I Left My Heart in Kauai

The only place where people actually mean aloha when they say "aloha"

Hello Reality!     Kauai was AMAZING!   My new favorite Hawaiian island.  Nothing to do.  Nowhere to go.  But bask in your beauty!  Here’s to a week of musing about my vacation.

This year and certainly this trip was all about facing fears.  A quick list:  giant water slides, zip lining, snorkeling, hiking, commitment and separation.  To sum it up, Kauai was everything that could’ve gone wrong went wrong.  Everything that could’ve been better, was perfect.  My patience was tested.  My presence was challenged.  For the first several days, I felt so angry about the unfinished escrow business I had to deal with, the waits, the phone calls, the wasted time, and the plane delays!  Did I mention the plane delays?  Ugh!

Nothing a little sun and love couldn’t solve.  We celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary and renewed our commitment.  I don’t know whether I was just struck by cupid’s arrow or was love struck by Hawaii’s beauty, but everywhere I looked, I saw hearts in the sky, in the ocean, on the land, on the beach, in people’s eyes.

I knew this was gonna be the best trip ever! See the hearts?

Love comes in all shapes and sizes

You can even find love even when you feel gray.

so perfect!

Two hearts joined together.

A trip to Waimea Canyon, the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, swept my breath away and along with it all the worries of the world.  I could’ve spent days at this grandeur place of beauty, looking for my jaw for it dropped way off my mouth.  It truly is a dramatic sight to behold and the pictures just don’t do it justice.  We barely covered this place on foot with a 2 hour hike from the top of the mountain at 3,500 ft.   And they had camping grounds here!  Oh!  How I wished time stood still for me to sleep under the canopy of trees and hear the ocean roar from the distance.

The ride to Waimea

I wanna hug these trees

See the heart in the Canyon? See the white line thru the center? It's a water fall! Oh Kauai, my heart cries for you!

A sure beauty to behold

More hearts.

The lucky people who live at the bottom of the canyon

My favorite spot: Napali coast seen from the top of Waimea. There is no separation between ocean and sky. I wish I could float around on these clouds.

Our hike down the mountain

I went for the ride of my life on a zip line tour and was tickled that there was someone else there more afraid than I was   Snorkeling was interesting as the tides were pretty rough during the afternoon.  I couldn’t sneak in a swim lesson before we left so I was a little nervous about stepping into the ocean’s womb.  The first humuhumunukunukuapua’a (that’s not a mispelling… it’s the Hawaiian state fish) fish I saw reminded me that I could breathe thru the snorkel mask.  Duh!  Oh the way fear has a grip on us! To warm up, I went on this crazy water slide.  I think I eat my stomach for lunch.

The Island Racer

Pronounced humu-humu-nooku-nooku-ap-u-wah-ah photo credit: http://www.spanyolingatlan.hu

The most challenging fear to face was of course leaving the kids for 3 nights with their grandparents on Oahu.  Only a mother knows about separation anxiety.  To make it difficult, there were families everywhere having fun with their kiddos.  The consolation prize was being able to make the first foot prints on the beach in the early morning and claim my space of sand to practice yoga on.

Poipu Beach - where the water shimmers like glass in the morning

looked like some flower petal that blew off. See the heart?

Look what the ocean spit up. She is full of love.

The next fear on the list to face is surfing.  Darren faced his fear and long time wish to take surf lessons.  He did.  He surfed. He conquered.   Then he busted his knee.  Tore his MCL.  And crossing our fingers he didn’t tear his ACL.  Was it worth it?  YES!  he says and can’t wait to get back in the water… with me! 

Before the big wipe out

Despite all the fun… I’m glad to be back home.  Home sweet home.  Maybe one day Kauai will be home sweet home.

We love you Kauai!

Til we meet again!

Green Toes and Kale

Vibram Sprint (left) and Bikila (right) Fivefingers

If I were in a Dr. Seuss book, my book would be titled Green Toes and Kale.  I would make Sam I Am proud.

Sam I am, I would wear them in the gym.  I would wear them in the grass or fishing for a bass.  I would wear them on a hike, riding a bike chasing a mouse near my house.  I would wear them here.  I would wear them there.  I would wear them everywhere.

I recently gave in to the Vibrams Fivefingers shoe craze despite how ugly people (and I) seem to think they look.  But since they’ve expanded their line and color choices, I was very excited to try them on.. especially since they were hard to find.  I love challenges.  I had my mind set on the Sprint version but the store I went to only had green Bikilas.  So I got’em.

I naturally love toe socks and figured they were no different since these Fivefingers were suppose to feel like socks.  Now I am addicted!  They are the best shoes EVER!

The Bikilas have much more padding on the sole than the sprints but I was still able to feel the ground and flex my feet and toes freely.   I still wanted the Sprints because they had a more open feeling and would be perfect for outdoor yoga!  I think I was meant to have them cause it didn’t take me much to hunt them down and found a store that had the size and color I wanted… so much for a hard to find shoe challenge.  Verdict:  they are perfect for outdoor yoga or yoga anywhere you don’t want to dirty your feet.  Where were these when I had to teach in a sweaty gym?!

Nadia and I decided that we needed to be sponsored because while walking the Vegas Strip, we became the center of attention on multiple occassions.  Today while at Orchard Supply Hardware looking at paint samples for the kids room, the paint lady noticed my shoes and called all her colleagues in that area to come check out my shoes.  I had a crowd of people around me.  It was quite comical.  One lady wanted to buy them for her kids cause she loves to buy toe socks for them and stick money or other surprises in each “finger” as a gift for them.  What a great idea!  If you’re looking for attention, wear these shoes.  It’s a guarantee to be a great conversation starter.

Lucky shoes got me a spin on the wheel of fortune machine

Choosing comfort over glamour

Adventure!

More adventure!

Kettle Korn Time

Worthy for a Vibram Ad! (pic by Nadia)

And Dear Sam I Am, I would wear them while drinking my kale!

Fresh kale direct from the farmer's market. It's so potent, it would send your heart a flutter and raise goosebumps on your arm.