I only realized today that I'd never put these photos on the website. I think maybe I was waiting to get copies of photos from the others who went along. Anyway, better late than never!
USMS Nationals were held at the University of Hawaii in May 2002. We were promised cheap airfare (turned out to be sort of true) and cheap housing, so several of us from Kentucky went, mainly for the vacation, but also for the competition. Kregor, Tita, Cindy Todd, Sarajane Doty, Pam Mueller, and I went from Wildcat Masters; along with Pam Haeberlin and Jim Luebbe from Lakeside (and Pam's last name is now Luebbe, so obviously they had a great time on the trip!); Robert Holmes from Crescent Hill; Bob Adams from Owensboro; Bill Powell from Western Kentucky; and Keith Shepherd, who was swimming unattached then. The airfare didn't turn out to be as cheap as promised, so in order to save money Kregor, Cindy, Sarajane, Pam M, Pam H, Jim and I decided we'd stay in the dorms at the University, for only $34/night (including meals!). We stayed the first night in a nice hotel, because the dorms weren't available yet, but the rest of the time was at the dorm. Quite an experience (more later).
One of the high points was a trip to Pearl Harbor. I believe Pam H, Bob and his wife Judy, and I went. Maybe Pam M went too; memory fails! Great experience. Every American should go there. We took a launch out to the memorial in the harbor, and it was one of the few things I've done in my life that was exactly as I expected it to be. I guess it's because I'd seen it so many times on TV and in movies. Here's the Arizona's bell, recovered from the bottom of the harbor. Here's one of the boilers from the ship, still sticking up above the surface. The clock from the Arizona is stopped at the exact moment of the attack. Here's the plaque dedicating the monument to all those who died on The Day of Infamy. This diagram shows how the ship was laid out, and they also had a model of the ship. The names of all the people who died are inscribed on a wall. Here's the flag from the Arizona. And here's the flag flying above the monument. One of the saddest mementos was this trophy that had been awarded to some of the sailors just the night before the attack. I think it was for a band contest, but can't remember for sure. I had my picture taken with one of the sailors who took us out to the launch. The only thing about the memorial that surprised me was that there was still so much oil on the surface. I knew there was still an oil slick, but didn't expect so much. Near the Arizona memorial is the Missouri, the battleship on which the Japanese surrendered. We didn't have time to see it too, but I would like to do that if I ever go back.
Another day we all climbed to the top of Diamond Head. We probably shouldn't have done this the day before the meet started, but we had to cram a lot of activity into a short period! It was not such a long walk, but it was very steep! We saw some neat rocks on the way up and also some funky-looking grass. The view from the top made the effort worthwhile! Here's another view in a slightly different direction. Pam H, Kregor, and Cindy rested up at the top. And while up there, Kregor showed us how she was going to streamline the next day!
The University's campus was very pretty. Cindy and I walked through this pretty little garden; here's another view of the garden, and one last view of it. We also came across this sculpture, a statue of a lion, and a real temple.
Our last night there, several of us went out to a fancy dinner. I got the deluxe lobster dinner, and it was so deluxe I had to take a picture of it!
Our last big undertaking was Pam M's open-water swim at Diamond Head Beach. It was put on by the meet organizers, and lots of people did it. Keith did it too. Here they are before the race. Pam had never done an open-water swim before, and this may not have been the best choice for a first time, but she did it! Kregor and I drove Pam to the race, and "helped" by sitting on the beach and eating breakfast! Well, Kregor did help Steve Peterson put on his sunscreen before the race started! They divided the racers up into groups based on their projected finish time. Keith was in the second fastest group. Pam was all smiles before her start. Obviously Keith finished before Pam, having started before her, so Kregor, Keith, Keith's wife, and I all anxiously awaited Pam at the finish line. This guy in the red, white and blue shorts was cracking us up, doing his Howard Cosell impersonation. I didn't find out until years later that this is Paul Smith, one of the fastest guys in USMS. Our friend Helen Bayly, from Arizona, waded out into the surf to greet finishers. We kept looking for Pam, and finally saw her taking her last strokes. Soon she was running toward the finish line. And then she was finished! She was really thirsty after it was all over, thanks to all the salt water she swallowed! Here are Pam and Keith celebrating finishing the race.
And then it was time to fly home. We left about 9:00 p.m. and flew all night. Not a lot of fun, trying to sleep on the plane, but at least we made use of every bit of daylight on that last day. Here's a parting shot of Hanauma Bay, where we floated around and looked at all the pretty fish! A year or so later I was watching an episode of "Magnum" and there was Magnum sitting on the same wall I'm sitting on. The guy Magnum was sitting next to got shot, but fortunately no one was shooting while we were there!
