RV'ing: 5-6-17 Saturday (Honolulu)

Another day at the hotel. No cruise ship yet, remember? Oy. What’s the matter with you?

Above: Hotel room balcony with last nights luau lei.

It was about 9am Hawaii time but 3pm, NC time and Jim and I were both hungry for a burger. Cheeseburger in Paradise, a US chain, had a breakfast burger (egg atop a burger) on the menu so why couldn’t they do a regular burger? They did. Unfortunately, the burgers were flavorless and we left feeling cheated of our burger craving. Oh well.

We had reservations to see Pearl Harbor (Arizona Memorial) and only had a couple of hours to kill so we did more of our driving tour.

The Pearl Harbor (Arizona Memorial) was sad… as expected… it’s a memorial, remember? Oil still leaks out of the ship. In fact, visitors sometimes refer to the constant oil coating on the water as “tears of the Arizona” or “black tears.”

“Is it true that oil still leaks from the USS Arizona?

Yes. Currently, the ship leaks 2-9 quarts each day.
The USS Arizona held approximately 1.5 million gallons (5.7 million liters) of “Bunker-C” oil. The ship burned for 2½ days, leaving an unspecified amount of oil on board. Oil has been observed leaking from the ship since the 1940's; however, little action was taken until environmental concerns were expressed.
Since 1998, the National Park Service Submerged Resources Center (SRC) and the USS Arizona Memorial have been conducting research directed at understanding the nature and rate of natural processes affecting the deterioration of the USS Arizona, as well as monitoring hull conditions and oil release rates. Oil release observed during the 1980's Arizona documentation project originated from a hatch on the starboard (right) side of barbette number three, and later from a hatch on the starboard side of barbette number four. Consequently, when oil release monitoring began in 1998, those hatches were a primary focus.
During fieldwork from 1998 to the present, gradually increasing amounts of oil have been observed releasing from forward of the memorial; however, comprehensive measurement of oil release forward of the memorial in the upper deck galley was not completed until June 2006. Measured release rates have gradually increased each year in direct proportion to the number of locations monitored: in 1998, 1.0 quart (0.95 liters) was measured from one location; in 2003, 2.1 quarts (2.0 liters) were measured from two locations; in 2004, 2.3 quarts (2.2 liters) were measured from two locations; in 2006, 9.5 quarts (9.0 liters) were measured from eight locations. The 2006 oil release measurements are the most comprehensive completed to date – increase in oil release over previous years is in part explained by more release locations being successfully measured then previously.
Although observed rates of oil coming to the surface has gradually increased over the past several years, there is no indication of an increase in the amount of oil released from the primary oil containment spaces in the ship’s lower decks. The increase in oil release rates vary considerably with differing wind, tide, and harbor conditions. Although the exact amount cannot be determined, the USS Arizona contains an estimated 500,000 gallons (liters) of Bunker-C fuel within its hull.”

Next, we did some of the South Shore driving tour.

We made it to Hanauma Bay but unfortunately, they were closing soon. Snorkelers are required to watch a video about protecting the reefs. Once watched, it’s recorded that you did so for a year. We did so anticipating time to come back but that sadly never happened.

Jim spotted a something or another run nearby. It was a critter. We didn’t know what it was. A passerby heard our question and told us it was mongoose! We watched for more.

“The mongooses found in Hawai’i are native to India and were originally introduced to Hawai’i Island in 1883 by the sugar industry to control rats in sugarcane fields on Maui, Moloka’i and O’ahu. This attempt was misguided, because while rodents make up a large portion of the mongooses’ diet, the their substantial negative impact on other desirable birds, insects, and animals outweighs their minor impact on rat. Mongoose are now widespread on all of the main Hawaiian islands except for Lanaʻi and Kauaʻi, where there are no known populations. Mongooses can live in both wet and dry conditions including gardens, grasslands, and forests.”