We continue with our report of Day 2 in Hawaii! (If you missed Day 1, you can start here.) We had a packed schedule on Saturday, June 12, so we woke up early to get some breakfast — we stopped by the local McDonald’s.

McDonald's for breakfast
The McDonald's in Laie.

Now before you go and judge us for going to a McDonald’s while vacationing in an exotic place like Hawaii, please take into consideration that the main purpose was to try this:

spam breakfast
Spam breakfast from McDonald's.

Only in Hawaii will McDonald’s serve up spam breakfasts. Of course, I couldn’t eat the egg, so I just had a bite of Dan’s spam and ordered a cherry pie instead. The spam was not too bad! We then went on our way to drive over to Kualoa Ranch, where we had made a reservation to go on the super-touristy movie tour! The Kualoa Ranch is where famous films such as Jurassic Park, 50 First Dates, Pearl Harbor, Windtalkers, and Godzilla were filmed (along with a host of others that I can’t remember right now…). It was also used to film several scenes in the popular television show LOST.

me in front of the Kualoa Ranch
Arriving at Kualoa Ranch

the buses for the movie tour
The bus we would ride for the movie tour.

frolicking.
Me frolicking while waiting for our tour to start.

Dan and I at Kualoa Ranch
Dan and I at Kualoa Ranch

concrete bunker
Concrete bunkers that were used in WWII.

Dan posing with the sign
At a film location for Pearl Harbor.

They had some photos of Japanese celebrities who had come to visit the ranch:

The Japanese celebrity タカさんwas here!
Apparently Taka-san (Ishibashi Takaaki) from Tunnels had been there there... I am puzzled as to why he is in a bathrobe.

玉木宏さん！
Japanese actor Tamaki Hiroshi, too!

Dan and I with the ocean behind us
You could see the ocean from the ranch.

Jurassic Park!
Film location for Jurassic Park!

sign marking the site
Hurley's golf course from LOST.

Godzilla footprint
Ginormous footprint from the film Godzilla.

50 First Dates
Where they filmed a scene in 50 First Dates.

majestic views
The mountains seen from the ranch were really majestic!

Richard's home in what was supposed to be the Canary Islands (from LOST)
Richard Alpert's home back in the "Canary Islands" in the TV show LOST.

You can see more photos from our movie tour at Kualoa Ranch here. Upon completing the tour, we jumped back into the car and drove down to Aiea, where we visited the historic sites of Pearl Harbor.

at Pearl Harbor
Arriving in Pearl Harbor.

a submarine tour
The USS Bowfin - we didn't get to go on that tour because we didn't have enough time.

This was recovered from the USS Arizona
The anchor recovered from the USS Arizona.

We had limited time to spend at Pearl Harbor, but the one thing we wanted to make sure we saw was the USS Arizona Memorial. The USS Arizona Memorial grew out of wartime desire to establish some sort of memorial at Pearl Harbor to honor those who died in the attack, and it is accessible by boat.

on a boat going to the USS Arizona Memorial
On the boat that would take us to the USS Arizona Memorial.

arriving at the USS Arizona
Arriving at the USS Arizona Memorial

wreckage of No. 3 barbette
The wreckage of No. 3 barbette, one of the only parts of the ship that are visible above the water.

people at the USS Arizona
People walking around the USS Arizona.

A Pearl Harbor veteran in front of the memorial wall
A Pearl Harbor verteran stands before the marble memorial wall.

The USS Arizona is the final resting place for many of the ship's 1,177 crewmen who lost their lives on December 7, 1941. Their names are engraved on the marble wall.

the ship underwater
You can see some of the ship wreckage underwater.

Pearl Harbor is definitely a sobering experience, as are most wartime memorial sites, but I am really glad that we went. I’ve always been very interested in American history, and so I was really glad that I was able to see firsthand the site of the attack of the “day which would live in infamy.” It meant a lot for me to be able to actually see the wreckage of the USS Arizona and to pay my respects to those lost. (See the rest of our photos from Pearl Harbor.) After leaving Pearl Harbor, we decided to check out the Aloha Swap Meet, which was also in Aiea. It is one of the largest flea markets in Hawaii.

Aloha Swap Meet
The Aloha Swap Meet in Aiea.

Hawaiian goods for sale
Hawaiian goods for sale.

painted coconuts
Painted coconuts.

The swap meet was interesting to look around in, but there wasn’t anything that was so amazing that we felt compelled to buy. It was definitely a neat place to look around and explore, though. After walking around so much at Pearl Harbor and at the Aloha Swap Meet, we were starving! We promptly headed over to Honolulu to enjoy a late lunch.

Coco Ichiban Curry House in Honolulu
Coco Ichiban Curry House in Honolulu.

Dan got the shrimp katsu and stewed shrimp curry.
Dan got the shrimp katsu and stewed shrimp curry.

I got the asari (clam) curry with ebi fry
I got the asari (clam) curry with ebi fry.

Ready to dig in!
The curry was amazing! Thank you Estella for the recommendation!!!

After lunch, we walked around Honolulu to see the area and do some window shopping.

Walking around Honolulu.

SPARK! A really cool clothing store my friend Tarrin recommended.
SPARK! A trendy clothing boutique my friend Tarrin recommended for their vintage clothes. There was a lot of cool stuff here! It's frequented by Japanese celebrities, too!

In the late afternoon, we headed over to the Kahala Hotel & Resort for the main event of the day, and one of the prime reasons we scheduled our Hawaii trip to be in mid-June: to attend our friends Yumi and Mark’s wedding. 🙂

arriving at Yumi and Mark's wedding
Arriving at the ceremony location for Yumi and Mark's wedding.

the beautiful ceremony location!
The beautiful ceremony location: a gazebo by the beach.

Dan and I waiting for the ceremony to begin.
Dan and I waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Unfortunately, there was no photo-taking allowed at the ceremony, so we snuck in a few right after the ceremony, when the bride and groom were taking group photos.

Yumi made a gorgeous bride!
Yumi made a gorgeous bride!

Yumi and Mark's families
Yumi and Mark's families

lovely place setting
Lovely place setting - the plumeria was a pretty touch!

the gorgeous bridal party!
The bridal party kicking off the reception.

Time for the toast!
The bride and groom during the toast.

prime rib!
Amazing prime rib.

delicious dessert!
The dessert was almost too pretty to eat! But I still ate it... and it tasted just as good as it looked!

Cake-cutting time!
Cake-cutting time. They are so photogenic!

the first dance!
The sweet first dance... one of my favorite parts of weddings.

Bouquet toss!
Bouquet toss!

the bride and groom!
The bride and groom at their sweetheart table, looking great!

Congratulations, Yumi and Mark!
Congratulations, Yumi and Mark!

We had to retire a little early and couldn’t stay until the very end of the reception, because we had to make the drive all the way back up to the Turtle Bay in North Shore, but we had a wonderful time and were so happy to be able to attend our friends’ big day. (More photos here.)

Cheers to their happily ever after! 末永くお幸せに！！！