Hawaii – Day 3 – Reverence and Remembrance

Sunday, June 29, 2025

I woke up feeling surprisingly energized and ready to redeem myself after yesterday’s High Noon hangover. I headed down to the lobby while AJ got ready, snapping a few pictures along the way. When I returned to the room, I was greeted by my first Hawaiian rainbow.. a perfect start to the day.

I filled up our personalized water bottles (thanks, Lynn!) at the ice and water station on our floor. We were a little rushed leaving the room (yeah.. that was on me), so we headed out to the Banyan Tree hike without eating or drinking any water, which was not exactly peak planning.

By 6:45 AM, AJ and I were outside, crossing the lobby and walking toward the trailhead. The path took us past the Turtle Bay Bungalows, a stretch of golf course, the pickleball courts, and toward the Ranch. We noted the distance markers and continued along the trail, spotting some adorable egret that looked like storks and plenty of red-crested cardinals and zebra doves.

The trail itself was gorgeous, though the signs seemed determined to confuse us. The distances kept changing in ways that defied logic. But we persist!

Still, we reached the iconic Banyan tree at 7:13 AM. She was beautiful but impossible to fully capture in a photo. I learned this particular tree had been featured in both Lost and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Unfortunately, the effects of our poor preparation caught up with AJ 😖 he started feeling pretty sick, so we made a beeline back to the resort, stopping sparingly for a few more pictures as the rain began to pour. We were back in our room by 8:00 AM.

After a much-needed drinkable yogurt for AJ, we regrouped and met the rest of the crew in the lobby to head to Pearl Harbor. The hour-long drive took us to the historic site, where we parked in the overflow lot around 9:50 AM.

By 10:45, we gathered and lined up for our scheduled visit to the USS Arizona Memorial. We were escorted into a small theater, where a man stepped forward and addressed us before the film began. His words set the tone immediately, reminding us that this was not a tourist attraction, but a mass grave and a place of solemn remembrance.

When the presentation ended, we quietly boarded a boat to cross the harbor. The water was calm and reflective, adding to the weight of the moment. At 10:53, we arrived at the memorial itself, stepping onto the white structure that spans the remains of the battleship below.

AJ and I made our way toward the Shrine Room at the back of the memorial, where the names of the fallen are etched into the wall. We stood there for a long moment, reading the names, letting the silence sink in. I felt tears welling up.

A ranger from the National Park Service joined us to give a brief and moving presentation in the Shrine Room. She drew our attention to the repeating names on the wall, and explain the 23 sets of brothers, including twins and two sets of three, had been serving together aboard the Arizona when she was attacked. There were also fathers and sons, and young men who had only just welcomed their first children into the world. She went on to describe the events of the morning of December 7, 1941, when a Japanese bomb struck near Turret 2. The bomb penetrated the deck and detonated the forward magazine, where the ship’s ammunition was stored, at precisely the wrong moment, which caused a devastating explosion that tore through the hull. In that moment, the Arizona was transformed from a battleship into a tomb, quickly sinking and taking 1,177 men with her. Approximately 900 of those men remain entombed within the wreck today, where they rest just below the waterline where I stood. The ranger then told the story of Chief Petty Officer Willam A. Linn, who, at the end of his life, arranged to have his remains returned to the ship so he could rest with his crewmates. The Navy and National Park Service honored his wish when he passed away in 1982. This ceremony was offered to the remaining survivors. Between 1982 and 2019, 44 survivors chose to have their ashes interred inside. When requested, the veterans’ ashes are cremated and brought back to the memorial. A Navy diver carries the urn down to Turret 4, where the ashes are gently placed inside, returning the sailor to rest with his brothers. I wiped a couple more tears as we left the Shrine Room. From the memorial, we observed the remains of the Arizona, her weathered and battle-scarred structures are still visible. One of the gun turrets (Turret 3) still protrudes just above the waterline. We could see the mooring bits, the outlines of the corroding deck, and other remnants of the once proud battleship. Finally, we were escorted back to the boat for the return trip across the harbor.

Unfortunately, time and capacity constraints kept us from visiting the Battleship Missouri, the ship where my great-grandpa, Harrison Perry McIntire, served when she sailed to Japan for the signing of the World War II surrender treaty.

I took a quiet moment to honor him before we gathered the group and walked back to the cars.

Ava and Ford lifted the mood by holding hands, whistling, and sauntering toward the cars.

On the drive back, we stopped at Big Wave Shrimp Truck in Haleiwa. I ordered the peeled garlic shrimp while AJ wandered over to a Korean BBQ truck for short ribs. While we waited, I popped into a gift shop and bought AJ a Hawaiian Pokémon sticker. Andi got herself a ukulele, and I chatted with the cashier, who happened to be from San Diego. Jon and Lynn shared the spicy and coconut shrimp, while Elizabeth also ordered the peeled garlic shrimp. Everyone loved the food!

We ordered drinks from the shrimp truck, snapped some adorable pictures of the kids,

and Elizabeth captured a cute one of AJ and me.

Continuing down Kamehameha Highway, we stopped at Kuilima Farm Stand in Kahuku for what turned out to be the best shaved ice of the trip, made with all-natural, house-made syrups and no food dye. Heaven.

AJ and I also picked up some Hawaiian-made soap crafted from farm-grown oils; I even scored a scent that wasn’t supposed to be sold individually because someone else had slyly swapped it out (my win!). At the fruit shack, I tried an “ice cream” banana (which was delicious and creamy and sweet) and shared it with Andi and Elizabeth. Andi also ordered a coconut water in a coconut larger than her head… which may or may not have been rotten (lol).

I even spotted a little gold dust day gecko, which was absolutely adorable.

On the way back to the resort, we passed Fort Shafter, where my great-grandpa William Wallace was stationed. I took a quiet moment to honor him too.

Back at the resort, AJ and I freshened up and joined Lynn and the kids at the pool. I stopped at the towel station to grab towels and sunscreen, and chatted with the attendant about how much I was loving the island. He smiled and welcomed me with a cheerful E Komo Mai.

This was also when AJ got his first sunburn of the trip. Elizabeth joined us on the lounge chairs while the kids played in the water. AJ and I decided to humor the kids and join them on the waterslide. For some reason, I took my hat down the slide, and I was unable to save it from the water. I handed the soaking hat off to the kids, and they took turns posing with it on their heads as they continued perfecting their water slide runway routine.

When Jon arrived, the group moved over to the Sunset Bar for dinner.
I ordered the katsu chicken sandwich (excellent), Lynn enjoyed a beet and quinoa salad, and AJ, naturally, kept his piña streak alive.

After dinner, the whole crew took a sunset walk around the resort. We stumbled across a big grassy area where another family was playing soccer with a beach ball. Ford immediately jumped in and gave them a run for their money, holding his defensive pose and waiting for his chance to steal the ball. The other family was cheering him on, while Andi critiqued his form from the sidelines, battling her FOMO. The rest of us (AJ, Lynn, Elizabeth, Jon, Ava, and me) sat on the sidelines giggling.