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.

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