Our first hike

Hawaii time is 4 hours behind ours, so we both were awake by 3:30AM or so, then tried to go back to sleep.  Once we got up for good, we decided to take a drive up over the mountain to the east shore of Oahu, and to try to hike to a special waterfall (Mauniwilli).  The drive there went to a wonderful lookout over the east (windward) coast, where we spent some time looking around.  We found our first feral chickens there, but certainly not our last.  They are everywhere, since apparently there are very few natural predators.  They are all colors, small, and very pretty.

.  We then headed for the trail to Mauniwilli Falls.  We were warned in the guidebook that it might be a bit muddy, but then, what's a little mud?  Well, after about a mile of slip-sliding along, up a narrow, fairly steep, trail, with tree roots and branches reaching out to trip or grab us at every step, we reached the first river crossing, where we made the decision to turn back.  I forgot to mention that there were several signs warning about leptospirosis in the water and mud,   And, the temperature and humidity matched at 90 each!  So, we were disappointed not to have made it to the falls, but glad to be alive and uninjured when we got back to the car.  We were muddy, and messy, so before we could go anywhere for food, I slipped into Longs Drugs, got some flip-flops for Christina, some water and paper towels for cleaning up, and after 15 minutes of washing, got enough off to go into Whole Foods for some lunch and fresh fruit.