hollywood and the rainforest

It rained today.  A lot.  More than usual, and not the typical rain/blue skies.  It sounds weird, I know, but usually here on Oahu, even if it's raining, the sun is shining.  Jaden and I decided to take advantage of our cloudy day and go hike in the rainforest.  I wonder if it's raining there??  The most popular rainforest here is Manoa Valley.  The word "Manoa" means depth or thickness in the Hawaiian language and the valley receives almost daily rain (uh, thanks Wikipedia).  Not only is the Manoa Valley part of the Koʻolau Mountain Range, residental neighborhoods and the University of Hawaii are hidden here.  A typical house has this panoramic view.

Not bad, huh?

Jabber Jaws and I arrived at the base of the valley, ready to hike.  It's only a mile to the top but the humidity and mosquitoes were daunting, even for us Texans!  It was also very, very muddy and slippery.  I specifically packed (old) shoes for this outing, knowing we would throw them away immediately after.  Jaden didn't express any interest in running up the trail, but thirty seconds after we began, I found him here.  What is it with boys and trees?  They are an odd species.

White shorts?  Really, mom?

This walk was a little difficult to navigate; in one hand we had walking sticks and our other hand was used to suction our feet out of the mud.  We passed so many morons people that were wearing flip flops.  Even I know better than that!  We finally reached the top and we were greeted with Manoa Falls!  It is a waterfall that has a vertical drop of 150 feet with a shallow pool to swim in.  The water is extremely cold so we didn't go in, but we got some great photos.  

The color on most flowers and plants are amazing here

requirement:  walking stick taller than he is

Manoa Falls

Guess he likes climbing rocks too

An eight year old deep in thought

Isn't it beautiful?!  Would it surprise you to know that many scenes from Jurassic Park and Lost were filmed here?  I will let you in on a little rainforest secret, though.  It didn't smell all that great.  Jaden kept saying (loudly, in front of people), "Ewww, what stinks here?"  I had to hit him with my walking stick to make him be quiet.  

Anyway, I must sign off for the night.  We have a very big day planned tomorrow.  Stay tuned!