Member Since: 11 Sep 2016
Location: Marnoch
Posts: 4193
Are you staying at Robin Masters place? If so we will expect the obligatory photo of you in said Hawaiian shirt in a red 308GTB.. no excuses I want to see the sweets before I get into your windowless van... I'm not stupid!
Corris Grey D4 Commercial SE 2016
Zermatt Sliver 2007 D3 SE manual (gone)
Indus Silver D4 HSE 2015 (gone)
Bonatti Grey D3 HSE 2006 (gone)
White D3 S (LHD) 2007 (gone)
Firenze Red D4 HSE 2014 (gone)
Black RRS 3.6TDV8 2008 (gone)
Rusty Green Defender 110 1997 (gone)
Black FL2 HSE 2013 (gone)
19th Feb 2023 9:05 pm
Rescue01
Member Since: 14 Jan 2008
Location: Aberdeen
Posts: 2468
I was thinking mor Kamekona Five O
Sorry Del I couldn’t resist Its not the height of the fall but the sudden stop at the bottom that hurts!!
19th Feb 2023 9:53 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72931
And a fine figure of a Hawaiian he is too!! In honour of him we have a few shrimp vans marked on the map. Well would be rude not to.
19th Feb 2023 9:59 pm
Rescue01
Member Since: 14 Jan 2008
Location: Aberdeen
Posts: 2468
Good man Derek Its not the height of the fall but the sudden stop at the bottom that hurts!!
19th Feb 2023 10:16 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72931
And a final pic of our DC-9 717 steed to HNL. Been fun rides.
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Now hopefully an uneventful 40 min flight with time for a swift VC as no hire car in Honolulu. Catch y’all on the flip side.
19th Feb 2023 11:00 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72931
Not a lot of pics from Oahu today, it’s been tipping it down on and off all day today.
Bit of whale watching when going to the 7-Eleven to unsuccessfully get a bus card. Got one eventually but neighbourhoods were getting rougher and rougher, that’s why they had them left.
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Did the big loop round the island on various buses, getting soaked every time we got off! Lunch was from this prawns shrimp van, not as swanky looking as Kamekona’s but tasty!
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Deeeeeeeelish, if not a tad firey!
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Tomorrow is a Pearl Harbour day, hopefully will be dry!
PS And guess what, got soaked again! Walk through the park to Waikiki beach, went to have a look at a posh shopping mall/food court and the heavens opened again. Come to Hawaii and top up your tan, they said!
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And yes, they still have the Chrimbo lights up.
21st Feb 2023 4:08 am
Journeyman
Member Since: 27 Sep 2020
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 270
Looks amazing. Thanks for the continued updates and looking forward to the next instalment.Cheers,
Jez
Discovery 3 HSE Stornaway Grey
MY 2008 2.7 TDV6
Discovery 2 2003 - gone
21st Feb 2023 6:52 pm
terryall
Member Since: 17 Jun 2011
Location: Whitstable
Posts: 1430
Do they still make/build the huge sand structures on the beach at Waikiki? I found them fascinating and the guys that build them so skilful yet when the tide comes in they are all slowly destroyed and next day the cycle is repeated. Worth a pic if still there Del.
On a side note I was once sitting on Waikiki beach close to the water and saw a young bird struggling in the sea 10 mtrs in front of me. Water gets deep quickly there and I’m a poor swimmer but went in to rescue said bird but when I got near it flapped its wings and flew off leaving me flapping around out of my depth gasping for air.
Little .6 LRs last one 2009 HSE D3.
Current D5 HSE LUX 2019.
22nd Feb 2023 12:54 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72931
Will have a Google on sand statues, that would be interesting. And will avoid going in to rescue any birds.
Good day at Pearl Harbour, did the Missouri, Aviation Museum and Arizona memorial, full day on feet so good to be back in hotel and flopping.
Last edited by DSL on 22nd Feb 2023 8:13 am. Edited 1 time in total
22nd Feb 2023 4:39 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
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OK, pics time. The omans we’re good, on the bus to PH saw 2 x F-35s get into the air, my first sighting of an F-35 so a bit of a “= ticked” moment.
Firstly Big Mo. You’ve all seen the film Battleship (if you haven’t get yerself down to Blockbuster), this is the very boat that whooped ET’s butt.
Just in case you forgot which ship you were getting on, here with USS John Finn (DDG-113) coming into Pearl Harbour (or to give it its proper name Joint Base Pearl Harbour-Hickam, I’ll just call it PH, unless it’s the AF side then it’s Hickam).
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Looking forward towards the pointy end (I believe the nautical types call it the bow) towards the USS Arizona memorial.
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And the whole raison d’etre for this ship, those big-arras 16” guns, 6 at the front and 3 back.
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And more modern systems. Tomahawk launchers and CWIS Gatling guns.
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And the “battle marks” from the shore bombardments in GW1
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These were the 80s upgrades when the ship was brought out of mothballs. The other signs of the upgrading were loads and loads of 80s computers through the ship, prob worth a fortune now.
Good visit, prob spent 2 1/2 hours on there, an Iowa Class battleship added to our warship tour tally of 2 carriers and a sub.
Last edited by DSL on 22nd Feb 2023 8:20 am. Edited 2 times in total
22nd Feb 2023 7:23 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72931
And to PH Aviation Museum. A few of the a/c inside, obviously with pride of place for types involved in defence of PH and operations from then on.
One side, then t’other side, then the Mitchel bomber, the type that flew off the USS Hornet for the Doolittle raids.
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The outside areas was full of Vietnam War era a/c and beyond. Plus no barriers around them so you could get really UC&P with them. A few firsts for me. My first sight of an F-105F, as used as Wild Weasel a/c in Vietnam.
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And a first F-102 for me.
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And first F-100F twin seat Super Sabre as used in the Misty FAC role over the Ho Chi Minh train in S North Vietnam.
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Too many a/c to photograph but here are a few more from outside.
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And prob the most interesting part of the museum, the “in progress” hanger. An absolute treasure trove of a/c, bits of a/c, a/c in bits and just bits. Nothing labelled (apart from the B-17) and much speculation as to what everything was.
Pointy end of a B-52. Aviation types call it the pointy end.
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Cockpit only of a P-38 Lightning. Third Lightning of the day, the other 2 were a bit more modern.
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And a table full of bits and bobs. Looks like a bang seat, 2 rescue seats, a prop, a camera, an engine and lots of associates engine bits. Hours of fun (ok maybe a bit less) figuring out what was what.
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And the star of the show, Swamp Ghost. She’s a USAAF B-17E that was crash landed in a swamp in PNG. She’s now in pieces, hopefully won’t be restored too much.
Here’s how she came out of the swamp.
Here’s how she is now.
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Left of pic a few bits of the Swamp Ghost, plus a Val dive bomber.
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Great old lady.
And the tower and C-47, brings back memories of one we stayed in on previous Aus trip. We didn’t have a golf cart though.
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22nd Feb 2023 7:58 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
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And the memorial for the crew of the USS Arizona.
Missouri and Arizona memorial from the USN boat to the memorial.
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Gun turret base, one of the few bits left above the water.
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Shows the damage she took.
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And looking straight down to the side of the ship.
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The crew that died in the attack.
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And the Missouri looking after its neighbour, as seen from the memorial.
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And the flag above the memorial.
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No pics of the oil on the water, I was wearing polarising shades and didn’t see it until a little boy pointed at it and said “there’s the oil”. By the time I got my specs changed we were being ushered out and no time.
22nd Feb 2023 8:46 am
Rescue01
Member Since: 14 Jan 2008
Location: Aberdeen
Posts: 2468
Great photos Derek Jelous not much Its not the height of the fall but the sudden stop at the bottom that hurts!!
22nd Feb 2023 9:14 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72931
And final instalment, the rest of Pearl Harbour. The bits not on the tour itinerary.
There were more Arleigh Burke class DDGs than you could shake a stick at. DDGs 73, 113, 118, 121 and at least another 3 where I couldn’t see the number on hull or blunt end (or stern as some call it).
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And the USS Missouri.
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Yes, t’other Missouri, as seen from a pair of big lens binos that only pointed that way. And right next to a set of binos that needed a quarter inserted, the “proper” ones did the job for free.
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The sub in front of the present USS Missouri looked like another Virginia class boat but wasn’t good enough to fly a banner.
Also in the distance there was what looked like a couple Tarawa class carriers, confirmed by good old Google sat view.
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And finally what do you do with old oil rigs? Sticks a giant gold ball on top of them so the gods can have a round of two.
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22nd Feb 2023 9:16 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72931
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