I’ve been promising Shayna that I will contribute not only tech support but also content to the blog, so here I go…

On the last leg of our Hawaiian vacation we spent a few days in Oahu where the capital Honolulu is located. After being 11 days on Kauai we enjoyed the contrast of arriving at a developed island where we could find a Starbucks around every corner; some addictions are hard to overcome.

I’ve been curious to see Pearl Harbor, especially after the recent Hollywood movie with Ben Afleck, my hero (am I being sarcastic or not? I’m not gonna tell). We headed for the harbor and boarded a submarine that was built after the attack to avenge the countless vessels that were sunk the morning of Dec 7th 1941. Shayna took the helm and swore to finish the job but then I reminded her that the score was settled and that we now are on great terms with Japan.



We then boarded a destroyer that was used until recently during the Gulf War, in the early 90s. It was amazing to see how they managed to retrofit a ship that was built decades ago with modern day technologies. The control room had DEC 386 computers… which are a bit better than the slide rulers that were tucked away under the keyboards.

The larger the ship the better the conditions were for the sailors and so compared to the submarine life on the destroyer was luxury living (except for the going to war part).

While on the ship I kept thinking of my Dad who used to fix all the electronics on a destroyer during his time at the Israeli Navy. So many switches, devices, controls, I’m amazed at how he managed to learn all of these systems.



Shayna and I received multiple recommendations to see the Polynesian Cultural Center while in Oahu.

We headed 1 hour north of Honolulu to the center and had an amazing day learning about the various Polynesian islands and their traditions.

Our favorite stop was Samoa, which had a couple of funny performers. Check this clip out:


The evening show was great as well. It felt like we were watching the Lion King but with people as characters. The highlight was the fire jugglers who I’m certain burned themselves multiple times, especially during the part where they put out fires by sitting on them. Btw don’t warm things like laptops (and fires) reduce sperm count?