Not quite sure where to begin today. How about with Pearl Harbor? I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it yet, but our hotel backs up against the harbor so we can see the USS Arizona in the distance. For those that weren’t paying attention in the 7th grade, the USS Arizona is a retired navy ship that has been made into a memorial. It is dedicated to the nearly 1200 sailors who were killed in the attacks on Pearl Harbor, 71 years ago to the day. Daniel and I are looking forward to a tour of the old war ship, though we’ve decided to wait until the anniversary crowd is gone. Picking the off-season (if there is such a thing in Hawaii) for touristy things is a perk of being an official islander.

Aside from Pearl Harbor day, it was also Laundry Day – which might go down as a historic battle of its own. If you remember from an earlier post, the laundry area at our hotel is manned by cats and held together with duck tape. No surprise that we decided to take our clothes elsewhere. Luckily we found a laundry on post. We managed to get everything squeaky clean with only one casualty: my favorite black pants … shrunken into skin-tight capris.

We got ourselves cleaned up next and sped up to Wally World to find some Christmas lights. It’s December 7th and all the stores are sold out of small lights, and white lights. So yep, you guessed it. We’re having a big colored bulb Christmas!

check out my big bulbs

I’m sort of excited because I don’t think we ever had this kind growing up. My cousin, Christina (the one from Hawaii) brought us some homemade origami ornaments for the tree – even a star topper! Pictures to follow when we’re done decorating.

It’s great having Christina around. Not just because she’s awesome at making origami, but because she’s helping us navigate some high-traffic areas. Tonight the three of us tackled Waikiki Beach.

yeah, i think living here will be okay

our silhouettes prove we were there

cousins! and my hippie scarf is definitely appropriate

After about a mile beach walk we found a popular bar called LuLu’s Waikiki. Touristy for sure, but hey, we’re still tourists! Plus, it’s the only bar I can find with the Big Ten Network so they can have all of my money. Daniel had a Hawaiian dish called Loco Moco: rice, burger, egg, mushroom gravy, and the kitchen sink. All washed down with a couple Mai Tai’s.

Daniel hasn’t quite gotten the art of the close-up down yet

i look better than i taste.

I opted for an Ahi Tuna salad with feta, fried capers (what?) and some sort of flavorless dressing. It was good for bar food – nothing to rave about but the atmosphere was stellar. We got to witness a Pearl Harbor parade from the balcony while enjoying some sweet island music.

random clogging group in festive sequined tops

front row seats

Daniel has been asleep for hours now, dreaming of tomorrow’s sweet victory. I’m off to do the same.

Go Army. Beat navy!