Oahu Day 3- Adventure Time

Day 3 in our 2013 Hawaiian adventure started off as a slow, relaxed vacation day.  Everyone is still getting up early, around 7 AM, still being on Portland time.

The ocean was rough today at our house.  A storm was coming in today and the oceans were showning it with bigger and stronger waves.  There was a good number of paddle boarders surfing outside the house and taking advantage of the weather.  By about 11am, the a gentle, warm rain started, which moved us indoors.

The morning activities focused on getting the families fed, doing a little fishing, and some impromptu lizard chasing.  The kids got in a little TV time one the rain started.

Once the afternoon rolled around, it was time to start the adventure. We were spending the rest of the day doing several activities with Sara's cousin Jim and his wife, Karen.

First stop was the Pali Lookout of the east side of the island. It took us about 45 minute to drive there from the west side without much traffic. The drive up the H3 from the Honolulu area was quite beautiful, driving through this deep valley of lush green tropical plants.

The Pali Lookout was quite stunning. I high point on the shear mountain cliffs above the eastern shore valley, beaches and reefs. The Lookout is a historic point for Hawaii, as it was the final battle in King Kamemeha's campaign to unify the islands under his rule. A harsh battle with many warriors falling to their death in the valley. We spent some time taking the obligatory tourist pictures.

Cousin Jim and Karen met us at the lookout and lead us off to the next adventure, an off-the-beaten-trail hike to a secluded waterfall. A short drive later, we park along the roadside and enter the trailhead.

The first part of the high was pretty easy walk through and area overgrown with bamboo. The trail had been caved out of the bamboo growth, which was a clear indication this wasn't a parks-n-rec maintained trail. This certainly heightned the sense of adventure and gave us the feeling we were experiencing more of a locals-only treat.

After a short up-hill section, we arrived at this very interesting ruin which served as the King's summer home. The King and people close to him would move up to the hills where it was cool for the summer. The walls of the summer palace was left standing, made of basalt stone and a primitive concrete material. There were areas that we could identify as the cooking areas, and an area that was an entry way paved with smaller basalt rocks. After spending a while admiring the ruin, it was time to move on to the rest of the hike.

A short distant further down the trail, we began to get into more difficult hiking areas. The first few challenges were not too bad, crossing a small stream on some rocks and climbing over some roots and obsticals. Then came the challenge, the last leg of the hike required scrambling up about 100 ft of hillside at about a 50 degree slope covered with some trees and vines. The kids were take back a little, with Noah complaining each time a bush hit him. After getting up a about 20 ft, however, the group started to work together to get everyone up the hill, and the kids turned from trepidation to living out some sense of adventures.

After making it up the hill and a feeling of accomplishment, it was a short walk to the next challenge, the final decent into the valley. Similar conditions as the way up, but now descending. After a short peep talk to the kids, we all started down helping each other along the way. Jim brought a rope which was a big help in one particular slippery area of the trail. We all made it down without incident, and the kids did awesome rising up to meet the challenge and feeling pretty accomplished at the end.

As a reward for our adventure trek, we were greeted by a beautiful tropical valley with a amazing 100 foot waterfall into a small pool. It is one of the picture you a imagine of a private paradise you find your way to on a Hawaiian adventure.

The natives (Jim and Karen) jumped into the waterfall catch pool. The kids ventured in some, but stopped short of getting into the waterfall and pool. In the lush areas around the waterfall the kids looked around to find crawfish and bull frogs. It sprinkled on us a little, in a warm drizzle that made it seem like more of a tropical adventure. After spending some time enjoying the area, it was time to pack up and head back to the cars.

The hike back completed without incident. There were some times of challenge and kids getting a little scared, but everyone keep it together and conquered the return trip.

In some form of cosmic balance, the fantastic hike was offset by a bit of unfortunateness. When we arrived at the car, the trunk of the van was standing open, obvious that someone had broken in and taken some of our stuff. After a quick survey of the damage, we assessed that the main losses were Katy's tablet, a change of clothes for everyone, and our cooler with beer. How dare they take our beer!!! It was a little shocking and the kids were upset, but we talked through it and decided to put it behind us and focus on the fun for the evening.

The rest of the evening was spending time and enjoying the hospitality of Jim and Karen at their house. After another short drive, we arrived at Jim's house down a single-lane road carved out of the jungle. It is a beautiful house nestled in a lush tropical yard.

Everyone enjoyed relaxing after our hiking adventure. Cousin Jim brought out an archery setup and all the kids got to try their skill at a few rounds of archery. Noah even go to shoot Jim's crossbow, which he LOVED.

Soon the burgers were done and night was setting in. We retired to the dinning area to fest on some yummy hamburgers and celebrate the night with stories and revelry.

The kids started to crash, nodding off after their big adventures. We said our goodbyes and settled into a drive back to our house on the west side, Everyone crashed after our arrival, exhausted from the days fun, trials and tribulations.