Touring Pearl Harbor

 I went to bed at 9:15 pm local time last night.  I had been up continuously for 24-1/2 hours.  Had some foot cramps that kept me awake for almost 2 hours but finally did get to sleep OK.  Got up at 6 am, showered and met 7 other team members, including Hal, W8HC, at a little after 7 am in the lobby.  We took a city bus to Pearl Harbor to tour the Arizona Memorial and the USS Missouri.

On the Arizona Memorial, I leaned over the railing to take a photo of the oil that is still leaking out of the USS Arizona and a gust of wind blew my high-tech Outdoor Research hat into the water!  As the specs for the hat said it would do, it floated serenely on the ocean.  In the photo at the left-above you may be able to enlarge it by clicking on it and see, over the point of my shoulder, the hat floating toward the white mooring station for the USS Vestal.  Last seen, the hat was headed in the direction of the mooring station for the USS West Virginia!

Once we had returned from the Arizona Memorial, I went to the gift shop and purchased the hat you see at the right.  Not a wide-brimmed model like the one I lost but a fitting replacement.

We then toured the USS Missouri for quite some time, ate lunch at the aircraft museum, and made our way back to the hotel by 2 pm.  Contrary to what Jim, K4JWA, posted on the WVDXA reflector, I did not forget my underwear!  I am however about to head out to some shops to look for a few souvenirs because the duty free shops on Swains Island closed quite some time ago and I will need to make those purchases here in Hawaii.

The remainder of the NH8S team have now all made it to Hawaii (except for the two that are on American Samoa) and we will be leaving tomorrow for American Samoa.  Keep the bands hot until we get on the air!

UPDATE:  Tonight I took "The Bus" for a 45 minute ride to Waikiki to visit a Walmart.  I was looking for some souvenirs and some more mosquito repellent.  Plus, I wanted to get a replacement for the hat I lost.  Short story, I bought the hat - but by the time I got back to the hotel, I had lost it ! ! !  It looks like I'm snakebit on the hat issue on this trip!