…it was that thing where we could be suffering from FOMO (fear of missing out), but then again, was it worth contracting COVID-19 by being within the action?

Knowing that the weather wouldn’t be as much of an issue as the last four failed attempts at helicoptering, there was a part of me that couldn’t believe that today’s tour was actually…

I kept trying to tell myself that this rain must be good for waterfalling, but if there ever was a such thing as having way too much rain to go waterfalling, this was it!

The pounding waves to the left were always threatening to pluck me from the coastal rocks and out into sea. And at the same time, the rugged cliffs that produced these coastal rocks also…

So we were faced with the decision of whether to do the difficult trek right up to the lava flow or returning to the car wondering what if. It was now 5:30pm and the daylight was fading fast…

The relentless climb up the trail seemed like it was never ending. I was starting to get worried that I might not find the waterfall as it had started to reach the two-hour point…

Trying to kill time for the next flight I saw a picture book about the Big Island, which was the last major Hawaiian Island we had yet to visit. While I was busy flipping through the pages…

This time however, the submerged rocks weren’t visible. I thought this was kind of strange and it immediately became apparent to me that the wide stream had risen…

Having been to the ‘Ohe’o Gulch (or the so-called Seven Sacred Pools) nearly four years ago, it was strange seeing the churning, brownish raging whitewater…

a black SUV passed by us as I was looking down to make sure no sand had gotten into the camera bag. Apparently Julie was paying attention because she immediately said, “Honey, that was Cameron Diaz!”

We returned to the car and headed back to the town of Kaunakakai. While we were there, we picked up some smoothies and pastries before filling up on…

I was already appreciating this pilot and the experience here was as different as night and day. This just reaffirmed my hunch that it’s the helicopter pilot that makes all the difference in the…

Heck, I was even desperate enough to drink from any stream I saw along the way – full of bacteria or not. Fortunately, there weren’t any flowing streams during this two mile stretch…

Julie was already against the idea of doing this and the steepness of the gorge before us simply made it a rather unlikely proposition. She recalled…

Julie got frustrated when all the lunch spots she wanted to try out were closed. And now the possibility of something bad happening in this rather unwelcome-feeling spot was palpable…

I knew the lady trying to sell us the chopper ride was lying to us when she tried to convince us that the Wall of Tears was the same thing as Honokohau Falls. But despite the fact that she BS’ed us…

Hana Highway was the main reason why we chose to visit Maui. So we made sure we tried to see as many of its waterfalls as possible during this week – and it required two takes…

Julie and I had grown tired of getting up at 3am. Julie was especially miffed as she had been under the weather since the first attempt to see the Haleakala sunrise. Now it was the day we were…