Since we discovered that snorkeling and curvy roads are not our favorite pastimes, we readjusted and decided to head over to Hilo on eastern side of the island to try our hand at ATV-ing. Driving across Hawai’i (because we’ve learned that you pronounce the actual island differently than the state), we saw a totally different part of Hawai’i.

Going straight across you would think you were in South Dakota.

Then as you drive along the coast, on one side of the road, theres the coastline and on the other side, there are rolling hills and pastures like in Montana.

The cooled lava fields were so cool You could see along the coast line exactly how the lava flowed into the sea. We learned that that island is separated into lava zones ranging from 1-9 (one being most severe). Think of it like the Flood zones we have in North Carolina.

All of Hawai’i was gorgeous. If you categorized Maui as “resort-y”, I’d put Hawai’i in the laid back relaxed category.

We arrived at Umauma Experience right on time and ready to ride.

The Umauma Experience is on a 230 acres plot of land that was an old sugar cane farm. After the sugar cane stopped they tried to grow eucalyptus trees until they realized that when they are dry they are crazy-flammable. So they started the Umauma Experience. You can chose from horseback riding, ziplining, ATV trails or waterfall repelling.

When we dropped snorkeling on Sunday, we threw in the ATV tour since the worst review online was that “the guides went too fast and let us get too dirty” 🤦🏻‍♀️ seriously? We wore bathing suits and old clothes, and had our fingers crossed that we would be filthy by the end. (Spoiler alert: our wish comes true). We checked in and then explored the grounds a bit while we waited for the others in our group.

We had the BEST guides today! 2 were Midwest transplants and 1 was born and raised in Hawai’i. After a little snafu with our first ATV, we were off.

Nick (one of our guides) said they had a little rain overnight so should be great muddy ride. 🎉 It started off pretty easy…

And then we started hitting it big time!

Passed a few cows (not even letting my brain think about the contributions that the cows may have made to the mud), and just kept up the muddy fun!

Leo and I switched places because no way was I going to be the messiest!

We stopped for a few pictures, and a chance for Michael to take the front seat.

Our faces were hurting from laughing when we made it to the waterfall for a snack and swimming. Thankfully there was also a restroom with a sink to wash off at least our hands and faces 🤪

We headed down to the waterfall and pool area. We have never been so excited to swim in a pond!

Even Mike and I got in on the fun!

Nick showed the boys were to climb up and jump for higher spots while Mike and I were happy to stay in our easy spot.

We even swam across (holy cow, that current was no joke!) and went under and behind the waterfall. The guides stayed right with us just in case.

A Fantastic Day we will always remember!

Then it was back in the ATV to finish our ride and head back, and of course a little more mud!

Thankfully they had showers on site so after some scrubbing, we were presentable enough to head into Hilo for lunch at a place our guides Chloe and Alicia recommended for “real” Hawaiian food.

Hilo is cute town – lots of shops in the waterfront area and with the hills, it reminded us of Asheville.

We made it to the “Hawaiian Style Cafe” and WOW! We met the nicest older gentleman while we waiting who said he hoped we were hungry. (Um sir, we have teenage boys. They are always hungry!) but we loved that the menu said all food scraps are donated to a local pig farm 🐽

We decided to check out another spot we read about… the Dooms Day Clock. It sounded really ominous. The clock was hit by a tsunami in 1960 and is frozen in time. There have been several tsunamis that hit so much so that they commemorate them on a pillar by the ocean.

Our guides also recommended we check out Rainbow Falls and the boiling pots. So glad we took their advice! The falls and boiling pots were really beautiful

One thing I love about Hawai’i is the stories around everything. For instance the Falls were created for the mother of Maui, the demigod (remember in Moana?). And the boiling pots and falls have claimed the lives of 27 people since 1995… but seriously what kind of idiot would go beyond the railing to a waterfall?!?

Our favorite part however was this incredible Banyan tree!

Banyan trees have a crazy root system where the roots grow down from branches and create a new trunk. This banyan tree is estimated at 600 years old, and in Hawaiian culture are places of spirituality and symbols of wisdom, endurance, and protection. It was just incredible!

We decided to head back to our side of the island and took a slightly different route so we could see a little bit more of the island. We’ve covered the middle, northern and eastern side of the island and every part looked like a mix of other states.

Back at the hotel, we took long showers (with soap and washcloths) and decided to grab pizza for dinner. The best pizza (according to online reviews) was about 4 minutes away, so we thought we would see if the reviews were true… they absolutely were!

We stopped in at Target to grab bandaids (Leo got a blister) and detergent, and made it back to hotel in time to do a couple of loads of laundry before we crashed!

Tomorrow we head to Volcano National Park – fingers crossed that Mount Kilauea decides to put on a lava show while we are there 🌋