May Part 10: Oahu Day 4

Saturday, May 30, 2026

Brian went for a run, and then we went to Lloyds/CVS to get some bandages and lidocaine spray for Rachel’s back. Lara's crew headed to Honolulu for shopping, and we had plans to meet up at Pearl Harbor later in the morning or early afternoon.  After getting back from CVS, we had an agonizing time trying to get Rachel’s pajama shirt off of her back as the blisters had leaked and dried into her shirt. I tried on my own for a while to preserve Rachel's modesty, but it became apparent that we needed Brian's help as well. We poured water on her shirt to try to release the sticking and, as carefully as possible, tugged the fabric away from her raw skin. We felt like the worst sort of villains as she screamed and screamed. 

Michael and Gabe were both super concerned too, and we ended up recruiting Michael at the end to help put the bandages on her back once we got her shirt off,  and after spraying her with antiseptic/lidocaine to even more screaming. It took so long, and by the time we finished, we had to hurry over to Pearl Harbor, but not until after we recruited someone from the church next door to come help Brian give Rachel a blessing. We had noticed the parking lot was full of cars when we got back from the store, and I headed over to see if anyone was still over there. I found two men there still, both in tank tops and tattoos all over--not the typical men you'd see at one of our chapels! When I asked then if they were elders, they looked at each other and asked if I was looking for missionaries. 

“No,” I said, “I’m looking for priesthood holders who are ordained to the office of elder to help give my daughter a blessing.” 

One said he was an elder and could help, so he walked over to our place with me. Turns out, he’d never helped give a blessing before, only stood in a blessing circle. He said he’d only been to the temple about a year ago. We taught him how to anoint her with oil, and we pulled up the instructions from the handbook. He poured the consecrated oil on Rachel's head, and Brian helped him say the words to the anointing part of the blessing.  Then Brian sealed the anointing and gave her a blessing. Afterwards, our new friend/brother gave Rachel a kiss on the top of her head, gave us both that classic Polynesian hug, and thanked us for the opportunity as we thanked him for coming. It was a really cool experience, and we were really grateful to him. 

We headed to Pearl Harbor, stopping at Target for more bandages and a swim shirt for Rachel, and Taco Bell for lunch. The Target was a two story one, and I thought it was funny they had an escalator for the shopping carts. 

We finally made it to Pearl Harbor, sunscreened up, and started looking at the free displays and exhibits with Nana, Papa, Lara, Greg, Julia, Elise, and Mack. Ben spent the day surfing and hanging out in Wakiki. 

 We watched the film about the USS Arizona, then took the Navy ship out to the monument. We didn’t get very much time there, but it was really cool to see it. 

The monument has a chapel like room on the opposite side of the boat entrance, filled with the names of the men who were serving on the U.S.S. Arizona on December 7, 1941. It was sobering seeing all those names. 

Brian asked me if I had looked down into the tower (pictured multiple times above), and I said I hadn't, so we rushed back in before the boat was done loading, which meant we got to be in the monument mostly by ourselves. 

We made it back on the boat, and we weren't even the last ones aboard. Then we headed back to the visitors' center at Pearl Harbor. 

After the Arizona, the boys headed to go see the submarine museum before they couldn’t go anymore. I finished up getting some things in the gift shop. They went through it really quickly, but they enjoyed getting to see it. 

Meanwhile, Rachel and I waited outside the entrance and watched birds. 

By this point, everyone else had left us. We took a selfie in front of the monument and headed back to the jeep. 

Lara and Greg had hit up the food court at the base nearby, but I really didn't want to eat at a food court; I wanted to eat at a place on the water. We ended up navigating to a place called "Barefoot Grill" in Wakiki. We struggled to find parking, but finally found a spot, further away from the place, but we had a lovely walk on the beach to get there, even seeing this War Memorial on the way. 

We say another amazing Banyan tree. 

We finally made it to Barefoot Grill and got our food. We hadn't had enough of the fancy Hawaiian drinks, so we got a pineapple smoothie to share in addition to the hamburgers and sandwiches we ordered. We really took advantage of the environment and the pineapple to take some photos. 

One of my favorite things to see on trips is the back of these three as they just look at water. It happens every time there's a calm moment, and it makes my heart so happy. 

We walked out onto the sea wall that jutted out into the bay, and everyone’s feet got wet by multiple crashing waves, but it was excellent. 

We walked back to our car, and took more photos of the Banyan tree. 

We drove home damp, there was some fighting over seats. The drive ended with us singing “Down by the Bay.” and then Brian turned on “I Want it That Way” by Backstreet Boys, which was a brilliant mood. We all danced and sang along. Then Michael added “Billie Jean” to the list, and we all sang along loudly until we got home. Brian and I wanted to record it, but we knew if we recorded it, the magic would stop. Instead, we just tried to deeply implant it into our memories: the dark of the night, the loud singing, the smiles, the laughter, the beautiful time where we were all joyful together.