Monday: My Misguided Walking Tour and Football Snobbery

Actual bus ridden by Ben.

Being the product of two history teacher parents, I felt that visiting Pearl Harbor was really the only place I really had to see while in Hawaii.  Multiple family members fought in World War II, and one was active in the Pacific theater.  My first day without Ryan or Angela to show me around, seemed like the perfect time. 

To get anywhere on O'ahu without a car means taking the bus.  Getting somewhere by bus isn't difficult, as long as the rider remembers which bus to take and where it picks people up.  I am not a natural planner, my memory of numbers and specific details is terrible, and I have no smart phone.  The smart money is on me getting lost at some point during this day.  That bet would have been decided quickly.

After not finding my intended bus stop, I misremembered that the bus that picked up right next to Ryan-Angela's apartment eventually wound up at Pearl Harbor.  Getting on the #3 bus, as an afterthought I said to the bus driver, "This one goes to Pearl Harbor, yeah".  In his best Hawaiian Rick Carlisle voice he simply responds, "No".  Doors close.  And we're headed to China Town!  I laughed at my own stupidity and audibled to hanging out in downtown Honolulu.

Iolani Palace was my first stop.  The fact that there is a building on US soil that housed a sitting monarch, and was at one point the home of a royal family is pretty crazy.  It's a beautiful building from the outside.  Photos weren't allowed inside.  The one thought that kept running through my head during my tour (wearing socks over my shoes provided by the preservation society) was how this palace was so devoid of furniture.  After the overthrow of the monarchy back in 1893 for the purposes of annexation to the US, any royal furnishings deemed inappropriate for a government building were sold at public auction.  Tons of historical artifacts and keys to the Hawaiian culture have not been recovered since statehood.  While this annexation process was without bloodshed, it wasn't without loss. 

Then, I walked across the street to visit the Ali'Iolani Hale building, which currently houses the Hawaii State Supreme Court.  There was a running exhibit explaining the evolution of their legal system.  There was a great collection of signs and newspaper clippings from the post-Pearl Harbor era when the territory was under martial law for three years.  Gas masks and curfews for everyone!

But the real attraction here was the huge statute of Kamehameha I.  The closest American historical comparison to this guy is George Washington.  If you read this guy's story, you'll think it's amazing you have never heard of him.  He brought the Hawaiian Islands together through warfare.  Not cute warfare, but island hopping, spear-throwing, throngs of people getting thrown off of cliffs, making the losing general into a sacrifice kind of warfare. He was the first king of the united Hawaiian Island nation.  Kamehameha's story would be the perfect movie project for Michael Bay to mishandle, miscast, and generally miss the point.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamehameha_I

I wandered around the rest of the day until my buddies got off from work, and we found a local bar showing Monday afternoon football.  The sun was still out, people weren't off work, and we were watching Gruden and Jaws sleep through the Tampa Bay Bucs- Indianapolis Colts game.  Boring game that was only made entertaining by the crowd we watched it with, who apparently love the Bucs.  No seriously, they LOVE THE BUCS!  People in Tampa don't even love the Bucs, but these people lived and died with every 2-yard rush, every offsides call that was biased (I didn't understand that one), and the greatness that is Josh Freeman.  High comedy from people who didn't realize they were watching a steaming pile of crap football game.  Not to be a Texas football snob, but this bar did not have a high football IQ.  Perfect example: Over the bar, several jerseys were displayed: Troy Polamalu (Pacific Islander, I get it), 2 Pat Tillmans (war veteran, but 2 jerseys), Brian Urlacher (?), and a Kansas City Chiefs Joe Montana jersey!  What the h?