photo and a cute post: http://aiminglow.com/2011/06/ezpz-surviving-summer

… some beach somewhere

casting shade over an empty chair

palm trees are growing

warm breeze is blowing

I picture myself right there

on some beach somewhere…. 

A summer quote I found while surfing the internet on this beautiful summer’s night!

Hope you’ve had a summery day where ever you are….

More to come

xo

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!

2.  A day of rest is sacred.

3.  Empty, empty, empty your cup daily.

4.  People act the way they do because of their past experiences and not because of you.

5.  Letting go is different than giving up.

6.  There will always be annoying people who will annoy you.  Practice how to not be annoyed.

7.  Focus on what you can control in this moment of this breath instead of what could happen in the next breath, or the next day, or next year.

8.  Whether practicing yoga in the morning or in the evening, it still boils down to the same poses.  The difference is how I perceive how my body reacts because I might have reacted.

9.   Generosity is contagious.

10.  Just as we need an earthquake emergency kit in CA, I need to make a beach day emergency kit.

At the suggestion of Lacy, we went adventuring to a new beach site off the coast of hwy 1.  There is no name for this beach.  Just that it’s the stop a couple miles off hwy 1 at Call Box SM 001 205.  If I were to name this beach, it would be “how the heck do we get down there to sink our feet in that smooth white sand beach” beach.

stretch of peace

You get down there with a rope of course!  There was a short hike down the steep, let me emphasize, STEEP! hill.  Halfway down is a rope tied to a rickety tree bush stump.  The kiddos and I sent Darren down first.

Forget the women and children first act.

He got to the end of the rope and sadly reported that the rope did not go all the way down and the hill gets even steeper before hitting the beach.     I mean, I could’ve done it, but didn’t want to risk it with the kids.  hehehe that’s my excuse   Next time we are bringing additional rope!  Hence on to making a beach day emergency kit ready with ropes and stakes.

The beach day adventure didn’t end completely though, we ended up on San Gregorio Beach just down the ways.  It was crowded but still a breath of fresh sea air!

Even though crowded, we found some secluded spots near the end of the beach

Flock of birds moving into formation

So cool to watch them do this.

Niko found this pretty rock...

When he went to pick it up, it fell and cracked. In the center were these white spots that looked like a heart when the halves were put together.

We HEART beach days!

Another beach find!

2.  Real, authentic, meaningful service will repay you in unexpected ways at the least expected times.

3.  Surprises are wonderful whether you are at the receiving end or the giver.

4.  Drive the speed limit!!!  Or try to weasel your way out of the ticket.  Has anyone ever gotten out of a speeding ticket?

5.  Sometimes a good cry is all you need.

6.  Being in nature is the best medicine.

7.  Being in nature with a great friend is the best day EVER!

8.  Do not hike all day in 100 degree weather without eating a thing but an apple and then go to a buffet afterwards.  It’s dangerous!

9.  I love open ended schedules with no plans and commitments

10. Vibrams five-finger shoes are the best!  I don’t care if they’re ugly!  Look where these shoes took me:

6,000 ft high top of Calico Trails Red Rock Canyon

It's hot up here but so worth the view

tagging the canyon

I think Nadia had low blook sugar from the hike

I heart Red Rock!

More pics from Red Rock when I get home

Fork in the road.. Definitely the Beach Trail!

1.  It’s a small world.  Always treat everyone with kindness and respect.  You never know who you’re gonna meet or get to know.  A friend’s friend may know your friend and that friend’s mom might know your grandma who knows your neighbor who used to live next door to you.

2.  Only surround yourself with people who are on your same path.

3.  Giving for the sake of giving requires a total open heart and open mind but most importantly it requires me to get out of the way.

4.  Don’t sweat the small stuff.  They only appear bigger than they are when it’s right in your face.  Take a breath and watch it disappear.

5.  There is no place like the beach… even if it’s windy and cold.  The sounds and rhythms of the waves help me connect to the vibration of my heart.

6.  Creativity is maximized when you’re living in the moment. (lululemon manifesto)

7.  Enthusiasm is contagious.

8.  When one door closes, two new doors really do exist and they really do open.

9.  Nothing takes my breath away like the vastness of the ocean, the height of mountains, and the inspiration of people who have passion for love and life.

10.  Did I mention the ocean and beach?  All roads do lead to the ocean.  Just like the way our breath mimics the rhythms of the ocean and the ocean mimics the rhythm of the earth, “what we do to the earth, we do to ourselves.”

Yoga Graffiti Contest is off to a good start.  Please continue to help spread the word.  Challenge yourself and your friends to some fun and creativity while helping an amazing cause!  Feel free to link to the contest blog post or email it out.  The more photos I get, the more fun it gets and the more money we can raise for Africa Yoga Project.  I’m super excited about the raffle prizes, I can hardly contain myself.  I don’t know how I am going to keep it a secret for a whole month!