After leaving my vulnerabilities behind at Rainbow Falls, our adventure to scope out the best waterfalls on the Big Island of Hawaii continued. Our next stop was Wailuku River Boiling Pots State Park.
Upstream of Rainbow Falls along the Wailuku River lies Peepee Falls and the Boiling Pots. Since the water flows down into various lava holes and tubes, the water tends to have the appearance of boiling. Since it was so rainy on the day of our visit, I presume the high water level maybe prevented viewing the typical “boiling” activity.
Contrasted to Rainbow Falls, there was no one at the Boiling Pots location. It was a wonderful moment to take in the scenery. Unfortunately, there also was not a lot to see at this location. Total time spent was maybe 15 minutes, most of which was allowing the boys to stretch their legs
Not long after we dropped my in-laws off at the airport to return to the mainland, the four of us set out on an adventure to explore the inner parts of the Big Island of Hawaii. For some reason, beyond which I even know why, we failed to see any waterfalls when my in-laws were with us, but that was about to change within a matter of hours.
Call it lack of planning or time, but in the few short days my in-laws were with us, we managed to see the major aspects of the island, but somehow left off the picturesque scenes everyone imagines of Hawaii. Step in Mrs. InACents with her handy TripAdvisor app and guides to plan the perfect relaxed day exploring the island.
The first step was getting across the island from Kona to Hilo. When we got trapped on the south side of the island due to wildfires caused by the volcano, we had to take the north route home late at night. Locals has persuaded us not to take Saddle Road through the middle of the island, and I am fortunate they did.
When we were exploring for waterfalls, we decided to take Saddle Road since it was the early part of the day. Wow was I surprised by the complexity of the road. Blind turns and hills aplenty on the western half of the road. Wild turkeys all over the middle part of the island. It was like we transported back into the wild, wild west, only traveling at high speeds on treacherous roads, not sure if a semi was going to come blazing over the hill ahead.
The other interesting part I realized pretty much anywhere in Hawaii, including along Saddle Road, in the middle of no where, was we had full cell phone coverage. I assume this is because of the strong military presence. Regardless of how it is done, it was nice to also not see cell phone towers all over the island, as they do a good job of keeping them concealed. Nothing like being able to update my Facebook status that we are stuck out in the middle of the Big Island desert being circled by turkeys.
Rainbow Falls, Big Island, Hawaii
Our first stop of the day was Rainbow Falls, located on the outskirts of Hilo. The eastern side of the island tends to be wetter, at least during our visit. So we were fortunate to have stopped at Rainbow Falls during an intermittent stop in precipitation.
Rainbow Falls was a spectacular first indulgence into Hawaiian waterfalls. At over 80 feet tall, the Wailuku River cascades over a densely surrounded pool.
Taking a trek up the steps to the top of the waterfall was well worth the effort if not just to explore the tremendous jungle setting. I pictured kids enjoying the incredible treehouse like foliage.
The only thing that concerned me when visiting Rainbow Falls was the incredible interest of the Hawaiian people in our boys. Grant it, the entire vacation the Hawaiian people were swooning over our light-skinned, blonde-haired, blue-eyed boys. The boys stood out in this “foreign” environment, but for the first time, without my in-laws with us, and when visiting a park and being immediately confronted by such friendly locals wanting to know who we were and where we were from, it caught me off-guard and slightly concerned for our own safety.
In reality, nothing happened, and I probably had nothing to be concerned with; but when groups of younger adults confronted us, for a moment I had my skepticism. For a period you feel vulnerable and protective of your family. Mrs. InACents, however, felt a total sense of comfortableness at that same moment, making her realize she wants to someday live in the State of Hawaii. Then again, my uncertainty may have been from my 5-hour energy kicking in for our fun filled day ahead.
Each year tens of thousands of people visit the historic Pearl Harbor sites on Oahu, Hawaii. I expect each person takes away from the experience something different. When I visited in Pearl Harbor in 2006, I remember it being quite a different experience than it is today. The main difference is the way the monuments and information is portrayed. From what I recall, it was pretty simplified on my first visit, but today visitors to the Pearl Harbor Memorial really can spend an entire part of a day recalling in horrific detail what happened on December 7, 1941.
My father-in-law was in the Navy ROTC. He never talks much about his experience to me, and it was obviously well before I was even born; however, I have tremendous respect and admiration for him and all of our service people. I also felt incredibly touched that I was able to share the Pearl Harbor experience with my father-in-law, as I am sure it represents a deep connection to those that served and lost their lives on the day the United States got dragged into the war.
The ride over to Ford Island, or rather the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial is rather somber, after just watching a short video highlighting how and why the Japanese pulled off the attacks on Pearl Harbor. Learning about the attacks was also quite staggering to realize just how effective the Japanese were at crippling our Pacific fleet.
My generation of Americans can maybe less relate to older wars until we visit sites like Pearl Harbor. Memorials are a stark reminder of why the country is what it is today, shaped by our past. We are the generation of the 9/11 attacks, and visiting the New York, Pennsylvania, or Washington D.C. attack sites bring back painful memories of those dark days, while at the same time connecting all of us together, stronger.
There were some important lessons to be learned from the Pearl Harbor attacks, most notably the importance of intelligence.
I am so glad I got to experience Pearl Harbor from a different viewpoint on this trip. My life has forever changed since my last visit to Pearl Harbor. This trip, I was thankful not only for those that gave their lives and serve our Country, but also for getting to share this incredible experience with my wife, boys, and in-laws.
For those planning on heading to Pearl Harbor, I have only one suggestion. Tickets are free through the National Park Service, but they charge a small fee for reserving tickets ahead. In general, we recommend ordering tickets ahead of time unless you plan on arriving to the site early. On busy days, the wait to take the ferry over to the Arizona can be hours. Ordering tickets ahead of time will help alleviate some of the wait, just make sure you pick up your tickets early as they will give them away if you do not arrive on time.
