A day on The Big Island

Hawaii has always been a special place to me. I am blessed to have been coming here almost every year since I was in the fourth grade, so it has almost become like a second home. It is where I have made some of my favorite memories with my family, and taken some of my favorite pictures. We have always gone to Oahu and sometimes Maui, so I was excited when my parents decided to switch things up this year by starting our trip on The Big Island. 

Having never been to The Big Island, I wasn't sure what to expect. I had always seen pictures and had thought it looked more plain and rural than the other islands, so I wasn't sure how much I would like it in comparison to the other islands. Upon arriving, I'll say that it's definitely more rural, but it's anything but plain. There were so many gorgeous beaches and waterfalls, and the lava formations were so cool! 

Our last full day on The Big Island (the day that I took every single one of the pictures in this post) was my favorite! We spent the day driving around in search of waterfalls and exploring the island. First we stopped at Umauma Falls which had not one but two gorgeous lookout points (both pictured above). One looked over the waterfall, and the other looked over the ocean. 

After Umauma Falls, we headed to Akaka Falls. It was a short walk down to the lookout point and the waterfall was absolutely gorgeous! There was also a ton of wildlife! We were greeted by chickens in the parking lot as we got out of our car, and on the way up from the falls I found this little gecko. 

After Akaka Falls, it was time to find food. We headed into the town of Hilo, where I found this super cool floral mural, and we had an amazing lunch at Cafe Pesto. I got the Milolii Sandwich (an open faced sandwich with lump crab, and shrimp and covered with melted cheese) and my mom got the Pizza Luau, which was basically a hawaiian pizza with Kalua pork instead of canadian bacon. Both were AMAZING. We finished off with Lilikoi cheesecake. Everything was SO good! 

We ended the day with the most gorgeous hike along the coast. The spot that we hiked is actually called The End of The World, because it is the southern most point in the United States, and it has got to be one of the most incredible beaches I have ever seen. We actually ended up on the hike in search of Green Sand Beach, a beach that is literally covered in green sand (duh). We didn't actually make it all the way to the beach, but we found a small spot with a bunch of green sand and since it was getting dark, that was good enough for us! Next time we'll definitely start earlier! On the way back, the sun had set so it was basically pitch black. All we had as a source of light was our phones, which were dying. Luckily we made it back just in time (we were at 2% battery when we got to the car) and the second we opened the car door it started pouring! haha. I would hugely recommend this hike though. It's kind of out of the way, but the view is absolutely worth it!

XOXO (or Aloha!)

Olivia