Visiting Pearl Harbor was an educational and moving experience for us! There are so many ways to spend your day here. For instance, you can go to the USS Arizona Memorial, USS Missouri, check out the aviation and Pacific Fleet Submarine museum, walk through the exhibit galleries, and so much more. You could easily spend the entire day visiting all of the different sites. However, because there were ten of us with varying attention levels, we decided to just spend a morning at Pearl Harbor. We tried to get tickets to the USS Arizona, but they sell out everyday online within a couple of minutes and it was impossible to get ten at the same time. So we opted for the impressive USS Missouri!
The USS Missouri
The USS Missouri is located on Ford Island. From the visitor center you take a quick shuttle and you’re there! It was quite an impressive sight! The battleship is ripe with history featuring exhibits, historical information, and free guided tours. We were impressed with the amount of things to see and do on the ship. Each deck has different areas to read and learn about, and we were able to explore at our leisure. It was an incredible feeling knowing that we were standing in the very spot where the signing of Japanese surrender happened during WWII. It is also important to note that this was the last battleship ever built. The USS Missouri was launched on January 29,1944 and remained active for over 70 years since then.
The kids had a blast looking at the massive size of the ship. In addition, they were fascinated with how the military lived and worked onboard. Some of the bunk beds had three beds each to them! The workers even had a small scavenger hunt for kids which had them hunting for certain objects around the ship. It kept them entertained and happy! They even learned a bit about WWII and the sacrifices that our military makes to defend our country.
We spent over two hours on the ship, going up and down very steep staircases and dodging low hanging doorframes. I definitely could have spent more time reading all of the information at the exhibits and exploring a little more. There was so much interesting stuff to comb through. However, we managed to see every deck and room, and we made it out of there before it got too hot!
Food and Pool
Since the temperature was quickly rising and we were just a little parched, we bought some amazing shaved ice from one of the food trucks just outside the Missouri. This provided a nice break and relief from the heat!
We took the shuttle back to the Pearl Harbor visitor center and couldn’t believe how crowded it had gotten. The line for the shuttle to the USS Missouri was wrapped around the bend. This was one of many benefits to our early rising because of the time change… we beat the crowds and the heat!
On the way back to the resort we went into Pearl City and picked up some poke bowls to go from Poke On Da Run. They were divine! Spending the morning at Pearl Harbor was a great option for us as we then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the pool. It was the perfect day filled with education, awe, and pool time.
