January 17, 2005
The Occasional Tourist
Snowcapped Mauna Kea on a voggy day
I am the occasional tourist. On a day like yesterday (and today too) when it is warm and sunny I go to a local tourist spot and pretend like I am on vacation... Not as relaxing as the real thing but its fun. Woody is at the shop today and since I was busy the whole week I thought that Id take the morning off. I tootled up Waianuenue Ave, past the store and saw the sign that said "Rainbow Falls-Boiling Pots"... "Well," I said to myself..."might as well get a good look before I have to leave Hawaii"...Soooo
I went up the road to the Rainbow Falls State Park, which is actually two parks... one where the actual water fall is and the other a 1/4 mile away where the rapids are that are just above the falls. It was hazy as we have Kona winds that are driving the VOG right over us... Reminds Woody and I of when we were kids and the LA Smog alerts when the smog was so bad it was hazy and you couldnt hardly see accross the school yard...They hardly have them this bad any more... Every 20 minutes a fresh bus load of Japanese tourists pulled up. I snapped pictures and walked around. Went to the gift shop, full of nonsensical but fun touristy clap trap... Had myself a Good Humor strawberry vanilla ice cream with sprinkles that had thawed and refrozen enough times to give it that authentic Hawaii flavor...
I then got into the car and drive to Boiling Pots Lookout. The Rapids are called "Boiling Pots", as the bubbling sounds made by the water over the many rock do sound like boiling pots of water... Here it was serene, no bus loads of tourists, just groups of young people walking up and down the forbidden steep trail down the ravine to the Wailuku River and the lovely swimming in the pools of water... I was told it was as cold as any Alpine mountain stream, by a young girl wearing a bikini so small it was just short of ridiculous. No tan lines showing...perhaps she was from a place where bathing suits are optional...
From there I drove on up Waianuenue, past the Kaumana subdivisions, and stopped and took photos along the river at Pi'ihonua. The views were lovely and the air smelled of blooming things and the ocean. I kept driving and stopping, and snapping photos till my camera said..."Battery Needs Recharging"...time to go back to the real world...
It was the nicest two hours Ive spent in a long while!
some photos from the outing below
