Sometimes I Forget...

Sometimes I forget how incredibly lucky I am to live in Hawaii. It amazes me how many places on this tiny island I haven't been yet. One of them: Maunawili Falls. Now I can check that off my list! 4 1/2 years I have wanted to go there and was just "too busy" or whatever other excuse I could come up with...


After hopping from rock to rock through several streams, climbing up about 100 manmade steps (at least it felt that way), taking a wrong turn onto a slippery slope of mud (see picture below) and making our way through a labyrinth of bamboo shoots, we finally arrived at the falls. There are 3 or 4 different spots that you can jump off of. Due to my crippling fear of heights, I chose the lowest one. At least I jumped! On the way back down, it started raining and it was truly fantastic. Everything green looked greener and was glistening before my very eyes. I was literally smiling the whole way down.

I finally just took my shoes off because it was easier to grip the mud with my toes. And...I didn't want to ruin my shoes.

Call me crazy, but I actually LOVE hiking in my Toms. I bought these little beauties on my CA trip and have been waiting for the next opportunity to wear them. Since they don't exactly match my work uniform, I have made them my official hiking shoes. The first hike I did in them was a little rough, with a couple of battle wounds in the form of blisters. However, they served me well on my trek to Maunawili Falls.

For those of you who live in Hawaii and are ever looking for something good to do on the weekends, check out my friend Merlin's website. He lived here for several years and composed a website of hikes and other activities on Oahu. It's really detailed and helps you find the trailheads to some hard-to-find hikes.