My two-week trip to Hawaii in June of 2000, came at the end of a three-month backpacking trip in the South Pacific (a reward to myself for passing the CPA exam). I used an Island hopper pass to tour five Islands.
By the time I arrived back in Oahu, I’d driven the Hana Highway, seen Charles Lindbergh’s grave and gone whale watching on Maui; hiked the Napali Coast, seen blue-footed booby hatchlings and snorkeled on Kawaii; toured Volcanos NP and driven up to the Mauna Kea Observatory on the Big Island, and had a private tour of the former leper colony at Kalaupapa National Historical Park on Moloka’i. I’d jumped from waterfalls into lagoons, met amazing fellow travelers from all over the world, slept in my rental car on beaches and been a “ride-share” driver for fellow back-packers (gas money was always accepted : )
My career as a CPA allowed me to retire in 2020 at the age of 55, but it was my first degree – a BA in history, focus on American history – that made my trip to Pearl Harbor so memorable. My Dad and both his brothers were in WW2. The sacrifices they made, along with the rest of that great generation, can never be repaid by the Americans who came after. But we dishonor them when we let party politics usurp the meaning of what it is to be a part of this great experiment in democracy.
Sincerely,
Pearl Harbor National Memorial
Lying beneath the surface of the calm waters of Pearl Harbor, just outside downtown Honolulu are the remains of the USS Arizona and the more than 1,000 members of the boat's crew who lost their lives when it sank during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. A stark white memorial rises out of the water above the sunken ship to commemorate the Arizona sailors and all of the civilians and servicemen and women who were killed on that "date which will live in infamy." Parts of the ship can be seen from the memorial, as well as dark slicks from the oil that still leaks from the ship more than 65 years later. The interior of the memorial displays the names of all the Arizona sailors who perished along with the names of crew members who survived the Pearl Harbor attack yet chose to be buried with their shipmates.
State(s): Hawaii
Established: 1980
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Greetings from Pearl Harbor National Memorial
I was stationed in Hawaii twice in my military career and now reside on Oahu. I have been to the USS Arizona numerous times with visiting friends and family. The many upgrades to the visitor's center and visitor experience over the years is outstanding and only gets better with each…
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Greetings from New River Gorge National Park & Preserve
This summer, my friends and I held our annual camping trip in New River Gorge National Park. As young adults, (some of us are still students) a lot of vacation spots are out of our price range, but public lands like national parks allow us to spend time together without…
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