This morning we got up and met Chuck and Danna at Smorgy’s for breakfast around 8 AM. All of this getting up early nonsense is going to kill be back home. Whew. I can’t not wait. Despite the constant threat of birds stealing your tater tots, Smorgy’s once again delivered tasty food and great coffee.

Chuck and Danna had rented a car, so they drove us down to the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet — the place to get knock-off goods and screen-printed t-shirts in bulk. Circling the stadium (which itself is kind of hideous), it was not terribly crowded, and the goods were plentiful, and the admission price of $.50 a piece was just right. You could even get a coconut postcard, if you wife would only let you indulge yourself in a silly game of postcard one-upsmanship. Ah well. We found gifts for most of the folks on our trip. A must do if you visit the place. All of the ridiculous curios you might expect to find everywhere else but for half the cost (or less).

Aloha Stadium is right close to Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial, but we were hungry, so we went in search of food. Good lord. It took us an HOUR. An HOUR, all of which could have been avoided by us looking on the north side of the stadium first. Ah well. We eventually found our way to the Arizona Memorial.

The Arizona Memorial was quite nice, and well respected by all who we saw there. There is a nice movie that is shown before you board the boats to get to the Memorial (voiced by Stockard Channing, I do believe). The Memorial is quite nice and is a very somber affair, especially considering there are more than a thousand men entombed within her sunken shell. Their final resting place no more than 10 feet below the calm surface of Pearl Harbor. I think the photos do that justice.

After the Memorial, we briefly checked out the WWII Navy submarine memorial (with the USS Bowfin on display) for all of the submarines and submariners who lost their lives. Kelly and Danna didn’t really want to go into a submarine, so YAWN, we headed back into Honolulu.

Heading back into Honolulu, Danna suggested we go and check out Diamond Head crater. We arrive shortly after 4 PM, not really knowing what to expect. Turns out, you pay $5 to park, and then there is a 0.8 mile hike to the top of the crater. 0.8 miles! HAH! “WARNING: PLEASE BE ADEQUATELY PREPARED BEFORE HIKING”. Oh what-ever! Young, strapping dudes and dudettes like ourselves, we could handle it. We started up.

The first bit is a windy section up the inside of the crater, and with some mildly steep paths. A couple of stops up the way offered nice look-outs and minor rests. Then you get to the staircases (and a mining tunnel). The first staircase is 79 steep steps, the second staircase 99 steps (yet steeper), and the third a spiral staircase! Wow! Halfway up the 99 step staircase (attempting to keep up with and maintain appearances with Kelly), my brain had shut down to the point of basic survival instincts — one foot in front of the other. The only sentient thought I could think of was “lean forward, lest you faint and fall backwards, surely killing a number of also tired Japanese and German tourists, causing a minor international flap”. Finally, I reached the top and the medium-grade abandoned tunnel (dimly lit). Holy-moley. Lots and LOTS of altitude in that last run. Finally, the TOP! A quick glance at the watch marked the 0.8 miles and 700 feet were hiked/scaled in 20 minutes! Woo-hoo. 20 minutes that surely took twice that off my life. But – BUT – I kept face with Kelly. She told me I didn’t have to do that, but I know good and well, my failure to keep pace would have registered a black mark in some book of hers.

The hike, though tough was COMPLETELY worth it. Wow! Amazing view, with a rainbow to boot! Many photos taken. Much rejoicing had upon the return back down to the base.

We returned back to Chuck and Danna’s hotel to attempt contact with Gary, and it seemed that he had left a voice message. A couple of calls later, and apparently Gary and Mayumi where out and about as well. We headed back to our hotel and had a quick dip in the pool and then headed to dinner a Keoni’s — a Thai/American joint across the street. The service was abyssmal, but my “Evil Jungle Prince” curry was FAN-tastic, as was Chuck’s mahi-mahi with ginger-soy sauce. Nummy!

Tommorrow, we eat breakfast as Duke’s on Waikiki Beach, and then plan on spending most of the day on the beach until we go to San Sei for the big pre-game meal!