Honolulu is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The city is the main gateway to Hawaii and a major portal into the United States. The city is also a major hub for international business, military defense, as well as famously being host to a diverse variety of east-west and Pacific culture, cuisine, and traditions. Honolulu is the most remote city of its size in the world and is both the westernmost and the southernmost major U.S. city.
One of my favourite places in Hawaii is the Kualoa Ranch on the island of Oahu. Established in 1850, Kualoa is a 4,000-acre working cattle ranch, spread from the steep mountain cliffs to the sparkling sea. Located on the northeastern side of Oahu in the Hawaiian countryside, it is 45 minutes from Honolulu. The ranch terrain varies from dense rainforest to broad open valleys and from beautiful white sand beaches to verdant cliff faces. It is truly a paradise for outdoor recreation with many places accessible only by horseback, on an all-terrain vehicle, or by hiking.
If the views look familiar, that’s because Kualoa has been the site of many television shows and Hollywood films such as Jurassic Park, Windtalkers, Pearl Harbor, Godzilla, Tears of the Sun and 50 First Dates. TV shows including the old and new Hawaii Five-O, Magnum P.I. and LOST.
The USS Arizona is the final resting place for many of the ship’s 1,177 crewmen who lost their lives on December 7, 1941 in Pearl Harbor. The 184-foot-long Memorial structure spanning the mid-portion of the sunken battleship consists of three main sections: the entry and assembly rooms; a central area designed for ceremonies and general observation; and the shrine room, where the names of those killed on the Arizona are engraved on the marble wall.
Arizona was the most heavily damaged of all the vessels in Battleship Row, suffering three near-misses and four direct-hits from 800-kg bombs dropped by high-altitude Kates. The last bomb to strike her penetrated her deck starboard of turret two and detonated within a 14-inch powder magazine. The resulting massive explosion broke the ship in two forward of turret one, collapsed her forecastle decks, and created such a cavity that her forward turrets and conning tower fell thirty feet into her hull.
Jennifer Barnes 