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Cameron woke up at 4:30 and asked if he could watch tv.  Him and Todd went to breakfast at 6. Todd left at 6:30 to go back to the airport to fly to Harbin.  I got ready and Cameron and I went to breakfast at 7:45.  Yes, Cameron ate twice.

At 8:55 we checked out and went outside to wait for Mr. Xue.  I received a text which I knew I would. I just had that feeling.  He was stuck in traffic.  He finally arrived at 9:25.  On the road to TEDA.

Finally home after stopping to get gas.  We walked in and immediately knew the air conditioning was not working.  Very hot and stuffy.  Called our agent.  She had workers here within an hour.  While we were waiting for them to show up we decided to watch some tv.  Sat down, turned it on, and nothing.  Cable box was out.  The one in our room was also out.  Another call.  She said "could you wait some while, because long time no use, need wait".  Really?  So if you don't turn the cable on for awhile it takes it awhile to turn back on?  Such a Chinese answer.  It didn't help to wait.  After 2 more texts the cable was back on at 2:30...3 hours later.

When the guys came to fix the air they did some standing around and some pushing of a button. After 2 minutes he had me call my agent.  She told me they couldn't fix it.  They walked out the door as I was on the phone.  She said she would have to call someone else.  After 2 more texts bugging her to death she said different workers would arrive at 3:30.

Wow, the guy showed up at 3:20.  We have never had a worker come early before.  An hour later and the air was cool again.  Thank you Mr. Cranky Pants.  The man had a terribly cranky look on his face the whole time he was here.  He must not like his job. But he fixed the air so that's what was important.

Back To China

Up, got ready, ate breakfast, packed, and watched some tv before leaving for the airport. We for dropped off at the airport and Tom and Judy took the car to explore for the rest of the day.  They flew out at 10 p.m.  We hit the lounge.  I played with my new iPhone 5.  So exciting.

Last family photo in Hawaii.

Off to the gate and boarded.  Our business class seats were even more cool this time.  We each had our own little pod with a pop out screen.  The seats moved in many more positions too.  Very comfy. I was handed a Mai Tai when I sat down with an umbrella in it, Cameron had orange juice and Todd had champagne.  This is the life.

Too bad we can't fly like this all the time.

Got comfy and watched a few movies.  The 7 1/2 hour flight wasn't bad at all. On the ground in Tokyo.  Went to the lounge to wait for our flight to Beijing.  Cameron put his head phones on and watched some Minecraft YouTube videos.  He was laughing out loud.

Went to the gate and boarded.  The stewardess asked Cameron what he wanted for dinner.  After he answered her he fell asleep.  When it was allowed I laid his seat down for him...he never woke up. He never got food.  I woke him up so he could put his seat up to land.  We did that and he fell right back to sleep. Woke up to get off the plane.  Went through customs, grabbed a cab, and started for the hotel.  Cameron asked if he could put his head on my lap.  Out cold again.  Poor exhausted kid.

We arrived at the hotel.  Cameron watched a half hour of tv then went to bed.

Beach Day

Finally got to sleep later.  Up at 6:50 and left at 7:30.  First stop was IHOP for breakfast.  I must say it was pretty delicious.  We rarely eat at IHOP at home but when we haven't had it for such a long time it was good.

Back in the car.  We drove up the coast on what I think was the only road in Oahu we hadn't been on yet.  This was completely uneventful.  This stretch of road had mostly run down houses and nothing to do.  There were a few spots of beach we could have stopped at but we decided not to since we have a beach at our resort.  We packed a cooler with lunch in it thinking we would have lunch on the beach but since it was only 9:30 and we had driven the whole road we decided to go back to the resort.

Cameron wasn't into driving around again.

Once there we put our suits on and headed to the beach.  We had a cabana for the day.  They included it with our room so that was pretty exciting.  It was a beautiful day.  Cameron and I played catch in the ocean and then Grandma played with us too.  Todd ran to the store to get food to grill for dinner. Cameron built a sand castle.  Once Todd came back all the boys hung out in the ocean for awhile.

I was the supervisor on the castle building project.

Tom in the cabana.

Judy in the Cabana.

Loving our beach time.

Ocean time.

Todd.

Me.

Our resort.

Tom and Judy stayed on the beach while the rest of us went to the pool.  When we got there there was a mermaid telling a story to all the kids in the pool.  She was cute but she sure had an annoying voice. The little kids were loving it.  There was another little girl dressed in a mermaid outfit too.  If I had to guess I would say it was part of Make A Wish.  She was so cute and looked like she was loving it.

All of a sudden it started to rain pretty good.  We didn't care since we were in the pool.  Todd went to check on his parents and they were gone.  They had headed back to the room.  We decided to head up to the room and take a break.  We went to the cabana to get our stuff but Cameron decided to run into the ocean again.  He just can't help himself.  Finally back up to the room.

We showered to get all the salt off of us.  Hung in the villa for awhile before heading down to grill with Todd and Tom.  While they cooked Cameron laid in a hammock for awhile.  Him and I then played catch.  We saw a mongoose running around.  He almost walked over Tom's shoe.  He was looking for food around the grills.

Dinner time.  Brats, Italian sausage, ham steak, shrimp, salad, beans, and fruit...delicious.  After dinner Todd, Cameron, and I headed back to the pool.  The wind was chilly so I didn't get in.  We walked to all the pools and found a whirlpool that wasn't full.  It was nice and warm.

Another great dinner cooked by Todd.

Todd grabbed a pizza at the market and we headed back to the villa.  We watched a little tv and then played euchre.  Tom and I beat Todd and Cameron.  It was a close game though.  We then all played Go Fish.  Time for bed.

Pearl Harbor

Up at 4:00 a.m. again.  We were not meant to sleep in at all this vacation.  We left at 5:00 to go to Pearl Harbor.  You have to get there very early if you want USS Arizona tickets.  They only give a certain amount out.  We were there at 5:30 and we were 4th in line.  Well, by we I mean Todd.  The rest of us sat in the car waiting.  I went to the line about 6:30 and the rest were all there by 6:45.  Gate opened at 7:00 and we all had our jobs.  Tom and Judy were to get the audio tour devices, I was getting the USS Arizona tickets, and Todd was buying the admission tickets.

Watching Cameron eat breakfast.

Todd chatted up a storm with the guy in the tan shirt before
we all arrived.

We look a little tired but we were ready to explore Pearl Harbor.

We had an hour before our USS Arizona tour so we went to the Bowfin submarine first.  It was great because we basically had it to our self.  We had the audio tour so headphones were on and we checked out the submarine.  When we came back out it had rained and there was a rainbow.  It was pretty cool standing on an American submarine, rainbow in the sky, and the US flag flying.  Man, I LOVE America.

Grandma Judy checking out the submarine.

Standing on the Bowfin.

Exploring the Bowfin.

Going in.

Lots to explore in the submarine.

Grandma and Cameron gaining all kinds of facts.

A tight fit going through the doors.

Cameron loves audio tours.

We heard Cameron say "Oh Man".  He dropped his map
and it hit perfectly to go through the tiny opening at the bottom.
I was able to get it out.

Learning a lot.

LOVE this picture.

Too bad the sun was blinding Cameron.

Cool.

Time to get to our USS Arizona tour.  Cameron grabbed us 3 waters from the shop while I ran to the bathroom.  The others were in line waiting.  Time to go in.  We started with a 25 minute movie on the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  So sad to think about all the people's lives that were lost.

Going into the theater.

Time to board the boat to take us out to the USS Arizona.  Somber feeling.  Amazing to look at.  A few times I felt like I wanted to cry.  This tour really put everything in to perspective. The quietest tour I have ever been on. Back on the boat and back to where we started.

The USS Arizona Memorial.

So many people lost their lives.

A few Wallace's.

The ship still loses a quart of oil a day.

Part of the ship.

Where the ship was suppose to be docked.

Cameron taking it all in.

Looking at the ship underwater.

Leaving the Memorial.

We went to the shuttle bus that took us to Ford Island which was home to the Battleship Missouri and the Pacific Aviation Museum. First stop was the ship.  We got on and that things is huge.  We walked around the decks but there really wasn't a lot to see.  There was something official going on at the back of the ship.  A huge tent with a lot of uniformed people.  The National Anthem was being played.  We stopped and showed our respect to the flag.

Entering the ships grounds.

Headed to the row of flags.

Lots of guns.

Todd wouldn't act this out.

Cameron trying to shoot the big gun.

Whoa.

Where we were.

We went in and saw some planes.  Cameron wanted to do the flight simulator.  He got the instructions and started to fly.  The first few minutes he couldn't make it shoot.  He yelled for me. When I walked over to him he said it was boring.  All of a sudden the shooting started and then he was fine.  He was in the thing for 25 minutes.  It was very hard but he liked it.

This could be a postcard.

Cool looking airplane.

Cameron liked looking at the planes and stuff.

Cameron was going to take flight.

Full concentration.

He was in this simulator a long time.

This is where we were.

Tom and Judy grabbed some lunch and they also got Cameron a hot dog for when his flight was over. Once everyone was done eating we were waiting for the shuttle bus.  Cameron and I went out back where a guy was flying a big remote plane.  Of course he said he wanted one.  Sorry, too expensive.

The light house in the background is trying to get
fixed but it needs a lot of money to do so.

Back on the shuttle.  Once back at the starting point we checked out the museum.  We were done with Pearl Harbor after that.  Back to the car.  We stopped by the store so we could get food to grill out.  While everyone was in the store Cameron and I ran to Taco Bell.  He wanted to try the Cool Ranch taco.  We had a couple Doritos ones as well.  Yum!  We went to the resort.  Cameron and I went to the pool for a bit.

Leaving Pearl Harbor.

Cool Ranch Taco.

Doritos Taco.

Back up to the villa to chill out awhile.  Tom, Todd, Cameron, and I went down to grill out.  A lot of people with the same idea.  Luckily they had 8 grills by our villa.  Steak, fish, and veggies...grilled to perfection.  Up to the villa.  Dinner time.  Such a great meal.  So glad Todd loves to cook.

Who knew Grandpa Casey (Chuck) had a steak house.

Todd is the master when it comes to grilling.

3 generations.

Steak, fish, and veggies.

Time to eat all the great food.

A little euchre was next.  Cameron and Todd were partners and Judy and I were partners. Tom watched over Cameron the first few hands to make sure he remembered how to play.  He did which wasn't a surprise.  Close game but in the end Judy and I won.  A little tv and off to bed.

Gorgeous.

Goodbye sun.