Aloha! From Hawaii

The CTL where I work has been developing web-based applications to improve teaching and learning on campus. (We hope they are doing something like that.)

My roommate and the programmer at the CTL were asked to go to Hawaii to install these programs on the BYU Hawaii campus. A few weeks ago, our supervisor called me into his office and said they needed to send one more person to Hawaii to be able to do the work that they needed to do and asked if I would go. So I talked to family about Thanksgiving and my other supervisor and said “Yes!”

We left an oncoming snowstorm last Saturday to come here. The flight was really good (quite smooth, actually.) The pilot kept coming on saying the planes ahead of us were reporting really strong turbulent, but by the time we got there, they had dissipated. We arrived in the afternoon and it was nice and sunny and warm. We picked up the rental car and went to Costco to pick up some food to keep in our room while we are here. We went to a little Thai restaurant and ate and it tasted really good. I think we were all hungry!

Then we drove up the coast from Honolulu around the island past Kaneohe to La’ie. The drive was beautiful. It is just so green and there are flowering trees everywhere! It’s a little bit misty and humid, but just so beautiful. Tonya and I are staying in the VIP housing on campus – Hale 5. It’s a nice apartment with a nice living room with couches and a big-screen TV. It has a kitchen with stove, oven, microwave, refrigerator, etc., two bedrooms and a bathroom. It’s really perfect.

One of the men that Tom and Tonya have worked with before went and bought us some apples, grapes, water, pineapple, cookies, etc. for while we are here. It was really sweet of him. He also got leis for Tonya and me, which are absolutely beautiful. They are so full and they smell so good!

We were so tired the first day!

Sunday we woke up really early (jet lag) and read a little and tried to plan out the things we want to see and do while we are here. Then we went to church in the Stake Center here on campus and then we went to Pearl Harbor. On the way to church we stopped to take some pictures of us on campus. Then it started to rain, so we looked good to start and then got rained on. So much for doing the hair!

Pearl Harbor was a good experience. They have made a movie talking about the events leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the ships that were here. Then we got on a boat and went across the harbor to the USS Arizona Memorial. There was an almost sacred feeling there. Then we went over to the USS Missouri and toured the battleship, climbing up on the decks and looking at the guns and everything on it. Finally we went into the USS Bowfin, a submarine. It took some ingenuity and skill to build it and to design it to work just right. It was interesting to learn about it.

Here we are on the boat going out to the Arizona. You could still smell and see the oil coming up from the ship. It really was amazing.