Honolulu - Visit to Pearl Harbor

PEARL HARBOR

 Hello there and welcome back to my blog!

 

In this post I'm going to be showing you my trip around Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor is located on the island of Oahu and is one of the most famous army bases in the world! The base became famous because of the Japanese attack that brought America into WW2. The attack was based on the element of surprise, the Americans did know they where coming but they did not know where or how they would strike.

This is a memorial to honor the soldiers who died during the attack. 

Above is a diorama of the Battle of Midway

The Battle of Midway happened at the Midway Islands. The battle began just 6 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. If you would like to learn more on the battle here is a link.

****http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/midway/midway.htm
I found it fascinating.
 

PACIFIC AVIATION MUSEUM

We also went to the Pacific Aviation museum in Pearl Harbor. They have TONS of exhibits!
All of their planes are from the war, or at least were in the WW2!
See the plane behind me? That's called the Ruptured Duck and is my fav WW2 aircraft.

This is an a Doglas DC-3 aircraft. It is currently being restored.

Here I am in front a B-23 Dragon Bomber.

 Here is a better angle of the Ruptured Duck.

This George. H . Bush's aircraft. He flew this plane before he became the US president.

This is an old Hawaiian coast guard aircraft. Doesn't it look like it's smiling?

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USS BOWFIN

 The USS Bowfin was an active submarine during World War 11.

The ship was lunched on Dec 7 1942, exactly one year after the attack of Pearl Harbor. 

The ship is now in dry dock and is open to the public.

 

Do you see that torpedo below? That is a nuclear torpedo which destroys anything in its path!

 The Bowfin can carry 12 of these.

Here I am in front of the Bowfin's observation deck, where the crew would look out for enemy aircraft. 

 

I am crouching through one of the water tight hatches.  

This is the galley where the crew would have eaten their meals. They were rostered every half hour. So the cook was busy cooking day and night.
Doesn't it kind of remind you of Mary Celeste?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Celeste

This is the Bowfin's main periscope.

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USS MISSOURI


The last vessel we visited at Pearl Harbour was the USS Missouri.
This ship was launched on January 29, 1941. It is one of the only ships to survive the Pearl Harbor attack.

 

THANK YOU for reading my blog post! Keep that computer turned on!

'n Hilo

Hello! It's me again, Jera. In this blog post I am going to show you a few interesting things we did in Hilo.
I FINALLY got to have some passionfruit!
If you didn't know passionfruit (or passion fruit) or lilikoi, which is the Hawaiian name, is my favourite fruit of all times!

As you see below I am enjoying it a lot!

 Everyday in  Hilo, Hawaii you will find a gecko on your deck. They're very common and usually  appear when crumbs are laying around.  

We also went to the famous Thurston Lava Tube in Hawaii's National Park. It's an old lava tube where magma would have rushed from Mauna Loa to the ocean. Unfortunately, over half the tube has collapsed due to heavy rain fall.

   On the way back, we visited the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory, where they make the best, over priced, macadamia nuts. My fav are the chocolate covered ones.
We were able to see how they make, sort, and package the nuts! 

A Visit to Mauna Loa

What are Sienna and I looking at?

This...

This is Mauna Loa where the lava tube once joined up to.
Do u see that red smoke? That is where the boiling hot magma is!
The island of Hawai'i is still growing because of this active volcano.

      Here is a better view of it.

A Visit to Mauna Kea

Climbing above the clouds.

Sienna with our friends Zoe and Nanook and me.
It was so cold the top, Mauna Kea had snow.
Imagine snow in Hawai'i!

Here a view of the snow on Mauna Kea from Hilo.
Some of the local Hawaiian were filling the back of their trucks with snow and taking it down the mountain to have snowball fights on the beach.



The 4,200 meter high summit of Mauna Kea has the world's largest observatory for optical, infrared, and submillimeter astronomy.

Being at this outstanding height, astronomers have a crystal clear image of the night sky. At 4,200 meters high, there isn't a cloud in the sky. With the latest technology, scientists have developed the largest telescope in the world. At a cost of 1.4 billion, it will be 5 times larger than any telescope before! This scope will be the newest edition to the Mauna Kea family.

We had a chance to catch a glimpse of our solar system too! There were telescopes aimed at some of our neighboring planets and space bodies such as Jupiter and the Earth's moon.

Thank you for reading my blog report! C ya soon!

A tune with Rudy

A tune with Rudy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2LbgALaLMQ

This is a song that Rudy learnt and taught me how to play the tune on the piano.

Here's a video mum took of me accompanying Rudy while he sings.

The tsunami!

Hello it's me again, and in this blog post I am going to tell you a little about the Hawaiian tsunami of 1964!

Do you see the picture below? It is the Hilo town clock. Or at least it was. This clock has  now become a Hawaiian land mark because it survived TWO tsunamis! Well the general structure of the clock survived. Unfortunately, the inner working's of the clock's mechanisms have been destroyed. And that was not the only thing that was destroyed! See behind the clock? How it is just an open field? Well that is where the Waiakea village used to stand.
The Waiakea village was mainly populated with Japanese, which is why there is now a Japanese garden where the village used to be. Unfortunately, the tsunami was so strong it wiped Waiakea off the map, literally! 

We also went to the Pacific Tsunami Museum! There where many interesting displays. Including this one defining ocean waves to Tsunami waves.

Did you know that most tsunamis travel faster then jet planes!

At the museum played this game where you work at a Tsunami warning center. First you chose where you want the earthquake to happen. Then you chose how big the earthquake will be and if it generates a tsunami. If it does you have the choice to call a tsunami warning or to say nothing.
But you have to remember! Calling a tsunami warning could cost up to 5 million dollars, but people's lives are at stake. I generated an 8.5 earthquake that made a 30 foot tsunami. I thought the people of  Hawaii where good enough swimmers so I didn't call a tsunami warning. And....... I probably should have called one!

Thank you for reading my latest blog post c u soon! Stay tuned for more amazing posts!

More Amazing Sports!

Hello there! It is me Jera again! In this blog post I am going to tell you about some more amazing sports, except in Hawai'i.

Sail away, sail away, sail away
The video above goes with the blog report. Click play. Go on do it! Do it now!

The first sport on our list is, sailing. A while ago (Before I made this blog) I tried sailing. And i got pretty good at it too. But unfortunately I never got around to going back to it. 

 

Above are a few pictures of me sailing. The first picture is me and my dad pulling the boat into the ocean. It is lighter than it looks. Next is me sailing away! Then Sienna thought I looked SOOO cool, so she wanted to have a try, I took her out to the breakwater. And the picture above is where sailing gets dangerous. Do u see that stick poking out of the water? It turns out that is signing that there is something under it. And the wind was blowing me right in that direction! luckily I managed to steer away from it.

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Another sport I took up on the Big Island is archery. We go to an old airport hanger twice a week to practise shooting. I have learnt a lot, and I think I might keep the sport up. 

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And the last sport (if you consider it a sport) I have learnt, is a terrible war between two empire's! Chess. I think I have found my new fav board game! I love it because of the constant battle, and it uses strategy to win!


This has been another blog report c u soon!


-Jera!

INTERESTING PLACES

Hello, in this blog report I am going to tell you about a few interesting places in Hilo, Hawai'i.

The first place on our list is the 'Imiloa Planetarium/Museum. Their exhibit was amazing. We saw a movie too. It was called, "Back to the Moon for Good." It was a fascinating show about the Google X prize. A competition where teams are competing to land a rover on the moon. A few weeks ago China successfully landed a rover on the Moon. Here is are more details about their landing from this website below.

"A $30 million Google-backed competition to land a spacecraft on the moon may be about to be scooped. China’s Chang’e 3 probe successfully put itself into lunar orbit on Friday in preparation for an attempted touchdown around Dec. 14.    

 

    However, "China won’t be winning the prize money, which is reserved for privately funded, previously enrolled teams, not government agencies."

Here I am playing a Black Hole game where u have to collect data. But don't get too close or you will get sucked into it.

Above is an information display about Black Holes.

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We also went to the Black Sand Beach. The sand is crushed lava rock, which is so fine the pebbles are turned into sand.

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 We also visited the Hilo zoo! There were a variety of animals including a tiger, parrots, and as you see below a few guinea pigs.

 

They have a wide range of birds, including a hawk.

Good thing this one was trained! 

Also, look at that lama in the background. I think that lama is jealous.

And the last animal we petted at the zoo was the box turtle! I have seen turtles before but this one was so weird! It really look liked a box with a turtle head!

Thank you for reading.

I will see you soon! 

-Jera.

Vehicals 'n Hawai'i

BOATS

When we first arrived in Hawai'i, I thought it would be so cool to live right next to a cruise ship terminal! But once you have been woken up in the middle of the night by a "BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA".

The excitement dies down.

Welcome back to my blog! As you see below, almost everyday a cruise ship comes by! They're usually the same ship that arrives from each of the Hawaiian islands. But occasionally we get one that is heading or coming from Mexico! This is the ship Carnival Miracle.

They don't only come in the day. Here is the Star Princess, with all of its lights on.

 I love it when the ship turns like this. It looks like it's heading straight for us!

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AIRFORCE ONE  & AIRFORCE TWO

Air Force Two overhead!

Air Force Two flew into Hilo the other day.

Air Force One is the plane that carries the President of the United States to wherever he wants to go. Whether it's for top secret missions of just a vacation to get out of the White House. It may just look like a regular Boeing 747, but other than sharing the body of one, it is COMPLETLY different! It has the latest in, well, everything! From engine to door knob this is one extraordinary plane!

And u might be saying that's not the real Air Force One, well that's 'cause it is isn't! It's a model that I bought off Ebay.

Air Force two carries the Vice President of the United states of America. It is basically a smaller Air Force One.

(Air force Two, left. One, right)

 

 

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TRAINS

 And the Hilton's tram! The Hilton was so large that it needs a train for people to access all of the buildings! As you see below the tram does not really run on tracks. It runs on wheels powered by electric rails with a pole down the center so it does not run off the track!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Like the title says...Happy New Year!!!! It's 2014!  2013 flew by fast, don't you think?

Anyway, in this blog post I am going to talk to you about my New Year's resolutions.

1. To spend less time playing on the computer.

2. To start my model airport up again.

3. To help out around the house more.

4. To build a pyramid house on the Gold Coast.

5. To beat Rudy at Chess.

6. To write more blog posts!

Well that's it. I do hope I can complete these resolutions before next year. Well I do have some time!

thx for reading
-Jera!!
And PS: Here is how we celebrated new year! Sorry it's a bit blurry. 

 Then we headed off to Coconut Island to let off some fire crackers for New Year.