Hawaii Day #4 – Tuesday
Today was our travel day…but of course after we went on a
morning run and watched the sun rise!
First we made our way to our new favorite spot on the island – Kua
bay. We went straight to “our
tree”, started reading our books, snorkeled a bit, laid in the sun, and got our
fill for the day. And for the
second time (or third? I am already forgetting…) it didn’t let us down.
We hopped in the car with our sights set on Hilo – the other
side of the island. Driving around
the northern part of the big island reminded us a lot of Oregon; green rolling
hills, tall trees, hardly anyone around…it was a nice reminder of how lucky we
were to grow up in Medford. We also
drove near the spot where Jurassic Park was filmed! It was scary to think about “what if” dinosaurs still roamed
the earth…you want to watch that movie now don’t you :) It’s ok, so do we!
Our first stop on the way to Hilo was Akaka Falls. We parked and made our way to the hike
entrance, where we were stopped by
a teenage, scruffy boy with a fanny pack, who said we had to pay $5 to pass. At first I thought he was kidding! Ryan and I were thinking umm yeah right? Where are your parents that made you stake out here for your
summer job, ripping off the tourists…But when we saw several people paying,
we decided whatever, we just want to see the waterfall. Here’s a few bucks towards a new scooter
little man.
But the waterfall was worth more than $5 in my opinion. Only a picture can come close to
describing it!
The hike back took you through a mini jungle! Large plants, tiny streams, large
trees…
After Akaka Falls I made Ryan stop the car at a little tent
outside the parking lot. My dream
had been to drink coconut milk straight from the coconut – and wouldn’t you
know a young guy was selling his family farm of coconut milk! Awesome! Well, not so awesome actually. I was a little disappointed. Looks like we really sweeten
up our coconut here in the states.
On to Rainbow Falls!
We found a small path leading to the mouth of the waterfall, and that
made up for the disappointing coconut milk. We sat as close as we felt comfortable to the edge, and just
watched the outrageous amount of water cascade down the cliff. It was truly amazing.
After our little waterfall adventures, we found a restaurant
in downtown Hilo called, “Café Pesto.”
If you ever make it to the big island, YOU MUST
EAT HERE! It was our favorite of
the week by far. Uh-may-zing sandwiches,
pizza, and pesto creamy sauce.
The ride home made this day the most memorable. In a not-so-good kind of way. It started pouring buckets as soon as
we left the restaurant (a sign?? I knew we should have ordered dessert…) and
did not stop for over an hour. We
decided to cut through the middle of the island on the infamous “Saddle Road”,
which for all you gamers out there, will remind you a lot of the Royal Raceway
level on Mario Kart. Up and down
and over and across and up again!
It felt like a rollercoaster ride with stomach drops and a few screams
here and there. Not to mention,
the roads are NOT lit. So after a couple
hours of scary, dark, windy, roads we finally made it back and went straight to
bed. Since you know, it was around
9:30 pm and it was way past our bedtime.
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