Happy Luau

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Back from Vacation with Aloha



Our vacation to Maui was shorter than usual, but it was lovely all the same. It was unusual in that we did almost nothing except read, sit, sleep, and watch the sun rise and set. We played cards a bit and visited with friends. Very few activities, yet still several adventures, some of them internal...which I'll write about in upcoming days. 

The above picture is me on the first day we arrived. We initially stayed in Wailuku at the Old Wailuku Inn, an historic bed and breakfast in a non-touristy inland part of Maui. It is near my favorite restaurant, The Haili'imaile General Store. I ate sashimi pizza there regularly. To the left is a picture of the pizza, which doesn't look like or taste like regular pizza at all. It is made with sashimi grade ahi tuna and has almost no crust. Fresh spouts, a sauce made from edamame--heavenly!

We only stayed in Wailuku for a few days to acclimate to Maui, then moved on to our timeshare in Ka'anapali. Each morning the sun would rise about 6:30 and set 12 hours later. I don't think we missed too many sunsets or sunrises. We watched them outside on our balcony. 






This is the most fun I can imagine having, and I don't miss entertainment or other conventional types of vacation activities. Not one bit.

We ate lots of fresh seafood that we prepared in our timeshare, which has a kitchen.




When we went out of the unit I generally wore Hawaiian mu'umu'u's like this one. Every day the timeshare would make a different type of water by putting ice water and fruit together without sugar. The water would subtly taste and smell like the fruit--lemon or lime or green apple or pineapple. We would walk down to the lobby and get some amazing water, then sit and sip it and watch the koi swimming in the adjacent pond. This was a real thrill for me.






During the trip I read a great deal about mindfulness. I also began to meditate and do yoga. I read a lot of fiction. My favorite book was called "House Rules", a Jodi Picoult novel about a teenager with Aspberger's--I highly recommend it to everyone.

We arrived back to cold weather, a huge snowstorm, and now blankets and blankets of snow unusual for the Pacific Northwest. LoveHubbie has not yet returned to work, instead taking a breather before re-entering the frenzy of his normal life. I had many plans for this first week of being home that I discarded with the strange weather and got to practice letting go.

I missed all of you and am so glad to be visiting you on your blogs again.

~Photos by LoveHubbie Mark

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Aloha Nui Loa

We are leaving for Hawaii, all packed and ready to go. I will miss each of you while I'm gone. As I mentioned before, I'll be computer-less but I will catch up on your blogs when I come back. In the meantime, I'll hold you each in my heart. Much love and peace to you, xoO