After a long, yet surprisingly pleasant flight, we arrived in Hilo, Hawaii. Even as our plane landed on the runway, the landscape that surrounded us was surreal. Tropical flowers, fields of green, and crystal blue waters, overwhelmed our sense of sight and really hit home that we were far from it.
With most of our day taken up by traveling, we decided it was best to familiarize ourselves with our new location, as the Big Island of Hawaii would be our playground for the next few days. Our first venture was a scenic drive up the Hamakua Coast. This stretch of highway drops you right along the coastline, heading north along the east side of the Big Island of Hawaii. (A little known fact about the Big Island of Hawaii, is it is the only place in the world that has all 7 different climates. Depending on the direction you travel, your terrain changes like pages in a book.)
The Hamakua Coast itself is extremely lush, magnificently tropical, and intensely dense. Entire neighborhoods and structures are consumed with vegetation, exotic plants, and bright blooming flowers. Along the way there are several look out points where you can stop and soak in the dramatic views of cliff sides, ocean waves crashing into rocks, pineapple fields, and so much more. It was hard not to become emotional while making this journey by car, as the thriving environment around you served not only as natural wonder that left you in awe, but a reminder of how small and rather insignificant we are in the scheme of things.
Our evening ended with a great Mexican restaurant in downtown Hilo, followed by a few bottles of delicious Longboard Ale, while watching the sun go down on the dock of the bay at our hotel. Within a matter of hours, Hawaii had won our hearts.
