Hilo, HI - Day 2

Sunday, April 11

Today was all about exploring the east side of the island in and around Hilo.

The five of us started our day with breakfast on the outdoor patio of our airbnb overlooking the beautiful garden. Andi made he, Janie and I scrambled eggs with arugula, radishes and goat cheese and the kids ate muffins. Now that we’re on the east side of the island, we get sunrises for a nice change of pace.

First on our activity list today, Andi wanted to check out the Maku’u farmer’s market in the nearby town of Pahoa. It’s awesome that you can find a local farmer’s market on the Big Island almost every day of the week. Fruits and veggies are significantly cheaper at farmer’s markets compared to grocery stores here. Pahoa is about 45 minutes south of where we’re staying in Honomu, but none of us minded being in the car. We listened to our Wisconsin church’s Sunday worship service while we drove there.

We read lots of great things about the Maku’u farmer’s market, but Andi and I were a little disappointed in its offerings today. For one, it cost $2 to enter into the market and park our car. It’s the only market we’ve been to in Hawaii where they charged admission. There were several good-smelling ethnic foods being sold for lunch, but none of us were very hungry since we’d just eaten breakfast at home. Otherwise, it was the typical fruits & veggie stands as well as craft vendors selling necklaces, t-shirts and bags.

Tory was melting in the sun, so we didn’t stick around there for too long. As we made our way to the exit, one vendor showed kindness toward Aden by running after us to give him a Hawaii sticker. She said he smiled and waved to her as he passed by her booth, and his gesture warmed her heart.

Our next stop of the day was Rainbow Falls in Hilo. Hilo is the rainiest city in the United States and has many naturally-occurring waterfalls because its located on the downward slope of MaunaKea volcano. Rainbow Falls is the easiest of all of the waterfalls to access. It’s as simple as parking your car into the parking lot and walking along a short, paved sidewalk to get there. No hiking required! I expected the falls to be really busy because of its easy accessibility, but surprisingly we were the only people there.

Hawaiian history has many interesting tales about gods and goddesses who rule over the islands. According to legend, Rainbow Falls is home to the ancient Hawaiian goddess Hina, the goddess of the moon.

Next, we drove up the road a short 1.5 miles to Pe’epe’e Falls. These falls are smaller than Rainbow Falls, but equally pretty. Pe’epe’e Falls is popular because large pools called “boiling pots” form at the bottom of the waterfalls making it a popular swimming area. There wasn’t an actual access point to get down there though; most people were hopping the fence and climbing down the hillside. I could tell Andi was intrigued, but posted signs clearly stated access to the boiling pots was prohibited. “That’s merely a suggestion,” Andi said. Regardless, we decided against swimming there anyway.

Aden and Tory decided to burn off some energy by running across the large grassy lawn near the parking lot. Andi timed them as they raced each other back and forth for the fastest time.

By now we were all hungry for lunch, so we cruised by KTA grocery store for some ‘snack lunch’ supplies and then found a nearby park with picnic tables to sit outside and eat. We didn’t have any plates or silverware with us, so we made due eating family-style on lids and napkins. Hilo is definitely a little more raw than the polished west side of the island. Andi and I spotted a homeless person sleeping in the corner of the picnic pavilion and later, a teenager scuffle broke out near the playground equipment. Needless to say, we ate quickly and left.

There’s a 4-mile scenic drive just outside the city of Hilo following the Hamakua Coast, so we headed there next. The road weaved through a gorgeous green, lush rainforest. Halfway along the drive, we parked at the trailhead for a short hike nicknamed “The Donkey Trail.” It’s called this because it actually used to be a donkey trail that was used to carry cargo from ships harboring in Onomea Bay.

The short one-mile trail was easy enough, but it was a little slippery since the ground was wet. The five of us took our time walking through the trees until we reached a freshwater stream that met up with the ocean in Onomea Bay. It was so peaceful down there — we had the entire area to ourselves.

Andi, Tory and Aden waded through the shallow stream while Janie and I waited for them on the shore. It felt really magical to be standing in this gorgeous jungle as a list mist of rain fell over the top of us.

Aden busied himself splashing and playing in the stream, wet from head-to-toe, within minutes. He found a coconut shell that he pretended was a boat setting out to sea & then threw rocks at it (“the bombs”) to try to sink it before it entered the ocean. I think he could have stayed there all afternoon playing in the water.

After the Donkey Trail hike, we made our way back to our rented airbnb house in Honomu. Janie offered to keep the kids tonight if Andi and I wanted to go out for a date night. Yes, please! We are loving the chance to get away and spend so much time together on this trip.

There aren’t many restaurants open on a Sunday night in Hilo, so Andi and I settled on sushi at Sakura. We had to wait 30 minutes to get a table, but figured there wasn’t much use driving all over town to find another option.

I was exhausted after a busy few days, so I was ready to go home after dinner. We made our way back to the airbnb after dinner and were in bed asleep by 9:00pm.

Tomorrow, we’ve got a full day of activities planned as we explore the Puna District of the Big Island.