Of course the first thing on our agenda (after getting food) was to see none other than a waterfalls. Bless Brian's heart for going along with this plan. At least waterfalls are generally beautiful so it's a win-win for everyone! It's not like I was dragging him to landfills or something!
Anyway, we went to see more of God's beautiful creation when we saw Wailua Falls. Kauai gets the most rain of anywhere on earth so I guess it shouldn't have surprised me that it was raining. But it was still a pretty drive and waterfalls are beautiful no matter what the weather! These waterfalls were made famous when they were in the opening of the show Fantasy Island. I didn't watch that show (I'm a little too young) so I can't verify that but that's what they say!
Then we drove a little more and went to our final waterfall stop of the trip. I know, you're sad. We were too. :) We saw Opeakaa Falls which were a little far away but beautiful nonetheless.
During the afternoon, we decided to just relax at our hotel. I was beginning to come down with allergies or some sinus-related issue and rest was just what we needed. And we had a beautiful location to do just that. I fell asleep on a huge sofa like thing near the pool deck, right by the ocean. I was totally chilling and it was nice!!On Friday, the last day of our adventure, we decided to drive to the north part of the island to see what we could of the Na Poli Coast. The best way to see the coast is by way of helicopter but we decided to leave something to do if we ever came back! Everywhere we went, we still saw some incredible beauty, despite the rain, and it was beautiful!
On our way back, we decided to find somewhere to go snorkeling. Brian had been while I was working earlier in the week but I wanted in on that fun too! We drove to several spots where the surf was a bit too rough before finding a place on Anini Beach. It was great! We swam and snorkeled out to see a bunch of fish! Brian said he saw more during his Oahu snorkeling outing but this one we had to work for a little bit more. And the payoff was great! We saw a lot of fish!!After changing back to real clothes, we then decided we had time to go see Waimea Canyon on a different part of the island. And I'm so glad we did because that too was amazing! I've actually never see the Grand Canyon before so I was automatically blown away by the beauty and craftsmanship of God!! It was beautiful!!! I couldn't stop thinking about the majesty and glory of God!
What an awesome way to end our little adventure! We covered a lot in a matter of 4 days! We left the canyon and drove straight to the airport to take the red-eye home. We really had an amazing time exploring the islands! It was a bit rough to return home where it was 43 degrees cooler!! I am so grateful for the opportunity to see as much as we did! Hawaii is definitely a place to enjoy a variety of God's creations!!
We only had one day on the Big Island before our next adventure so we decided to pack as much in one day as possible. We continued our quest to see more waterfalls and succeeded when we saw Rainbow Falls. These were beautiful and exceptionally accessible! No hiking in the dark required! I was a little bummed we didn't see a rainbow because I'm pretty sure every single picture I've seen about Hawaii involves some sort of a rainbow. But alas, maybe it was too early but there were no rainbows. But it was beautiful nonetheless. 
Our next thing on the agenda was to go to Mauna Kea, which is nearly 14,000 feet tall. If you measure it from its base underwater, it's the tallest mountain in the world. We drove up to the visitor's center at about 9000 feet and boy, my ears were popping! We decided to skip driving all the way to the top due to time constraints and my fear of getting altitude sickness and not being able to continue with the rest of our day. We had an awesome view of the island and it was a really cool drive. 
After finding some lunch at a restaurant in downtown Hilo, we headed to see yet some more waterfalls. I apologized to Brian for dominating our overall schedule with waterfalls but they were really cool and he didn't seem to mind at all. This time we went to see Akaka Falls which are 442 feet tall. There was a little 20-minute pathway that took us by some other falls but seeing Akaka Falls was the highlight. Those are some major waterfalls and definitely one of the highlights of God's creation!
Our next stop on our adventure was the main reason we chose to go to the Big Island... Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Brian loves national parks and it's his goal to cross as many off his list as possible. I like that goal and have vowed to help him in that quest. Plus he wanted to see a volcano erupting. Also a good goal but we quickly learned once we got there that in order to see that, we'd have to do a 6+ hour hike and it wasn't accessible by road. So we drove through the park on the Chain of Craters Road and stopped at several overlooks to explore a bit. When we stopped at the first overlook, Brian said, "Wow, that's a really big hole in the ground!" It was where the volcano erupted back in 1954 and Brian was correct. It was a massive hole!
Brian had done his research and knew that we should be able to see the oil still leaking from the vessel below. It was really cool to see that.
I had seen pictures and heard all about it but seeing it with my own eyes was a memorable experience.
After we finished seeing the USS Arizona, we saw a submarine in the harbor. Upon closer investigation, we realized that it was a museum dedicated to submarines in WWII. We realized that Brian's great-uncle, who had died on a submarine in WWII, was listed on one of the memorials. Then we figured out that the submarine in the harbor, the USS Bowfin, was only a couple of numbers off from the submarine that his grandpa's brother had perished on. So we took a tour of the submarine to get an idea of what it was like for his great-uncle. It was such an educational thing and took on even more meaning with that family connection.
I wouldn't consider myself a pure history buff but I do enjoy learning and seeing Pearl Harbor was such a wonderful experience.
It was a beautiful ending to a wonderful day!!
The reason I haven't blogged recently is that I've been out of town for yet another work trip. This time, back to Hawaii!!!! Let's just say that I was pleasantly surprised that I got assigned to this trip since it's really not my turn in the rotation among my fellow producers. But I didn't ask questions- I just complied and went with it!!
We got here on Thursday evening but POTUS didn't get here until Friday night. And since he's been here, I've been working non-stop. On Saturday, I spent all day with FLOTUS at an organic farm run by student interns. As far as organic farms go (which by the way, I know nothing about) it seemed like a great place that was more than just a farm. I really did sense a family atmosphere there.
Today, I'm travel pool all day. Today is a somewhat down day for POTUS. He spoke to a fundraiser earlier today and now he's on the golf course. Currently I'm sitting on a patio of a restaurant on a scenic bay where the water is as pretty as anywhere I've ever seen. Too bad I'm actually working and can't enjoy it!!
Another random moment... in one of our pool holds of the day, look who I met...
I'm actually taking a few days after POTUS leaves and heads to Australia to enjoy Hawaii even more. We're going to the Big Island and Kauai and I'm excited to have the opportunity to take in even more of God's awesomeness!!