O'ahu: Patrick the short bus driver, Punchbowl and Capitol District

While Patrick is not pictured here, I learned a lot about Patrick, Patrick's wife, Patrick's kids, and Patrick's parents, while this self-labeled "short bus driver" manueuvered us tourists around in his huge Royal Star Hawaii gold bus. We had booked a tour with Royal Star to see the USS Arizona. It turns out you have to reserve your shuttle ferry tickets to the memorial weeks in advance, and we hadn't. Through magic, or some computer program, outside tour operators can secure these precious tickets for you. Added bonus, you get Patrick (or some other endearing bus driver) to show off Honululu and environs to you. First, a little bit about Patrick. He's third generation Hawaiian, mostly of Japanese extraction, but a Filipino entered the mix at some point and that's why he has a Filipino last name. He's been married 35 years. His wife likes to shop at Ross (he suggests Ross install a sports bar for him), and they both like the food at 7-11 and McDonald's (especially the spam dishes and Portuguse sausage). They have two kids, one in New York and one "running wild" on the island. Patrick's mom is 90, his dad 94. His mom is a safe driver, his dad is hell on wheels.

On the way to Pearl Harbor, Patrick showed us downtown Honululu, Chinatown, the Capitol District, and the National Cemetery of the Pacific (aka Punchbowl). We also saw the harbor from which Gilligan and the Captain launched from for their "three hour" tour.

We arrived at the Punchbowl after navigating narrow residential streets to view the "Arlington of the West" and the second most visited site in Hawaii. Here are buried 50,000 soldiers, resting in a volcanic tuff cone, or crater, with views out to the Pacific and downtown Honululu. The site is serene, belying its former use as Puowaina, Hill of Human Sacrifice. It is lined with magnificent trees, a gift from the Chinese government in gratitude to fighting the Japanese (recall that the Japanese had invaded Manchuria before we entered the war).

We also glimpsed Hawaii's state capitol and one of the most unusual capitol buildings. Instead of a cupola, there is an airy structure with columns like trees. A statue of Father Damien, who cared for exiled lepers and was to die of leprosy himself, stands at the front of the building.

Nearby is the famed statue of King Kamehameha I, decked out in his feather cape and helmet. He stands in front of Ali'iolani Hale, the "house of Heavenly Royalty" (which is also the Hawaii state supreme court). We viewed him from the bus.