Category Archives: Historic Landmark

Historic Landmark

May 8, 2015 Winslow, Arizona

Driving from the Grand Canyon to Winslow AZ turned out to be more of an adventure than we expected. As we were preparing to move from the park we were surprised to see an occasional snow flurry. As we drove towards Flagstaff at an elevation of 7,000 feet, what started as a steady rain quickly turned into snow with the temperature hovering just above freezing. The snow followed us to Flagstaff where we stopped for gas and lunch. The dark threatening clouds made us eager to eat fast and get back on the road. The snow eased up as we descended into Winslow with an elevation just under 5,000 feet. However the snow was replaced by winds averaging 35 mph at our campground at Homolovi Ruins State Park. Bill had to strain to push the door open against the wind while I got out. We checked in at the Visitors Center and proceeded to our site. Even with the jacks down the wind really buffeted us until the wind calmed down at sunset. At one point clothes hanging inside on a hook were swaying back and forth from the force of the wind hitting us.

At this campground we are truly in a desert environment with sand, scrub bushes and signs warning of venomous snakes and insects.

The tiny town of Winslow, surrounded by Navajo County, surprisingly had a Walmart Supercenter. Do you recognize the name Winslow? It was made famous in the Eagles song “Take It Easy” with the lyrics “Well I’m a standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and such a fine sight to see, It’s a girl, my Lord in a flatbed Ford slowin’ down to take a look at me….”. In the middle of town is a statue of a guitar playing guy with the backdrop of a Ford flatbed truck with a girl inside. Parked on the curb near the statue is a real Ford flatbed truck. Across the street is a gift shop displaying souvenirs of the guy standing on the corner. Route 66 runs through this part of Arizona and Route 66 souvenirs are everywhere.

This model represents what it looked like in the 14th century

The Homolovi Ruins State Park has two archeological sites dedicated to preserving the homeland of the Anasazi and Hopi people who first came here between 1260-1400 A.D. The Hopi people today still consider this their homeland and make pilgrimages to these sites. This state park was established for the purpose of protecting these sites and the idea was supported by the Hopi people. The park opened in 1993.

We visited the largest of the two archaeological sites. Despite a nice paved walkway to the site, there is really not much left to see except some small remains and shards of pottery.

We drove to the Meteor Crater Discovery Center to see the best preserved meteorite impact site on Earth. 50,000 years ago a meteor which had been hurtling through space for 500 million years, crashed into the earth. The impact left a crater nearly a mile across and more than 550 feet deep. The crater is so large that a 60 story building would not reach the rim. It is large enough to hold 20 football games with two million fans watching on the crater walls. Because the terrain so closely resembles that of the moon and other planets it was once used as an official training site for NASA Apollo astronauts.

The Discovery Center had an interesting movie which simulated how the impact may have occurred when the crater was formed as well as many interactive displays and artifacts. We were able to see and touch the largest meteorite fragment found at the crater. In the beginning geologists and scientists determined that the crater was formed by a volcano. After many years new scientists proved the crater was formed by a meteorite and not a volcano. It was interesting to read that scientists think a meteorite crashing into the earth millions of years ago was the probable cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs. It is believed the impact in Mexico caused an “impact winter” which eliminated plant and animal life.

They had two outside viewing areas, an upper and lower deck. It was difficult to get a picture of the entire crater in one picture. The site has been designated as a “Natural Landmark” but is privately owned. As far as we could tell access to the crater is limited to the two observation decks and a paved trail around the rim.

You just never know what you will find in the Arizona desert!

May 5, 2015 Grand Canyon National Park, Part 4

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We continued to explore more areas of the park. It is a huge park with so much to see. We rode the shuttle bus to the western most point of the park which is only accessible by shuttle bus. Our first stop was Hermit’s Rest. In the early 1900’s a French Canadian took up residence in the canyon for twenty years and became known as “the hermit of the Grand Canyon “. He ended up being a valuable source of information and one of the area’s primary guides. Hermit’s Rest is named in his honor. The building is one of seven in the park designed by southwestern architect Mary Jane Colter. She is known for her Native American architecture and use of materials from the area.

We hiked part of the way along the Rim Trail and found a few geocaches before hopping back on the shuttle bus. We were very impressed with the park shuttle bus service during our time in the park. The bus drivers were friendly and helpful and the buses punctually arrived at convenient stops every 10 to 15 minutes. Considering it was sometimes standing room only on the buses, they were well utilized by tourists visiting the park.

We stopped at Powell’s Point which is named after Major John Wesley Powell, the first explorer to journey down the entire length of the canyon on the Colorado River in 1869. This feat is even more amazing considering he lost an arm during the Civil War. He began the journey with nine men and four wooden boats. Several months later he completed the trip with five men and one boat. Several men had deserted the group along the way and were never heard from again and four of the boats had broken up. Powell made a second trip in 1872. There is a large monument to Powell and his men at Powell Point.

I think the western viewpoints are among the prettiest in the park and we had great views of the Colorado River from the rim. The Colorado River is one of the only rivers in the world that classifies its rapids on a scale of 1 to 10 instead of 1 to 6 like other rivers. There are many rapids in this part of the Colorado River with the Lava Rapid being the highest rated commercially run rapid in North America. The majority of the rapids in the Grand Canyon are caused by debris that is funneled into the river from side canyons.

Another day we drove to the eastern end of the Grand Canyon. Shuttle bus service does not extend this far. Along the way we saw a large male elk feeding alongside the road and several other elk close by. At the eastern end we visited the Desert View Watchtower, another Mary Colter design and one of the most prominent architectural features in the park. Built in 1932, it is modeled after ancient Pueblo watchtowers found in the Four Corners region. The tower is 70 feet tall and since it is the highest point in the South Rim, it provides stunning 360 degree views. The inside of the tower was amazing with a staircase climbing to the top and walls displaying petroglyphs and murals by a Hopi artist and crafts by local Hopi artisans.

On the way back from the Desert Tower we stopped at several rim viewpoints. Here are some pictures from the Grandview Point including a video.

use this if you don’t see the above video “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoXj2VUueks&feature=youtu.be”

On our last day in the park we hiked three miles with an elevation drop of 500 feet into the canyon on the Bright Angel Trail. We had really hoped to do more hiking and biking while at the Grand Canyon, but we both had colds/allergies that lingered for over two weeks, and with the 7,000 foot altitude, we were just not up to it. But by the last day we were feeling better and were determined to hike a little of the famous trail. The day was a little cool and windy but had bright blue skies. The trail is great and the same one is used to take visitors down by mule. The hike down was fairly easy but the hike back up took twice as long. We passed two really cool tunnels. I loved the camaraderie of the people hiking the trail of all ages and fitness levels. People greeted each other in passing and often asked how far they were hiking or if they had returned from hiking to the river. We recognized those planning to hike to the river and back since they had large backpacks with supplies. There were signs warning hikers not to attempt to hike down and back in one day due to the strenuous nature of the hike. It usually takes half a day to hike to the bottom and a full day to hike back up.

Our ten days went by much too quickly and the park is on our list of places to return to someday.

April 16, 2015 Mangonui, New Zealand

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We arrived at our final New Zealand destination, the tiny town of Mangonui where we stayed in a two bedroom duplex apartment overlooking Doubtless Bay, part of the South Pacific. It was named by Captain Cook and the name stuck. When he saw the bay in 1769 he said, “Doubtless, a bay”. The beach was steps outside our door and we enjoyed walking on the beach. One morning our neighbor knocked on our door to tell us that some dolphins were in ocean right outside our door. We stood and watched the six or more dolphins frolicking and playing in the water before they disappeared from sight.

On Friday we took an all day bus tour of the peninsula. We drove to Cape Reinga, the northernmost tip of New Zealand is where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean collide. If you recall a picture in a previous blog of Bill standing at a sign at the southernmost point of New Zealand. This sign at the cape shows the northernmost point of New Zealand. We were able to find a geocache at both places. At the Cape is a pohuteukawa tree believed to be over 800 years old. Maori tradition teaches that this tree is where the spirits of the dead leap into the ocean to depart and head homeland. It is seen as a sacred place and you are not allowed to eat at the Cape.

Another cool place we went is called 90 Mile Beach which is really only 56 miles long. Here people can actually drive on the beach. Due to changing tides and the possibility of your car getting swept away or stuck in the sand, rental car companies forbid you driving a rental car on the beach. This is one reason we decided to go on a bus tour. Leave the driving and potential headaches to someone else! The driver drove the bus through a riverbed stream to reach the beach. He said it was quicksand and if he stopped we would actually sink. He told us stories of buses and cars sinking in the sand and we had seen pictures online of this happening. He stopped at a large sand dune area and passed out boogie boards to anyone interested in climbing to the top and surfing down the sand dune. Some of the younger members of the group took him up on the offer. Others declined once the driver told us the company would not be responsible for any injuries and described some of the injuries others had suffered while surfing down the steep dune.

It was fun to speed down the beach in the bus with the waves lapping against the shoreline.

Before we left our landlord made us an interesting offer. He offered to give us the use of his beautiful house, car, boat and a fuel card with as much fuel as we wanted, in exchange for the use of our RV in the States. It was easy to say no because we have no plans to visit New Zealand again in the near future. If any of our RV friends want to take him up on the offer, we will give you his contact information.

We look forward to heading home on April 19th. We will do one final New Zealand post with our final thoughts when we get home. We have a couple long travel days ahead.

March 11, 2015 Wellington, New Zealand

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I forgot to mention in the last blog when we arrived in Napier we couldn’t figure out why there were cars parked everywhere…on every side street, full parking lots, and up on the grass. Turned out they were having one of the 2015 World Cup Cricket championship playoffs. New Zealand was playing Afghanistan. There were quite a few Afghanistan fans staying at our hotel and dining in the restaurants. Cricket is so popular in New Zealand and every restaurant TV had cricket games playing. Seemed like a weird form of baseball to us!
Before leaving Napier we stopped by Pak n Save to pick up a few supplies. I stopped by their bakery department and bought some fresh blueberry muffins. They were delicious! I told Bill at last I found something better here than back home. Our sales receipt gave us four cents off per liter at their gas pumps so we decided to get gas there too. Their gas pumps are without attendants so you put cash in the machine and push your pump number. If you need money back you have to trot back into the store and wait in line at the service counter. A bit of a hassle but with the price of gas here it is worth it to get the four cents per liter discount.
The drive to Wellington is four hours and with stops for lunch and rest it took us over five hours. We took turns driving. We have found driving here to be tiring. It is as if you are constantly fighting your brain which is yelling that you are driving on the wrong side of the road. And so much to remember with the turn signals on the right of the steering wheel and the passing lane to your right.
We arrived in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand around rush hour but fortunately most of the traffic was driving out of the city. Wellington reminded us of San Francisco with its high density housing dotting the hillsides and the hilly streets.
We settled into our motel and asked the hotel proprietor for a restaurant recommendation. He said there was a restaurant at the bottom of the hill with great fish and chips. We made the short walk down the hill. After two weeks I have come to the realization that I am happiest ordering off the sides part of the menu instead of the entrees. I can make a delicious dinner from a garden salad, fresh mashed potatoes and fresh bread. Here I ordered a garden salad and some garlic bread. It was the best salad I have had since leaving the States. Bill said his fish and chips were the best he has ever had.
The next day we caught the city bus to the cable car. When you board the bus you place your $2 coin in a small tray next to the driver. A machine prints you out a ticket. Seemed like a waste of paper to us but the purpose is to show proof you paid should anyone ask for it.
There was a line at the cable car ticket booth because there was a cruise ship in town and everyone wanted to ride the cable car. We enjoyed chatting with a young lady who was a librarian at the local public library. She had hoped to make a quick run home via the cable car to pick up something she left, but got caught in the cruise ship line. The cable car was fun to ride, especially the trip down when it was less crowded and we stood in front and Bill chatted with the very friendly cable car operator. The trip up and back was steep and went through two tunnels. Quite different from the cable cars in San Francisco. The two cars are connected by ONE cable where the cars are balanced, one car is going up and the other car slides down using gravity. As you can see the cable looks pretty small. At the top we walked through a cable car museum and enjoyed the great views of the Wellington area.
After lunch we walked to the New Zealand Parliament building. After going through security we signed up for their next tour. IWe had an hour to spare and they said we could sit in the public gallery and watch a Parliament session. We went through additional security where we basically had to leave everything behind with the guards except what we had on and Bill’s wallet. Today’s meeting was a question and answer session. On one side of the room was the government and on the other side the opposition. The opposition was asking questions of various government members. The session was presided over by the Speaker. We were amazed as the government and opposition members yelled at and interrupted each other and shook their heads and rolled their eyes. We received a copy of the twelve questions being discussed. There were such questions as:
To the Minister of Climate Change: Is the Government’s objective to increase New Zealand’s net greenhouse gas emissions or is the Government’s objective to decrease New Zealand’s net greenhouse gas emissions?
To the Minister for Economic Development: What reports has he received on GDP growth in New Zealand’s regions?
To the Minister of Justice: What advice, if any has she received about Iriheke Pere given that it is over 18 months since he was shot in the back while he was handcuffed and not resisting arrest.
To the Minister for Social Development: What recent announcements has she made on steps to protect children?
Some of the greatest heated responses came came from questions related to roads. One member of the opposition asked the question to the Minister of Transportation: How much has been spent in total by the New Zealand Transport Agency on roads in the Northland region under the National Land Transport Programme set by the current Government since it was elected in November 2008? This question led to a lot of yelling by each side and eye rolling by the opposition. The man who asked the question then held up a big photo of the road mounted on poster board. This infuriated the Speaker who asked him to remove it. When the opposition man got up to take it out he held it up and paraded it out for all to see. This infuriated the Speaker even more and he told the man to collect all his things and leave the session which he did. It was all very entertaining and fascinating and we were sad when our hour was up and we had to leave for the tour.
We had a nice tour of the Parliament building, a beautiful old building. Next door is a building called The Beehive which is very much like our White House except it is not a residence. Their elected government is confusing to us and we still don’t get the government vs opposition thing. The Crown (currently Queen Elizabeth) appoints the Governor General. For the first time since arriving in New Zealand we met some Americans also taking the tour who where from California and Utah.

We finished the day with a drive through Mt Victoria Tunnel and a drive up a steep, narrow and winding road to the Mt Victoria Lookout which gave us a nice view of Wellington and the harbor.
The road was extremely narrow made worse by residents being allowed to park on the side of the road, making it a one lane road in places. You never knew what might be coming at you as you rounded each curve. A real nail biter for me!!
The next day we caught the Interislander car ferry from Wellington to the South Island. Our ferry was named Arahura meaning “Pathway to Dawn”. It is capable of carrying 125 cars and 550 passengers with a crew of 45. It has eight decks. We got there early and were near at the front of the long line of cars, motorcycles and campervans.
The trip took about 3 hours and we sailed 50 nautical miles. It was a perfect day for sailing with blue sky and calm seas. We sailed through Queen Charlotte Sound and Cook Strait. James Cook first sighted land here in 1770, but he wasn’t the first European to do so. More about that in the next blog post.
We landed at Picton, a small seaport on the South Island and began the drive to Nelson, our next overnight destination.
Some observations:
They only put the house dressing on salads, they never give you a choice of dressings. Fortunately most of them have been very good. A couple times I have been disappointed to find beans in my salad….lima, kidney, etc. Love the roasted pumpkin seeds in my salads.
Pharmacists are called chemists.
Catsup is tomato relish or tomato sauce and is not as good as the ketchup back home.
Churches in New Zealand are small and plain, usually made of stone or wood. We have not seen any large, grandiose churches.
Eggs are not refrigerated in the grocery stores.
There are no artificial sweeteners on the tables in restaurants. Only sugar and raw sugar.
They do not put salt and pepper on the tables in restaurants.

February 28, 2015 Karangahake Gorge, New Zealand

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We left Thames and headed to Rotorua (Row-toe-roo-a). Along the way we stopped at Karangahake Gorge. Here the Waitawheta River charges out of its steep rocky canyon and merges with the Ohinemuri River. Almost all the names of streets, road, cities and towns and geographical places are named by the Maori people. Generations ago canoes of Maori ancestors sailed from East Polynesia and landed in New Zealand. Due to mixed marriages there are now very few Maori of pure Maori descent in New Zealand.
Here at the Karangahake Gorge we elected to do the Windows Walk which took us over two swinging bridges, up many many steps, and through tunnels which required flashlights which fortunately we had brought from Phoenix. The mine tunnels had a series of openings or windows which looked down at the remains of the batteries and river below. Panels along the path told the story of how over 100 years ago gold was mined in this area. Gold was extracted from quartz ore and was the nation’s third largest and most productive quartz gold mine. An incredible four million ounces of gold was removed from this area.
After our hike we stopped to view Owharoa falls then we continued on to Mt Maunganui which is really a lovely and popular beach town in the shadows of Mt Maunganui, an extinct volcano. This seemed much like a California beach town with many shops and restaurants as well as sun worshipers. We saw people making the long trek up to the top of the volcano for the view of the town below, but we found people watching more entertaining. On this day they were having youths between the ages of 10 and 14 competing in an ocean lifeguard event. All of the youth had qualified to be lifeguards and this competition was to recognize the best of the best. We chatted with one of the mothers of the competitors and she said that since New Zealand is surrounded by water, children train at a young age to be lifeguards since they are in high demand.

Some observations:
Everything in New Zealand is metric so we are having to refresh our knowledge of the metric system.
A “track” is a walk and a “tramp” is a hike and expect some challenging terrain.
A “torch” is a flashlight.
A large pizza and a large coffee is the size considered medium in the U.S.
New Zealand does not have many traffic lights or stop signs. Instead there are round-abouts everywhere. Bill loves them and I hate them.
All the beef used in fast food restaurants is 100% New Zealand beef and it is really good.
The New Zealand people are friendly and eager to help. They are curious about where we have been and where we are going in their country. Strangers say hello and wish you a good day.

January 30, 2015 Las Vegas, Nevada, Part 1

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We left Boulder City and headed to Las Vegas. Bill had been there several times but this was my first time. Neither one of us are gamblers, so we knew our time in Vegas would center on sightseeing in and around Vegas and perhaps taking in a show.

We stayed at a campground about 15 minutes from the strip making the drive wherever we wanted to go very convenient.

One day we headed to the downtown area which was the original gambling strip and still the location of many casinos. We stopped at the famous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, one of the most photographed signs on Earth. We had a free audio tour of the Las Vegas area so we played that as we drove.

Fremont Light Show

Fremont Light Show

After dark we concentrated most of our time in the Fremont Street area where we saw a sound and light show featuring 12.5 million lights. There are many interesting sites to see downtown!

One of Bill’s favorite things he did while in Vegas was going to the Gun Garage and shooting some automatic weapons. He shot an MP5-9mm, M4-9mm, UZI-9mm and an AK-47. He even has a bruised shoulder for his efforts. His target showed what a great shooter he is! I was content to stand to the side and be the photographer!

World Renowned AK-47

MP5 rifle with laser sight

January 27, 2015 Boulder City, Nevada

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After ten days in the desert at Quartzsite we sadly packed up to leave. We had a wonderful time and can’t wait to return in several years.

We headed back into California with a brief stop at a California agricultural checkpoint. Agriculture is very important in California so anytime you enter their state they stop you and ask what fruits, vegetables, nuts, plants and firewood you have with you. We had heard some RVers had oranges they had been given in Arizona and those were confiscated at the border.

Lake Mead Recreation Area

We arrived at the Lake Mead Recreation Area where we stayed for two nights at their Boulder Beach campground. We had a beautiful view of Lake Mead from our campsite. We visited the Lake Mead Visitors Center where we saw a movie and learned that Lake Mead is the largest man made lake in the United States and the largest reservoir by volume. Currently it is down about 40 feet from the severe drought. We could see the white oxidation line where the lake should be.

Towers that feed water from Lake Mead to the generators

Our purpose for coming to this area was to visit and tour Hoover Dam, known as one of the seven wonders of the Industrial Age. We made the very short drive from our campground to the Dam and paid for a tour. First known as Boulder Dam and later renamed after President Herbert Hoover, it is a concrete arch gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River half in Arizona and half in Nevada. While touring the dam you are at times in Arizona and then other times in Nevada. The Dam was constructed between 1931 and 1936, with its dedication in 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The building of the dam was a massive effort involving thousands of workers and the loss of over a hundred lives. Our tour guide told us contrary to what some have said, there are no bodies buried in the concrete. Life was very hard for the workers with long hours and back breaking work. If they missed one day of work they were fired, so they worked sick or well.

Model showing top view of dam layout

Inside view of the Nevada generators

What a generator looks like inside. This one was currently under maintenance.

Our tour took us 530 feet down an elevator in 70 seconds to a tunnel drilled through the rock wall of Black Canyon. The tunnel was drilled in the 1930’s construction to the Penstock Viewing Area. Here we were atop one of the four huge thirty foot diameter pipes that can transport nearly 90,000 gallons of water each second from Lake Mead to the dam’s hydroelectric generators. We then got on another elevator which took us to the power plant balcony on the Nevada side where we had a panoramic view of the 650 foot long wing of the power plant where eight of the dam’s seventeen huge generators are located. The dam’s generators provide power for public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona and California.

Arizona generators in the top building and Nevada generators in the bottom building. We were standing in the bottom building during our tour

On both the Nevada and Arizona side are spillways that are designed to direct high water from Lake Mead around the dam and through tunnels in the canyon walls. The spillways are so large that a World War II battleship can be floated in each one.

We also visited the excellent visitor center where they had many audio, visual, and interactive exhibits as well as a very interesting movie on the construction of the dam.

December 31, 2014 Hemet, California

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We have had a wonderful year traveling and exploring this beautiful country of ours and we wanted to write one final post in 2014 to wish you a very Happy New Year and thank you for reading our blog this year.

In 2014 we traveled 7,600 miles, visiting seven states including a month in Baja, Mexico and a short visit to Canada.

Mount Baker

25 mile long Ross Lake

Mt Hood from the south side skiing lodge

We finally made it to the world famous Yosemite NP

Waimea Canyon

Wailua falls

Overlook of Diamond Head Crater and Waikiki Beach hotels

In 2015 our plan is to visit the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone National Park with many places in between! We will be spending two months in New Zealand beginning in February. We also plan to fly to Florida in late fall to visit loved ones.

May you have good health and many blessings in the New Year!

Bill and Diane

December 6, 2014 Oahu, Hawaii Part 2

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You absolutely cannot visit Oahu without going to see Pearl Harbor. The tickets to see the Arizona Memorial are free but I forgot to order them online and they only give out 2,000 tickets a day at the memorial. We were a little nervous about being sure we could secure tickets while we were on Oahu because when I tried to get two of the 300 tickets available online each day, it said the next available date was a week from when we were due to leave! We arrived early in the morning and we were very pleased when there was no line at the ticket counter. The lady handed me two tickets with no problems with a very short wait for our turn to take the boat over to the USS Arizona memorial. I had read that during busy tourist season the wait could be as much as 3+ hours. We purchased headphones which gave us an audio tour of all the exhibits at the Pearl Harbor Visitors Center as well as an audio tour at the USS Arizona memorial.

While waiting for the boat we were taken into an auditorium where we watched a movie about the attack on Pearl Harbor. We then boarded a boat for the very short trip over to the memorial. I have no adequate words to describe our time there. How does one possibly write anything that would do justice to such a hallowed spot? The USS Arizona Memorial is built over the sunken hull and honors the 1,177 crewmen who died. The memorial was dedicated in 1962 and the hull is a tomb for over 900 sailors who died inside.

Display of what the USS Arizona looks like underwater

No smiles, just deep emotions here

The names of all those who died are on a wall inside the memorial

Some survivors later chose to be buried inside the memorial

Also nearby is the USS Oklahoma honoring 429 sailors who died when the ship capsized, as well as the visible hull of the USS Utah Memorial commemorating its 58 dead.

When we returned from the Memorial we spent some time touring the Visitors Center with the

The ships in red were sank during the attack

aid of the audio tour. The Visitors Center has excellent detailed exhibits on the attack and aftermath. While we were there they were beginning to set up for Dec 7th ceremonies the next day.

After lunch Bill took a tour of the Battleship Missouri Memorial which was docked nearby. The USS Missouri was launched on January 29, 1944, and is the last U.S. battleship ever built. We toured the USS Iowa battleship in a previous blog “October 18, 2014 Huntington Beach, California” both ships are identical but have important but different roles. She is three football fields long and towers over 20 stories tall. Most importantly, after joining the battle of Okinawa, she became the site of the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945.

We visited Pearl Harbor on December 6, the day before the 73rd anniversary of the attack. We were excited to learn that the next day, December 7th, there would be a Pearl Harbor parade down the main street in Waikiki, a block from where we were staying. We walked down the street from our condo and found a seat on a lava rock wall. The parade was very patriotic, with the grand marshals being four of the survivors of Pearl Harbor. There are only nine remaining survivors of the USS Arizona and approximately 2,000 to 2,500 Pearl Harbor survivors alive today of the approximately 60,000 survivors on the day of the attack. The attack on Pearl Harbor killed 2,400 people and sank or damaged 21 vessels and 323 military planes.

In the parade we saw many bands, all playing patriotic music, including bands from Roanoke, Virginia and Sanford, Florida. Bill and I love to watch the TV show “Hawaii 5-0” and we were excited to see in the parade the guy on the show who has the garlic shrimp truck. Since the parade was held at night it was especially hard to get clear pictures of moving people.

November 9, 2014 San Diego, California

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We have been staying at the Admiral Baker RV Park outside of San Diego for almost ten days now. In the past you had to be past or current military to stay here but now it is open to the general public. We have enjoyed our stay here which included an unexpected fireworks display one night from the nearby San Diego Stadium. We later learned it was one of the biggest fireworks shows west of the Mississippi and a San Diego tradition which includes a musical soundtrack synchronized to fireworks from all over the world.

We also went to see the USS Midway aircraft carrier located in San Diego. The Midway was one of America’s longest-serving aircraft carriers with over sixty exhibits, 29 restored aircraft, and two flight simulators. Over 225,000 sailors served aboard this vessel during her time in service.

USS Midway was an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, the lead ship of her class. Commissioned a week after the end of World War II, Midway was the largest ship in the world until 1955,

She was commissioned in 1945 at the end of World War 2 and was decommissioned in 1992, serving during the Vietnam War and was the Persian Gulf flagship during Operation Desert Storm.

F-4 Phantom II fighter, this is the first aircraft that I built training simulators for

F-4 Phantom II

Midway could launch a massive aircraft about every 60 seconds

The control room for launching and landing planes

Officer quarters

Enlisted rank quarters

Just like in an RV when you need to save water: get wet, soap up then rinse off.

Unconditional Surrender is a three-dimensional interpretation of a photo taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt of a Sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square, New York City on Aug. 14, 1945, following the announcement of V-J Day.

Through the Eyes of the Selphs

Bill and Diane's travel notes and pictures

Category Archives: Historic Landmark

May 8, 2015 Winslow, Arizona

May 5, 2015 Grand Canyon National Park, Part 4

April 16, 2015 Mangonui, New Zealand

March 11, 2015 Wellington, New Zealand

February 28, 2015 Karangahake Gorge, New Zealand

January 30, 2015 Las Vegas, Nevada, Part 1

January 27, 2015 Boulder City, Nevada

December 31, 2014 Hemet, California

December 6, 2014 Oahu, Hawaii Part 2

November 9, 2014 San Diego, California