Maunawili Falls

These days have been very busy as of late with myself working 2 jobs, Tessa working 3 jobs and an internship, and both of us babysitting the kids we live next to, it isn't too often that we both have an afternoon off together, we are not exhausted from work, and it isn't raining. But when our one afternoon dedicated to exploring was cancelled due to a recent flash flood warning we were determined to make the best of it and go for Plan B.....which we hadn't determined yet. Cam and Tyler came out to Kailua and after spending time with Kolton (he greatly enjoyed hanging out with these cool new guys) and finally deciding what we wanted to do (yes, we are an indecisive group) we were finally off. We arrived at the base of the hike for Maunawili Falls around 5:30 pm, so we knew we had to go quickly in order to get in and out before the sun set. But.. when the trail you are hiking on consists of a 7-in deep layer of mud and you are hiking barefoot, things go a little slower.

Not even half a mile into the hike and we were already deep in the jungle. Surrounded by dense greenery and trees I am amazed by the beauty of the hike, especially when we arrived at the look out spots. It was crazy to think that all of this beauty is right in our backyard, hardly a ten minute drive away. We stopped for plenty of photo opps--but nothing could quite capture the insane beauty that the jungle held! 

Not long after we approached this lookout spot, the rain came on real strong. Soon enough we were drenched, incredibly muddy, and ready to reach the waterfall! A perfect adventure, if you ask me.  

Once we finally reached the waterfall, I snapped some model pictures of the gang gazing at the glorious waterfall. I knew this kind of adventure called for some war paint, so Tori and I smeared some mud on our faces--a sign of true warriors. 

And conveniently, we found some walking sticks to enhance the warrior image. 

We knew there was one thing that had to be done before we could head back...

 Tessa wanted to jump off the waterfall, and as I am afraid of heights I wasn't too keen on the idea. But when looking back on what we had just done - trekked through the mud for the past 2 miles in the pouring rain - how could I NOT jump off this waterfall? So after triple confirming with Cam that the water was deep enough to jump into, into the cool, refreshing water we went. We swam over to the rocks, climbed up, went to the edge, and jumped! 

It was so exhilarating that we just had to do it  a second time. 

After the waterfall we had to book it back to the car to beat the setting sun. Luckily, Tyler knew a shortcut that brought us back to the road in no time and we were able to avoid navigating through the slippery mud again. 

Back to Kailua we went. 

But instead of going home we headed down to the beach for a night swim - one of Tessa's favorite things. The beach was barren except for a few people fishing with lighted fishing poles nearly 15 feet tall. There was a heavy mist in the air and sky was a light shade of red - something we couldn't figure out why. We floated in the ocean and moved with the waves - an activity that has become one of our favorite ways to relax and wind down.  

After the beach, we headed back to the cabana to dry off and get some dinner. And then, the real storm hit. We spent the rest of the night listening to the thunder and watching the lightening light up the night sky. You know it's a good thunder storm when your attempt to watch a movie is thwarted because the thunder completely blocks out the movie's sound. 

All and all it was a wonderful adventure day!