said by Mark Twain to be "the most beautiful place on Earth."

Interesting note of the day:  Trees in Hawaii don't have rings.  Rings are caused by the variations in growth from season to season.  There are no seasons here.  It's growing season all year long.  Hawaiians have to use carbon dating to judge the age of their trees.  Fascinating!!!

Back in Honolulu, Justin had a recommendation for lunch.  He joined us at Nico's Pier 38, an open air seafood stand on the working waterfront.  It's in fancy new digs now, but it started in a shed on the pier, serving the daily catch to daily catchers.  It's that fresh, and they make a damn fine Plate Lunch too.

At sailaway just shy of sunset, the Aloha Tower bid us farewell as the "Shining City on the Beach" justified and solidified our changing view of Honolulu, gateway to paradise and major metropolis.  Downtown, Waikiki, Diamond Head.  Aloha.

Next Stop:  Hilo, Hawaii