Back on Solid Ground

Whew, it is good to be home. It has been such a hectic crazy week! First, its a 13 hour trip to Honolulu from Boston. There is nothing quite like sitting cramped on a plane for that long. Yuck. My layovers were just long enough to change planes so it felt like one long ride. It was also a 6 hour time change which made for some very early mornings. This was good, though, as I had to work every day. Unfortunately, I had to work very long days, rarely making it back to the hotel before 8 pm. So much for beach and sunshine.

I do get to work on a very unique piece of equipment and it was an amazing opportunity jobwise but it was also a very unusual environment. I spent most of my time 150 feet above the water, much of which was standing on open grate walkways. The first time I visited this particular site I was scared out of my mind. I stepped out a door and I found myself looking straight down at the water way below. By the end of this visit I was so exhausted I found myself not caring and as a result I was able to explore more and I ventured up to the edges of the area to enjoy the views. 

Here is what I looked at every day:

That is the Missouri and the memorial over the Arizona. From our vantage we could clearly see the oil slick coming off the Arizona. Its amazing that after so long there is still that much oil weeping out of that ship. It was also quite moving to spend so much time overlooking Battleship Row and seeing the site of such a historic moment. 

What little time I spent on the ground I spent walking .... in steel toe boots no less. My legs are still not the same. I have run marathons and felt better than I have after this past week. I think, though, the fifteen flights of stairs I had to climb down didn't help. They were a very scary fifteen flights of open scaffolding stairs. Yikes. But I did it. Most of the time on the ground was spent walking to McDonalds for lunch. Since I am always on the lookout for gifts for my son I got Happy Meals. Kung Fu Panda toys. We got the tiger on the first day and decided to take his picture.

We had to wait until the Generals had left before getting this shot. We weren't sure they would be impressed.  Its also worth noting that to take this shot I had to go to the very edge of the helipad - one of the highest points. I was getting brave!

I didn't have much time for anything else in Honolulu. I was hoping to get to visit a couple of yarn stores but alas, it wasn't to be as those were one of the few Honolulu stores that held normal business hours. I barely had time to make my usual stop at Maui Divers to pick a pearl. I love picking a pearl and getting it set. This visit I got a gorgeous silver pearl which I had set in a white gold leaf setting. Beyond that it was all work. Which is fine because I find Honolulu to be a busy, crowded tourist trap. I would much prefer the other islands. But I guess, all told, there are worse places to have to travel for work. 

Aloha!