The Aloha Diaries Part 5 — In Remembrance and Making Memories

Yesterday’s leg of the Greenwich (CT) High choral group’s Hawaii trip started out on a somber note.

The group spent the morning at the USS Arizona Memorial, where they had a tour, heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor and gave a performance.

Mr. Lee, who witnessed the attack from start to finish, shared his account with the kids. Catherine said you could hear a pin drop. The group of 150 was quiet the entire time.

Each person received a flower to toss into the sea in remembrance of the sailors who died.

Later in the day, for what would be their final night in Hawaii, the group headed for a luau at Paradise Cove.

Catherine is still texting that she’s moving to Hawaii when she finishes college. Uh huh.

They haven’t yet sent photos of the luau, but Basil’s Facebook posts paint a vivid picture:

A woman with a coconut bra gave me a lei. And it’s only 5:45 pm.

and

Trying to make my Spartan ancestors proud by mastering the art of spear throwing. If I had led the charge in battle, the Greeks would be speaking Persian today. That bad.

And this photo, with its words to live by (Kristen Rzasa, it makes me think of some of the signs from your China trip!):

Today, they pack up to leave; visit the National Cemetery of the Pacific — Punchbowl Cemetery, where they will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony; and go on a bus tour of Honolulu.

Then it’s one last look at Waikiki before heading to the airport and the long trip home. Basil and Catherine’s flight leaves at 10 pm Hawaii time and there’s an early-morning stopover in San Francisco. I’ve got my fingers crossed that the crazy East Coast weather doesn’t delay their return.

And while they are enjoying their last hours in paradise, I’ll be working … and tending to this, the start of a promised foot of snow laced with sleet and freezing rain. Sigh.