Jesse and I got a really early start today, and were on our way at around 7:00am! We drove up to the northern tip of the island, making a bunch of stops along the way.
It was so early, that it was a little hazy and steamy over the water and in the woods - which made for some interesting lighting. We started off at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens, which was a mini rainforest full of awesome plants! I’d recommend going there to anyone up for a nice walk through a garden.
We headed up to Akaka falls and Waipio Valley’s lookout point next to take in the incredible scenery. We couldn’t get down into the valley with our rental car, which was pretty unfortunate, but just looking down was worth the drive.
Finally, we went up through Waimea and turned onto route 270 going north through some mountains and farmland. This island has so many different things to see, and 270 and 250 were definitely not the stereotypical Hawaii. To finish off the drive, we came down a winding mountain road without guardrails. It was exciting coming down from 3,564 feet, facing Mauna Kea and all the tiny towns beneath it.
