Hawaii Day: 4 Pearl Harbor and Shark Fishing
On Day four (4) of our trip we got up very early and took a cab with James, Chelsea, Tommy and Deniece to Pearl Harbor. We were told that if we wanted to tour the USS Arizona Memorial then we would have to be there very early in the morning. We arrived a little before 8:00 a.m. They wouldn't let us carry in any purses or bags so we checked everything and headed for the gate. I saw a big tour group coming down the way so I sprinted ahead - in my dress - and got in line. I was able to grab tickets for the 10:45 tour.
We had a couple of hours to kill so the boys took the car and went to eat at a sports bar to watch football (it was Sunday). Since Hawaii is four (4) hours behind CST they watched football over french toast as opposed to the your typical football food. Tommy and Deniece chose to take an audio tour of the museum and the girls went on foot to the "swap meet." The "swap meet" is a huge flea market located at the football stadium in Honolulu. It was only about a fifteen (15) minute walk from Pearl Harbor. The swap meet wasn't on my "to do" list - but I am really glad I went. Vendors sell the same souvenirs that you find downtown and in hotel gift shops for a fraction of the price. I got a Hawaii t-shirt for four (4) dollars, a sea turtle necklace and then we all got bracelets for three (3) dollars a piece. We stayed about two hours total at the "swap meet" before walking back to Pearl Harbor.
The tour started with an educational video explaining the reason for the attack. The footage was all real footage from the event. The video was well put together and very informative. Then we caught a ferry out to the USS Arizona Memorial. It was a very somber experience that I really enjoyed.
It was so odd to look down and see the ship. It was definitely eerie.
View of Hawaii from Pearl Harbor.
View of Battleship row. The white blocks out near the USS Arizona Memorial signify where the other battleships went down - all of which were later raised, restored and recommissioned.
On the cab ride back to the hotel I was able to talk to the boys for the first time. Finn told me that he saw "Frozen" and "Walking with Dinosaurs" and that they were both his favorite. All Sam said was "let me hold it" - referring to the phone.
We arrived back at our hotel afternoon. I made a sandwich for lunch and then worked out in the room. Next I had a mini meltdown. The meltdown was directed at Hilton Corporate for basically not adhering to a single thing they told us about becoming Hilton Honors members. I won't got into detail but I was LIVID. Poor Michael took the brunt of my frustration. Michael turned his angst at me into a passionate (so to speak) phone call to Hilton and next thing we knew - most of our issues had been fixed. We even got an extra $150.00 off of our final bill.
After my Hilton meltdown we went over to James and Chelsea's room to eat the Marlin that he and James caught the day before. Sharon cooked it and it was delicious! Next I went outside to call mom to check on the boys.
Later than evening, Tommy, David, James, Chelsea and I went shark fishing.
It was awesome! It was definitely one of my favorite events of the week. Apparently sharks are most active at night we fished in the dark. We fished on a small boat called "Ruckus." It was captained by Captain Matt (from Texas) and I think the First Mate's name was Tony. There was a Second Mate - but I can't remember his name. Chelsea and I think that he was somewhere between the ages of 12 and 15. For the first two (2) hours we reeled in several small fish that we ended us using at live bait later. Even though we hadn't caught anything substantial I was having a great time. The waters were calms, it was very dark out on the ocean and the weather was cool. James turned on some music (soundtrack) and we all talked and waited.
After two (2) hours of only little bites, the Captain (who they call the "shark whisperer") dropped in a line and within seconds we had caught one. They started yelling for someone to get in the seat. David told me to get in the seat so I did. They handed me this enormous fishing pole and told me to hold it with my left arm and start reeling with my right. The pole was SO heavy. I think that everyone on that boat knew that I would not be able to hold that pole with just my left arm so they gave me a little seat to sit on that had rope on each side. The rope was attached to the seat and then the ends attached directly to the pole. This allowed me to use my body weight as leverage. As a side note - it is a true disadvantage in life to be "uncoordinated." It took me a while to get the hang of it. They told me to reel as I lean forward and then push myself back up with my legs. I did it totally wrong for a few minutes. I kept wanting to reel on the way back up - which is, by the way, impossible. They were screaming orders at me the entire time - it was all very exciting! They yelled for me to spread my legs (to get better leverage) which was awkward to say the least. When I finally got the hang of it everyone on the boat settled down and I settled into a rhythm. It took about 15 minutes to reel the shark in. I was exhausted by the end. I told Tony that I didn't think I had anymore in me and he asked me if "I was going to give up?" Having had it put that way I decided to keep going. When I was on my last leg Captain Matt said that he could see the shark. (it is amazing how much shark fishing is like having a baby). Once they could see he shark on the surface of the water they told me to stop reeling. Then they pulled the shark into the boat. It was pretty big. They told us that it weighed somewhere between 150-175 pounds. Once in the boat the shark started to thrash around. The sound it made when its tail swiped the side of the boat was unsettlingly loud. Tommy, out of pure instinct, jumped onto the cooler leaving Chelsea and I behind (it was so funny). James filmed the entire thing from above deck. It took a while for the shark to calm down - but once it finally did Captain Matt picked it up and I got my picture taken with it.
Then they threw it back overboard. After the shark was back in the water I had my big freak out/excited moment. I told David that I felt like I could eat nails. It was a huge adrenaline rush. My body was exhausted from reeling it in, but I was super hyped up. I apologized profusely to the crew for my lack of coordination. They told me that I did a great job and that they had big MMA guys that sat in the chair and cried while reeling. I feel certain that they told me this to make me feel better - true or not - it did (make me feel better).
After about another thirty (30) minutes with no nibbles they brought the boat back to shore. Before heading back to the hotel we took a quick picture.
I didn't get back to the room until around 11:00. Michael had stayed behind (due to fear of sea sickness) and worked out and watched a movie while we were gone. It took me a while to fall asleep - probably because of all the adrenaline. Before going to sleep I resigned myself to the fact that I would wake up so sore that I couldn't move. Well, I am happy to report that I had a little soreness in my back - but nothing out of the ordinary. Even though my right arm was on fire the night before - I didn't really have any soreness. I did have a pretty good little cut on the inside of my thigh from where the line cut into me during the reeling process - totally worth it!.
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