January 4

We caught a 5AM flight to the big island. We landed in Hilo, then stopped at three beautiful waterfalls. We drove through a pretty town called Waimea. The scenery here is different than on Oahu. We drove down a road on the dry side of the island – lots of farmland and prairies, cacti and cows. We got a gorgeous view of Mauna Kea from the highway. With all the rolling hills, it looks like someone took Germany and plopped it into the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

We went on a zipline adventure in a small town called Hawi. It hasn’t been developed much, so it retains a lot of its natural beauty. The guides told us the town used to be more populated, but most of the population left when the sugar cane industry moved away from Hawaii.

The ziplines were actually really cool. I was apprehensive at first, but I got used to it quickly. The views were amazing. At the midpoint of one zip, we got a great view of Maui. The highest zip was 300 feet above the ground. That one was a little scary.

After the excitement of the ziplines, I didn’t feel like sitting in the car for another several hours, so I got Dad and Patty to drop me off at the hotel while they went back to the airport to exchange the rental car (which had a bad wheel bearing) for another one.

Rainbow Falls




Boiling Pots State Park




Akaka Falls






Mauna Kea


Dad on one of the ziplines


The last zipline - 300 feet above ground