Hawaii Day Four

An early wake up to go to the one place I've been looking forward to seeing all week - Pearl Harbour. I was always fascinated with it and what it must have looked like, so I was excited when we were off.

We get there and park, walk up to the ticket offices to find hundreds of people talking and waiting in line. It's only 930am and the place is packed! We get up to the booth to find two signs posted. The first says that the USS Missouri is drydocked and is not available to be viewed. RATS! But I thought, that's ok, there is still the most important part: the USS Arizona Memorial.

Then I read the second sign. "All tickets for the USS Arizona Memorial have been given out." Double RATS! So by 930am all tickets were gone and realistically, all that was available were the submarine and a museum. Now I did not come all the way to see a museum. I wanted to see Pearl Harbour. Needless to say I was quite disappointed.

Since we knew that tours bring people to the attractions, I might have a decent shot at tickets if I came with a tour. So it was decided that I go try that. Back to the hotel we went to speak with the hotel staff. The attendant was so helpful and I booked a Pearl Harbour/ city tour that left early enough that there was no way I would never get tickets. What time? We leave at 615am. Yea, am.

So we decide to make the most of the day and visit Diamond Head Crater. It's basically an inactive volcano that you can "climb" to the top viewpoints. You start in the middle of the crater then work your way to the top. The experience sees you climbing steep stairs and walking through tunnels that were bore through the volcano itself, passing through military defence viewpoints and old gunner posts. The top has beautiful views of Honolulu, and specifically, Waikiki itself. The whole Diamond Crater experience is a great one to have.

The end of the day came quickly. A beautiful sunset off the Hawaiian beach and an early night. After all, I did have to be up for a 630 tour!