Helicopter Tour in Honolulu, Hawaii
At the end of December, Adam and I went to Hawaii for a week. We spent a day in Kauai and then finished out our trip on Oahu, putting around in a vintage VW van (which I still need to blog about!). For Christmas, my mom had gifted us two tickets for a zip-lining tour on Oahu, but the weather wasn't so great while we were there (lots of lightning!), so unfortunately, the tour got canceled twice. The company allowed us to make different arrangements though, so we booked a helicopter tour instead. We weren't sure if the weather was going to hold up enough for that either, but on our final day on the island, we finally saw some clear skies, so we quickly drove over to the 808 Airmen office and off we went!
It was SO cool... The water below was crystal clear and crazy blue. I loved the city skyline, too. Adam said he saw a few sea turtles but I wasn't able to see them (he has the vision of an eagle, I swear). I took the photos, but Adam was in charge of the GoPro - so glad we brought that with us!
We flew over Diamond Head! I was just in awe... Hawaii is so beautiful.
"Diamond Head is a volcanic tuff cone on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu and known to Hawaiians as Lēʻahi. The Hawaiian name is most likely derived from lae (browridge, promontory) plus ʻahi (tuna) because the shape of the ridge line resembles the shape of a tuna's dorsal fin." (source)
Fun fact:
"The Crater was the location of several concerts in the 1960's and 1970's. First held on New Year's Day, 1969, and often known as Hawaiian Woodstock, Diamond Head Crater Festivals, sometimes called Sunshine Festivals, were all-day music celebrations held in the '60's & '70's attracting over 75,000 in attendance for performances of the Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones (3 times), Carlos Santana, America, Styx, Journey, War, and Tower of Power, alongside Hawaii talent like Cecilio & Kapono and the Mackey Feary Band. These one day festivals became two day events in 1976 and 1977, but were cancelled by the Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources because of community noise and environmental impact concerns. Many items from the bands were brought into and out of the Crater by helicopter." (source)
It was quite the experience flying over Pearl Harbor and seeing all of the ships down below. You're still able to see the USS Utah - left in the same place it sank back in 1941 (before and after photos below). That gave me goosebumps.
"In the early minutes of the assault, the Utah was struck by two torpedoes and started flooding. Of her crew of 525, 64 officers and men were lost before she capsized." (source)
I also learned there was an urn left inside the USS Utah with the ashes of a baby girl inside who died at birth. Her father, Chief Yeoman Albert Wagner, had planned to spread them in the ocean but the ship sank before it even left the shore. So sad!
The helicopter tour was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. Seeing the island from above was incredible! Thanks for the awesome gift, mom! We didn't get to go zip-lining like she had hoped, but I have a feeling we enjoyed this a bit more anyway. :) Oh and please excuse my unwashed hair in these photos and videos. This was day 4 without a shower (yikes!) after living the van life on the island, haha. If you find yourself looking for something fun to do in Hawaii, I highly recommend flying with 808 Airmen! It was a blast. As always, thanks for reading! xo